iOS 18 Photos App: tips to customize it

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Written by Alina
Updated on December 28, 2024

iOS 18 update is something that every iPhone user is waiting for. Apple comes up with different interesting features in the new iOS every year. So, in 2024, all the users were surprised with the updated Photos App. The developers changed it completely. While some users have welcomed the fresh design and functionalities, others prefer the simplicity and familiarity of the older version. But if you are not a fan of the new app interface, there are still ways to personalize and customize the Photos app to better suit your preferences.

In this post, we’ll show you how to customize the Photos app on iOS 18 and how to adjust settings to keep the experience as close as possible to the previous versions.

New Photos App iOS 18

New features

In iOS 18, Apple has made a number of improvements to the Photos app, focusing on improving the organization, search capabilities, and editing tools. Key features include:

  • Smarter automated collections: The app now creates rich, organized collections based on criteria such as people, dates and places, using the device’s artificial intelligence to sort images into meaningful groups.
  • Pinned Collections: Users can pin favorite albums or collections for quick access, ensuring important memories are always at hand.
  • Enhanced search features: The search bar now supports natural language, allowing users to find specific photos or videos with detailed descriptions. This includes searching for scenes, objects, and even individual moments in a video.
  • App Lock Feature: Enhanced privacy options now include the ability to lock the Photos app, ensuring that personal images remain secure.

These updates are designed to provide a more intuitive and powerful photo management experience, using artificial intelligence to help users organize, edit and enjoy their photo libraries. But if you are not a fan of these changes, then we are ready to help you to customize your Photos App.

iOS 18 Photos App

How to customize

If you don’t like the appearance of your application, we have a good news for, you can change it and make it more perosonal!

  1. Open Photos App and scroll down to the bottom. Click “Customize and reorder”
    2. Scroll down to customize app
  2. Here you can check the collections you want to show in the app
    3. Check the order of the blocks
  3. You can also change the order of the blocks
    4. Reorder the blocks in Photos App
  4. Experiment and try the best for you!

Save photos on your PC

While customizing everything in your Photo Library, don’t forget to regularly back up photos on your PC, as it is a basic thing to protect your photos and never lose them. CopyTrans Studio is a great program that helps you to manage iPhone photos and videos in just a few clicks. How? Here is how:

  1. Download and install CopyTrans Studio.

    Download CopyTrans Studio

  2. Open Windows Explorer, and find the CopyTrans Studio icon. Now choose the device and then click on Photo Library.

    3. Open iPhone gallery on Windows

  3. Now I see the main window that offers different options.

    Option 1: backup the whole library in one click. Note: it does incremental backups without duplicates.

    Option 2: open the “All photos” folder and copy images manually to the PC.

    Option 3: choose between iPhone and iCloud photos.

    Option 4: drag-and-drop photos separately by categories.

    CopyTrans Studio functions
  4. We recommend you to back up all the photos at once. Click on “Backup”. Set up a backup:
    5. Configure Photo Library Backup
  5. Another way is to drag-and-drop photos or the whole folders to the computer.
    6. transfer HEIC folder to PC
  6. Finally, you will have all photos saved on your PC.
    7. Photos saved on Windows 11
CopyTrans Studio

With CopyTrans Studio, you can:

  • Transfer photos and videos in one click
  • Access your iPhone and iPad Photos as if they were stored on a flash drive
  • Organize your photos with Smart Albums
  • Say goodbye to HEIC photos and convert them to JPEG
  • Connect iPhone to PC via Wi-Fi
 Download CopyTrans Studio

Conclusion

So what did the iOS 18 update give us with the Photos app? Apple has added some exciting new features, making the app smarter, more organized and able to offer personalized suggestions. But if you’re interested in this post, it means you want to get your photo gallery back to the way it used to look. Fortunately, Apple offers a wide range of options to customize the Photos app to suit your preferences.

Whether it’s rearranging your albums, a “For You” section, or customizing how your photos are displayed, there’s a lot you can do to make the Photos app more intuitive and closer to what you’re used to. The main tip is not to take the default settings for granted, because the app should be made for you.

Keep in mind that Apple is constantly evolving and improving the Photos app with each iOS update, so keep an eye out for new features and options that may further suit your needs in the future. In the meantime, use the settings we’ve outlined in this article and make the Photos app the way you want it to be.