Apple reimagines the iPhone experience with iOS 14

iOS 14 introduces new ways to customise the Home Screen, discover and use apps with App Clips, and stay connected in Messages

Widgets are beautifully redesigned in iOS 14, giving users timely information at a glance, and are more helpful than ever right on the Home Screen pages.

Apple in Cupertino, California showcased iOS 14, presenting the largest update to Home Screen pages with newly designed widgets and the App Library, a fresh approach to accessing the App Store through App Clips, significant enhancements to Messages, and additional features.

The new widgets display up-to-date information with just a quick look and can be placed in various sizes on any Home Screen page. Users have the ability to generate a Smart Stack of widgets that utilizes on-device technology to display the appropriate widget depending on time, location, and activity.

The Home Screen pages can show personalized widgets for various categories like work, travel, sports, entertainment, and other interests. The App Library is located at the end of the Home Screen pages and it automatically arranges all apps of a user into a single, easy-to-use display, showcasing apps that might be useful at that moment. Users have the option to select the number of Home Screen pages to show and can conveniently hide pages in order to access the App Library faster.

The App Library makes it easier for users to get to all of their apps with a simple, easy-to-navigate view at the end of the Home Screen pages.

Incoming FaceTime, phone calls, and Siri interactions have a new compact design, allowing users to remain focused on their current task. iPhone users now have the ability to watch a video or participate in a FaceTime call while using a different app, thanks to Picture-in-Picture support.

“Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, stated that iOS 14 changes the most iconic aspects of the iPhone experience and includes the largest Home Screen update ever made. With new and improved widgets on the Home Screen, the App Library that organizes all your apps for you, and easily discoverable App Clips, the iPhone is now more powerful and user-friendly.”

iOS 14 delivers an all-new compact design that lets users multitask while receiving calls, asking Siri a question, or watching videos.

A New Way to Discover and Use Apps with App Clips

An App Clip is a tiny portion of an app that is intended to be found precisely when it is required. App Clips are connected to a specific product or company and quickly load to perform a specific action, like renting a scooter, buying a coffee, or paying for parking. They can be quickly found and accessed by scanning an App Clip code created by Apple, or using NFC tags and QR codes, or shared in Messages or from Safari, all with the expected security and privacy of apps.

Powerful Updates to Conversations in Messages

Messaging plays a key role in staying in touch with loved ones, and now it's simpler to stay connected and promptly view significant messages. Users have the option to move conversations to the top of their messages list, stay updated on group discussions with mentions and inline replies, and personalize conversations by selecting a group photo with an image or emoji. Additional hairstyles, headwear, face coverings, and more have been added to the Messages' new Memoji options to make them even more inclusive and diverse.

Greener Ways to Explore and New Guides in Maps

Maps now offers enhanced features such as cycling directions, electric vehicle routing, and curated Guides for improved navigation and exploration. Directions for cycling consider the route's elevation, traffic levels, and presence of stairs. Electric vehicle routing involves incorporating charging stations into a predetermined route, taking into account the vehicle's current battery level and the types of chargers available. Guides offer a collection of recommended city attractions sourced from reliable resources. Guides offer a fantastic opportunity to uncover trendy new restaurants, locate top attractions, and delve into fresh suggestions from well-known brands like AllTrails, Complex, The Infatuation, Time Out Group, and The Washington Post, among various others.

Enhanced Privacy Features for More Transparency and Control

Every app must now get approval from users before tracking them. App Store product pages will soon show summaries of developers' privacy practices in a user-friendly format. Moreover, users have the option to enhance current accounts with Sign in with Apple, opt for sharing their general location with app developers instead of their exact location when giving an app location permission, and gain further insight into how an app utilizes the microphone and camera.

Additional iOS 14 Features

• Translate is created to be the top, most user-friendly application for translating conversations, providing fast and seamless translation of voice and text across 11 varied languages. The on-device mode enables users to access the app's functions offline for confidential voice and text translations.

• Siri increases its intelligence, aids in locating information from various websites, and is now capable of sending voice messages. Keyboard dictation can be utilized on devices to dictate messages, notes, emails, and other tasks.

• The Home app now offers enhanced control through new automation suggestions and increased accessibility to accessories and scenes in Control Center, making smart home management even simpler. Adaptive Lighting for HomeKit-enabled lights changes color temperature as needed, while on-device Face Recognition allows compatible cameras to recognize loved ones. The Home app and HomeKit prioritize privacy and security, encrypting all information about a user's home devices.

• AirPods now have the feature of automatically switching between Apple devices, while AirPods Pro offer a theater-like experience with dynamic head tracking through spatial audio. Using directional audio filters, and making small changes to the frequencies heard by each ear, sounds can be positioned in any location within a space for an engaging listening experience.

• Digital car keys provide a secure method for users to unlock and start their car using their iPhone or Apple Watch. Easily share digital car keys through Messages or disable them via iCloud if lost. Starting this year, they can be accessed through NFC. Apple introduced next-gen digital car keys with Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness via the U1 chip. This will enable users to unlock upcoming car models without taking out their iPhone and will be released next year.

• Find My will now offer assistance in locating third-party products and accessories through the new Find My network accessory program. This feature enables customers to utilize the Find My app to track other significant belongings as well as their Apple gadgets. Maintaining user privacy is still a key priority for the Find My network, which incorporates end-to-end encryption. Starting today, a preliminary specification is now accessible to accessory makers and product manufacturers.

• Safari provides a Privacy Report for users to quickly check the cross-site trackers that are blocked, secure password monitoring to identify saved passwords possibly compromised in a data breach, and integrated webpage translation.

• Health introduces new capabilities for monitoring sleep, analyzing audio levels impacting hearing health, and a centralized Health Checklist for managing safety features like Emergency SOS, Medical ID, ECG, and Fall Detection. It also supports additional data types for mobility, Health Records, symptoms, and ECG.

• The Weather app and widget inform users about severe weather events, with a new next-hour precipitation chart displaying minute-by-minute rain prediction.

Features that enhance accessibility include Headphone Accommodations, which boost faint sounds and adjust audio for improved clarity in music, movies, calls, and podcasts, and sign language recognition in Group FaceTime, which highlights the signer in video calls. Additionally, VoiceOver, a top screen reader for the blind, now identifies onscreen content automatically, making more apps and websites accessible to a wider audience.

The App Library makes it easier for users to get to all of their apps with a simple, easy-to-navigate view at the end of the Home Screen pages.

Availability

The preliminary version of iOS 14 is now accessible for Apple Developer Program members on developer.apple.com, and a beta version will be available for iOS users on beta.apple.com next month. iPhone 6s and newer models will receive new software features this autumn through a free software update. To learn more, go to apple.com/ios/ios-14-preview. Characteristics may be altered. Certain functions may not be accessible in every region or language.