Apple released the first public beta of iOS 18 on Monday, more than a month after the tech giant announced the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Apple says this update will bring many new features to your iPhone, including more ways to customize your Home screen, lock screen and control center. This update also brings T9 dialing functionality to your iPhone, making it easy to make calls by simply entering the names of friends and family.
read more: Everything you need to know about the iOS 18 public beta
We recommend only downloading the beta version on a device other than your main device. Since this isn’t the final version of iOS 18, the update may be buggy and the battery life may be short, and it’s best to keep these hassles to a secondary device.
Please note that the beta version is not the final version of iOS 18, so there may be more features coming to your iPhone when iOS 18 is released. Apple says iOS 18 will be released to the public this fall, but no specific date has been set yet.
Here’s what you need to know about the T9 and how to use it to make calls on your iPhone.
What is T9?
T9 represents the text on the 9 keys. Before cell phones had full keyboards, many cell phones had 12 keys. These are the numbers 0-9, asterisks and pound signs or hashtags – I feel very old writing these. In order to text someone, you primarily use the nine number keys.
Each number key is accompanied by three or four corresponding letters, of which the 0 key is a blank key and the 1 key is a blank key. If you go into the Phone app and tap the keyboard at the bottom of the screen, you can see the corresponding numbers and letters.
First, if you want to enter “Hello”, you must press 44(H)-33(E)-555(L)-555(L)-666(0). That’s a lot of typing for a fairly short word.
T9 messaging was introduced later and was an early form of predictive typing. It lets you press fewer keys and send messages faster. So for “Hello” you would enter 4-3-5-5-6. Much easier.
How to make calls using T9 dialing
In iOS 18, you can now use T9 Dial to make calls. That’s it.
1. Open your calling app.
2. tap keyboard at the bottom of the screen.
This is not his real number.
From here, use the principles of T9 to enter the name of the person you want to call. So if you want to call your dad, you type 3-2-3 on your keyboard, and if you want to call your mom, you type 6-6-6—guaranteed, nothing to worry about of. Their name should appear at the top of the screen. As you type, a backspace button will appear below the hash mark/hashtag if you make a mistake. Press as many times as necessary. However, there is no blank key.
Once you find the right person, click on their name and their phone number will be automatically entered. Then click the green call button and that’s it.
If you have multiple contacts with the same name, as you type you will see an option below the top results that says “3 more…” Clicking this option will open a list of all corresponding contacts new menu. Click the call button next to the contact on the right and your call will start immediately. But be prepared to explain why you’re calling the person instead of just texting.
For more on iOS 18, here’s my hands-on experience with the first public beta, how Remove flashlight from lock screen and knowledge about RCS messaging.
look at this: Why the Apple Ring Isn’t a Thing
