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Before Apple’s Expected iOS 19 Reveal, Here’s What to Know About iOS 18.5

Here are all the new features you should know about in the latest iPhone update.

Apple is holding its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, where we will likely get a glimpse of the upcoming iOS 19. Before that announcement, Apple released iOS 18.5 on May 12, more than a month after the company released iOS 18.4. While iOS 18.4 brought more emoji to all iPhones, this latest update adds just a few small changes and a new Pride wallpaper to your iPhone. The update also includes some bug fixes and security patches everyone should download to help keep their device secure. 

Read more: What CNET’s Experts Hope to See in iOS 19

You can download iOS 18.5 by going to Settings > General > Software Update, then tapping Update Now and following the prompts on your screen.

Here’s what iOS 18.5 brings to your iPhone. Just a reminder, only people with an iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max or the iPhone 16 lineup can access Apple Intelligence for now. If you have any other iPhone, you won’t have access to those features.

New Pride wallpaper

Apple releases a new Pride wallpaper ahead of Pride Month every year, and this year is no different. iOS 18.5 includes the latest iteration of the wallpaper, «Pride Harmony,» which features bold stripes that shift and change position as you move. 

iOS 18.5 tweaks Mail options

Apple introduced a few Mail app updates in iOS 18.5. One of those updates makes it easier to adjust the app’s settings by showing or hiding contact photos in Mail. Contact photos are the images to the left of emails that help identify senders. 

Mail will show Contact Posters by default, but you can turn them off from within the app with iOS 18.5. To do so, open Mail, tap the three dots () in the top-right corner of your screen, and then tap Show Contact Photos. Now, all your emails will just show the subject line and a preview of the message, similar to how Mail looked before iOS 18.

This option is in iOS 18.4, but it’s buried in Settings and not easy to locate. 

Another update concerns Categories. If the mode is enabled, you can see a small tab on the right side of your screen near the other categories. Swipe the categories bar near the top of Mail to the left, and this small tab will expand to reveal the category All Mail. When you swipe left to view All Mail, it will automatically be selected, and you’ll need to tap one of the other Categories to unselect All Mail.

This category isn’t new; you could find it in iOS 18.4. But, there was no small tab on the right side of your screen to signal it was present off-screen. Therefore, All Mail flew under the radar — I didn’t even know the option was there until beta versions of iOS 18.5.

This category appears to be a way to simultaneously enable Categories and List View — the pre-Categories view of Mail. When you use All Mail, you’re viewing your messages without any categorization, like in List View.

Satellite features for all iPhone 13 models

Apple’s iOS 18.5 also brings certain satellite features, like messaging, to the iPhone 13 lineup. That means if you go off the grid, you could still text people to let them know where you are. However, these features on iPhone 13 models are carrier dependent, and currently only T-Mobile offers them in the US via Starlink

T-Mobile Starlink is in beta, and the beta is free and open to anyone until July, including people on other carrier plans. After July, it will be part of the T-Mobile Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans. People with other carriers, like Verizon and AT&T, will then be able to access the system for $10 a month. 

Back Tap banner

The iOS 18.5 update also introduces the option to display a banner using the Back Tap function. Back Tap turns the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone into a usable button that can open your camera, take a screenshot and more when you double- or triple-tap it. And with iOS 18.5, you can make your iPhone display a banner whenever you use Back Tap.

To enable the banner, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and tap the toggle next to Show Banner. If you enable the banner and use Back Tap, the banner will appear across the top of your screen and read, «Back Tap Double/Triple Tap detected.»

iOS 18.5 release notes

Here are the full release notes for iOS 18.5.

This update also includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

  • A new Pride Harmony wallpaper.
  • Parents now receive a notification when the Screen Time passcode is used on a child’s device.
  • Buy with iPhone is available when purchasing content within the Apple TV app on a third-party device.
  • Fixes an issue where the Apple Vision Pro app may display a black screen.
  • Support for carrier-provided satellite features is available on iPhone 13 (all models). For more information, visit: 
    https://support.apple.com/122339.

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit: 
https://support.apple.com/100100

For more iOS news, here’s what features were included in iOS 18.4 and iOS 18.3. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet and what we hope to see in iOS 19.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 8, #258

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 258, for June 8.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.


Today’s Connections: Sports Edition isn’t too tough, but let’s hope you know the résumé of a certain NBA player to get the blue group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Let’s go at it.

Green group hint: Signal-callers.

Blue group hint: Hoops star’s teams.

Purple group hint: Great barbecue town.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Competition.

Green group: Names of NFL QBs.

Blue group: Teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for.

Purple group: Kansas City ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is competition.  The four answers are bout, contest, event and match.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is names of NFL QBs.  The four answers are Baker, Bo, Dak and Tua.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for.  The four answers are Iowa State, Kings, Pacers and USA.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Kansas City ____.  The four answers are Chiefs, Current, Monarchs and Royals.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.


Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Persist.

Green group: Animal metaphors in economics.

Blue group: Sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page.

Purple group: Homophones of slang for money.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is persist. The four answers are hold, last, stand and stay.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is animal metaphors in economics. The four answers are bear, bull, dove and hawk.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page. The four answers are born, education, occupation and spouse.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of slang for money. The four answers are bred, cache, doe and lute.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 8, #1450

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,450 for June 8.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.


Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t too tough, especially if your first guesses are heavy on vowels. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer, but one is the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with L.

Wordle hint No. 4: Ending

Today’s Wordle answer ends with a vowel.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a contract where someone is given the right to use something for a specific time and payment.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is LEASE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, June 7, No. 1449 was REUSE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 3, No. 1445: ADMIN

June 4, No. 1446: CEASE

June 5, No. 1447: DATUM

June 6, No. 1448: EDIFY

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