With a host of new features and functions coming with iOS 18 later this year, you may be able to retire some of the apps and services you currently rely on — and maybe even save some money. As is often the case with Apple software updates, the next iPhone upgrade will close some of the gaps that are currently being filled by third-party developers.
Of course, there are reasons to stick with these third-party options, too—they’ll often give you more flexibility and more in the way of advanced features, and you probably don’t want to have Apple on top of everything you do. you are doing on your phone. On the other hand, if you ditch everything we’ve listed below, you could save up to $58 / £50 / AU$85 every month.
These are the most significant apps and services that have added their key features in iOS 18. You could say that Apple has Sherlocked them – a term widely used whenever Apple’s software copies a third-party app, in honor of the tool old file search Sherlock on macOS that eventually duplicated the features in a standalone program called Watson.
However you interpret iOS 18’s improvements, here are the apps it could soon take off your hands (and bank statements)…
1. LastPass (and other password apps)
iOS, iPadOS, and macOS have been able to manage passwords and other information for a while now and keep them securely synced between devices. But iOS 18 will bring its own standalone password manager — and that could mean you can do without LastPass, 1Password, or whatever you happen to be using right now.
Passwords, keys, and passcodes can all be handled by iOS 18, and you’ll be able to easily share these logins as well. Interestingly, Apple Passwords will also work with third-party web browsers like Chrome and Edge, via an extension called the iCloud Extension.
However, there’s one main reason why you might want to keep paying $3 / £2.60 / AU$4.50 a month for LastPass: you regularly use non-Apple devices (and it’s worth noting that LastPass is free for a single device, too).
2. Grammatical
One of the main tricks you can do with Apple Intelligence — Apple’s new intelligence that’s being introduced in iOS 18 — is to have it check the text you’ve written for spelling and grammar errors, whether it’s on an online form, a email, a text or anything else. You can even ask for your text to be rewritten to change the tone or summary of the text.
All of this is very much in the wheelhouse of Grammarly, which offers AI-powered text checking and rewriting in your web browser and across your various devices. While there’s a lot you can do with Grammarly for free, most of the AI-enabled magic requires a subscription, and that starts at $12 / £10 (about AU$18) per month.
3. Otter AI
Otter is one of the most popular and feature-packed voice transcription apps out there, and it uses some advanced AI modeling to convert spoken audio to written text with a high degree of accuracy. If you need transcripts of meetings, interviews or anything else, then Otter usually does a good job of producing them, and at a good speed too.
However, you can only work with 30-minute files and up to 300 minutes of audio per month – after that you’re paying from $10 (around £8 / AU$15 per month). iOS 18, meanwhile, will record, transcribe and condense as much audio as you like through the Notes app – which could mean many Otter users decide to make the switch.
4. TapeACall
If you need a call recording, TapeACall does the job for you for $10.99 / AU$17.99 (it’s free now in the UK) and is packed with features: text transcriptions, cloud sync, call recording conference and more. However, it doesn’t work natively on your phone, instead it creates a group call with your contacts and TapeACall to do the recording.
Additionally, you only get a limited number of recording minutes with the app’s initial price, with more available through a subscription. With that in mind, you might want to consider switching to the built-in call recording features that come with iOS 18, which are built right into the Phone app and also offer automatic text transcription.
5. ChatGPT Plus
What with OpenAI adding so much functionality to the free tier of ChatGPT recently, you may have already been weighing how much value for money you were getting from your ChatGPT Plus subscription. But now that Siri is also getting ChatGPT features, you have another reason to stop paying every month for your AI-powered chatbot access.
We’re not talking Apple’s LLM (Large Language Model) and AI here (although that may come later): we’re talking about the same AI text responses currently provided by ChatGPT Plus, available through Siri . thanks to Apple’s deal with OpenAI. You can save $20 (about £16 / AU$30) every month.
6. Bullitt Satellite Messenger
Since the launch of the iPhone 14 in 2022, iOS users have been able to lock into a passing satellite to send an emergency SOS message if they are in trouble and in an area without cellular network coverage. With iOS 18, any text can be sent via satellite if needed – so you can always stay in touch with friends and family, wherever you are.
So far, Apple hasn’t said anything about this feature costing money (it has been rumored to make emergency SOS satellite communication a paid feature, but for now it’s free). This means you may no longer need the plans offered by Bullitt Satellite Messenger, which start at $9.99 / £9.99 (about AU$15) for 80 texts per month.
7. All paths
Another improvement that iOS 18 brings is the Apple Maps app, where you’ll be able to browse thousands of different hiking trails in all 63 National Parks in the United States. There are filters for length, altitude and route type, so you can find something perfect for you – and you can even set up your own custom trails if needed.
These improvements might make you think twice about renewing your AllTrails Plus subscription (at least in the US), which costs $35.99 / £35.99 / AU$35.99 annually. It certainly covers a lot more trails and a lot more parts of the world than Apple’s offering, but you’ll find that Apple Maps covers everything you need — and it’ll no doubt expand over time, too.
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