iPhone owners overjoyed by new button after ‘waiting years’ – it’s in next update but fans share better trick to try now
APPLE fans are raving over a long-awaited change to their iPhones that’s about to arrive.
It’s all to do with the Calculator app, which is installed by default on your iPhone.
Soon, Apple will release the iOS 18 update – likely in September.
And one of the easy-to-miss changes is the addition of a backspace button to the Calculator, letting you easily edit out mistakes you’ve made in the app.
A Reddit thread about the change titled “hands down the best iOS 18 addition” has received more than 2,500 upvotes.
The writer added: “How many flipping years did we have to wait for a backspace on the calculator?”
Sadly the change won’t go live until iOS 18 rolls out to the general public later this year.
It’s currently available in “beta” so that users can test the software.
But unless you sign up to a beta, you’ll need to wait for the big release, which likely won’t be until September.
IT ALL ADDS UP
The good news is that some keen iPhone owners say there’s a better alternative to this button that already exists.
It’s well-hidden, but you can actually just swipe left on the numbers you’ve typed in the Calculator app to delete individual digits.
Apple doesn’t explicitly point this out, so it’s considered a surprising secret among iPhone owners.
After discovering the trick, the original Reddit poster shared an embarrassed-face emoji and said: “Wasn’t aware of this until you told me.”
Another said: “Bro wtf! This is the one reason I detest the native calculator app, and now I found out this is a thing.
“Holy hell, why was this not made more obvious?! I’ve had an iPhone since it came out, and it took all these years for me to find this.”
One added: “OK so apparently we have been able to swipe for backspace for the last however many years bruh. I guess you really do learn something new everyday.”
And another said the new change was an “absolute waste of a button” because the old method worked just fine.
COMING SOON!
The good news is that iOS 18 is bringing much more to your iPhone than a simple Calculator tweak.
One of the big changes is the introduction of Apple Intelligence, which introduces a wide range of AI features on the iPhone.
iOS 18 supported devices
Not all iPhone models are getting iOS 18 – but these ones are:
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
They include using AI to create custom emoji as well as fun images of friends and family, and letting you ask ChatGPT for answers to questions.
You’ll be able to better-personalize your Home Screen, including changing the color and tint of app icons.
It also lets you put the app icons out of position, which wasn’t possible before.
You can lock and hide apps, send texts via Satellite, scheduled messages, and store your log-in info in a dedicated Passwords app.
There’s also a new Game Mode that “maximizes performance” if you’re playing games on your iPhone.