Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 6

Julie Clover

We’re nearing the end of the iOS 18.1 beta testing process, but Apple is continuing to make changes to improve built-in features before the software launches. As testing ends, fewer new additions are coming, but Apple has made changes worth noting. The new beta is available to both developers and public beta testers.

Control Center

In Control Center, Apple has added new, separate toggles for Satellite and AirDrop, so for the first time they can be added to Control Center settings as separate buttons.

Previously, Satellite and AirDrop were only available through a single connection control. These additions now provide separate Control Center settings for each of the following connectivity features:

Airplane mode
Cellular data
Personal hotspot
AirDrop
Bluetooth
Satellite
VPN
Wi-Fi

Apple also added new Measure and Level controls to Control Center. Measure opens the Measure app, and Level opens the Measure app for when Level is enabled.

Notification summaries

The Notification Summaries feature, which is part of Apple Intelligence, includes a small update in the latest beta. When you see a stack of notifications with a counter on your Lock screen, the number now takes on the color of your wallpaper.

Apple Music

Apple Music now includes the ability to share ‌Apple Music‌ songs directly to TikTok. To do this, tap Share Song, then select TikTok from the list of apps.

Sleep Apnea Detection

If you've been using iOS 18.1 since before the Apple Watch Series 10 models were released, iOS 18.1 beta 6 finally adds support for sleep apnea detection and breathing disorder readings.

After updating to iOS 18.1, you can go to the Health app and search for “Breathing Disorders” to find the setting to turn on sleep apnea alerts. Sleep apnea alerts won’t be sent until your Apple Watch has collected at least 10 days of breathing disorder information, according to Apple. The data is analyzed every 30 days, at which point an alert is sent.

Data for sleep apnea detection and breathing disorder information isn’t collected until an update is installed and sleep apnea alerts are turned on.

Many people already had access to sleep apnea alerts through the iOS 18 core update, but people who ran betas were never able to download the software that added the alerts back in September.

Wallet app

In the Wallet app, if you have an Apple Card and your Daily Cash goes into a savings account, you’ll no longer see your savings account balance on the Apple Card home screen. Instead, you can tap the savings button to see your current account balance.

Camera Controls

On iPhone 16 models, if you hold down the camera button and press it lightly, you'll now see a bar below the settings options. It's unclear what this bar does, but it may be to let users know that additional options are available with a swipe.

Apple Intelligence Splash Screens

With the launch of iOS 18.1 approaching, many apps are now featuring splash screens introducing new Apple Intelligence features. In Mail, for example, Apple highlights message summaries, priority messages, and smart replies. In the App Store app, a splash screen lets users know that natural language search is available in the ‌App Store‌. and Apple Arcade.