With plenty of new features and functions arriving with iOS 18 later this year, you might be able to ditch some of the apps and services you currently rely on — and maybe save some money, too. As is often the case with Apple’s software updates, the next iPhone upgrade will fill some of the gaps that are currently 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 maybe you don’t want Apple in charge of everything you do on your phone. On the other hand, if you opt out of everything we’ve listed below, you can save up to $58 / £50 / AU$85 every month.
These are the most significant apps and services whose key features were added to iOS 18. You could say Apple Sherlocked them, a term widely used when Apple software copies a third-party app, in honor of the old Sherlock file search tool on macOS, which eventually duplicates functions in an independent program called Watson.
However you interpret iOS 18’s upgrades, here are the apps it could soon take off your hands (and bank statements)…
1. LastPass (and other password apps)
For some time now, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS have been able to manage passwords and other information and keep it securely synced across devices. But iOS 18 will bring with it its own standalone password manager – and that could mean you can do without the likes of LastPass, 1Password, or whatever you happen to be using right now.
Passwords, passkeys, and codes can be handled from iOS 18, and you’ll be able to easily share those logins as well. Interestingly, Apple Passwords will also work with third-party web browsers like Chrome and Edge, through an extension called the iCloud Extension.
Still, there’s one main reason you might want to keep paying $3 / £2.60 / AU$4.50 a month to LastPass: you regularly use non-Apple devices (and it’s worth noting that LastPass is free for one device as well).
2. Grammatical
One of the main tricks you’ll be able to do with Apple Intelligence — Apple’s new AI that’s being built into iOS 18 — is to have it review the text you’ve written for spelling and grammatical errors, whether it’s on a web form , email, text message, or anything else. You can even request that your text be rewritten to change the tone or brevity of the text.
All of this is very much in the wheelhouse of Grammarly, which offers AI-powered text proofing and rewriting in your web browser and across all your different devices. While there’s plenty you can do with Grammarly for free, much of the AI-enabled magic requires a subscription that starts at $12 / £10 (about AU$18) per month.
3. Otter AI
Otter is one of the most well-known and feature-packed voice transcription apps and uses advanced AI modeling to turn spoken audio into written text with a high degree of accuracy. If you need transcripts of meetings, interviews, or anything else, then Otter usually does a great job of producing them, and at a decent speed.
However, you can only work with 30-minute files and up to 300 minutes of audio per month – after that you pay from $10 (about £8 / AU$15 per month). Meanwhile, iOS 18 will record, transcribe, and summarize as much audio as you want through the Notes app — which may mean many Otter users decide to switch.
4. TapeACall
If you need to record a call, TapeACall does the work for you for $10.99 / AU$17.99 (it’s free in the UK right now) and is packed with features: text transcriptions, cloud sync, conference call recording and etc. However, it doesn’t work natively on your phone, instead setting up a group call with your contacts and TapeACall to make the recording.
What’s more, you only get a limited number of minutes of recording with the upfront cost of the app, with more available via subscription. With that in mind, you might want to consider switching to the built-in call recording features coming with iOS 18, which are built right into the Phone app and also offer automatic text transcription.
5. ChatGPT Plus
With OpenAI adding so much functionality to the free tier of ChatGPT recently, you may have already weighed how much value for money you’re getting from your ChatGPT Plus subscription. But now that Siri is getting the features of ChatGPT, you have one more reason to stop paying every month for your access to an AI chatbot.
We’re not talking about Apple’s own LLM (Large Language Model) and AI chatbot here (although that may come later): we’re talking about the same AI text responses currently offered by ChatGPT Plus, accessible through Siri. thanks to Apple’s deal with OpenAI. You can save your $20 (about £16 / AU$30) every month.
6. Bullitt Satellite Messenger
Ever since the iPhone 14 was released in 2022, iOS users have been able to lock onto a passing satellite to send an emergency SOS message if they’re in trouble and in an area without cellular network coverage. With iOS 18, any text can be sent via satellite if needed – so you’re always in touch with friends and family wherever you are.
So far, Apple hasn’t said anything about this feature costing money (it has made noise that emergency SOS satellite communication will become 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 messages per month.
7. AllTrails
Another improvement that iOS 18 brings is to the Apple Maps app, where you’ll be able to view 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 set up your own custom trails if needed.
These improvements might make you reconsider renewing your AllTrails Plus subscription (at least in the US), which costs $35.99 / £35.99 / AU$35.99 each year. Of course, this covers many more trails and many more parts of the world than Apple’s offering, but you can find that Apple Maps covers everything you need – and will no doubt expand over time too.
