The release of iOS 18 has been mostly well-received by iPhone fans, but the most controversial change has been the redesign of Apple's Photos app.
Over at the TechRadar desk and on various Reddit threads, many fans have been furious about the numerous changes, with the most displeased being Apple's decision to ditch the tabbed navigation bar that used to sit at the base of the app screen.
Instead, Apple has adopted a scrolling layout that, for many, makes the app feel slower and more laborious to use. Fortunately, it has also hidden two useful customizations that can help you restore the app to something resembling the old tabbed experience.
The first is the ability to change the order of the app's long list of photo collections. To do this, scroll to the bottom of the app and tap “Customize & Reorder.” This lets you move your preferred collections, such as “Albums” and “Recent Days,” higher up on the page.
If you want something more like the old navigation bar, the key bar to move to the top (so it sits just below your Photos feed when you open the app) is “Pinned Collections.”
As the name suggests, this is a shortcut bar to your favorite sets of photos. To change the order of these, tap “Modify” and you can move some old favorites from the navigation bar, such as “Albums,” to a one-tap access area without having to scroll.
If your photo feed is cluttered with screenshots, you can also delete them and restrict them to a Screenshots folder in Pinned Collections. To do this, scroll up on the Photos app home screen until the menu bar appears at the bottom of the screen. Now press the up and down arrow button, click “View options,” then uncheck the Screenshots box.
While you may still need to relearn some muscle memory, these tweaks should at least make the Photos app less confusing and overwhelming than it first appears.
RIP Navigation Bar
It's fair to say that the new Photos app has traded some of the old-school simplicity for a more modern look, and that's mixed opinions. However, the undoubted silver lining is that this approach comes with greater customization.
These options are somewhat buried or hidden in the user interface, so while many were dismayed and horrified upon opening the new Photos app, there are thankfully ways to restore a more familiar experience.
That's not to say there aren't legitimate complaints with Apple's new app. One is that video playback seems to have taken a step back, with the scroll bar losing its thumbnail previews and requiring tapping to play videos in full screen. Another is that the app seems a bit cluttered, with so many automated collections competing for your attention, though you can delete any you don't want using the “Customize and Reorder” menu.
While some iPhone owners are holding off on upgrading to iOS 18 in order to keep their familiar Photos app, they might soon be tempted to take the plunge when Apple Intelligence features finally start rolling out, which Apple today confirmed will happen next month in the US and in December for the UK and Australia.
