With iOS 18, users can replace the default camera app on the lock screen with a third-party app. Halide and Obscura — two popular camera apps designed as alternatives to Apple’s default camera app with manual controls and different image processing algorithms — have already taken advantage of that possibility and released updates with shortcuts

OS 18 now lets you replace Apple's basic Camera app on the iPhone's lock screen with third-party ones like Halide –here's how to do it.

Halide users who’ve upgraded their iPhones to iOS 18 are now able to quickly access the advanced camera app directly from their phone’s lockscreen without having to unlock it first. Previously, only the native iOS camera app could be conveniently accessed that way.

The camera control button is a new feature coming to the iPhone 16, as is the ability to shoot spatial photos and video. The indented button sits flush with the surface of the phone and looks similar to a side fingerprint reader but launches the camera. You can also use it to access Visual Intelligence features, powered by Apple Silicon.

It's now even easier to replace your iPhone's default camera app with Halide, a third-party option that offers advanced camera features, such as manual shutter speed and ISO control, histograms and even a mode that claims to strip away almost all of Apple's AI image processing.