iOS 14 officially released on September 16, 2020 – the next generation operating system for the iPhone. With iOS 14, the company has implemented a completely redesigned home screen with full widgets, an App Library page, Picture-in-Picture, a redesigned Siri design and many other innovations. We told and showed all the innovations in iOS 14 in this article.
iOS 14: what’s new
New home screen with widgets
In iOS 14, Apple has redesigned the home screen. The main screen now has support for full-fledged custom widgets.
IOS 14 app widgets can be placed right between app icons on the iPhone home screen. The widgets are updated in real time, providing users with information depending on the application.
App widgets can stretch to fit the full width of the iPhone home screen. At the same time, several widgets can be placed on one page of the iPhone desktop, including one below the other.
Apple has developed full-fledged widgets for most of the standard iOS 14 apps. Third-party app developers will be able to create widgets for their apps, just like the previous widgets that appeared on the iPhone in iOS 12.
Widgets in iOS 14 can be added from the widgets page or from the icon management menu on the home screen.
In addition, Apple has developed a special type of widget that contains several widgets. Such widgets can be scrolled to change the displayed information. Moreover, the information displayed in the widget changes depending on the time of day or the user’s location. For example, in the morning such a multi-widget displays the scheduled events of the “Calendar”, and in the evening – statistics of activity during the day.
Picture-in-picture function
In iOS 14, Apple added Picture-in-Picture functionality. The option allows you to watch the video over any running applications. To transfer the video to a new mode, you must press a special button, which is located in a standard video player.
New application “Translator”
Apple has added a new Translator app in iOS 14. The application allows you to translate text (including typed by voice dialing) between 11 languages.
The new translator in iOS 14 supports the following languages: Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.
The application is capable of working in portrait mode for a more convenient interaction for two users. This allows users to perform quick translations for easier communication.
Updated Siri interface
Siri has received a major update in iOS 14. Siri no longer fills the entire iPhone screen when you call. The voice assistant is shown as a small icon at the bottom of the display.
Siri was able to quickly respond to user requests without opening a separate page. For example, if you ask Siri in iOS 14 for the weather, instead of a whole page, a small window appears at the top of the screen with weather data.
Likewise, Siri in iOS 14 allows you to reply to messages by sending voice messages. In addition, Apple said that Siri Quick Actions will work with the Reminders app.
New App Library screen
In addition to adding widgets to the iOS 14 home screen, Apple has implemented a special application page on the start screen called App Library. This page conveniently collects all installed applications on the iPhone. Apps are organized by type and category for quick search. In addition, the App Library page allows you to directly search for applications.
Also in iOS 14 added the ability to quickly remove pages with applications from the home screen. To do this, you need to uncheck unnecessary pages, after which they will no longer be displayed on the main screen. At the same time, all applications can be found from the App Library page. As noted in Apple, the innovation will allow you to organize the applications installed on the iPhone.
Updated Messages
Group chats have been improved in the Messages app in iOS 14. Users now have the ability to directly respond to specific messages. Messages answered in this way create a thread for easier reading. In addition, users can configure a group chat so that they receive notifications only about direct calls to them.
App Clips function
The big innovation in iOS 14 is the App Clips feature. It allows you to instantly download light versions of applications when you need them, without a full installation from the App Store. For example, if a user needs an application to pay for parking, iOS 14 will prompt him to instantly download a light version of the application to make a payment. The application will load in a matter of seconds and will allow you to pay for the service without first linking the card. Provided, of course, that Apple Pay is configured on the iPhone.
New Memoji
Not without new Memoji, which Apple is trying to add in all major iOS updates. In iOS 14, the company added new Memoji creation capabilities and several new types of Memoji stickers for sending to iMessage.
CarKey
IOS 14 introduces the CarKey feature that allows you to turn your iPhone into full-fledged car keys. To use the function, the user must first add the vehicle to the Wallet app. Once configured, the user will be able to start the engine, open doors, and control other vehicle functions via the iPhone. The function has only one minus. It will only be supported on the latest BMW i5 at launch.
Apple emphasized that CarKey will work on iPhone running iOS 13. The function will allow you to provide access to the car to other iPhone users by sending it through the Wallet application.
Change mail and default browser
IOS 14 introduces the long-awaited ability to change the default email app and browser. After installing iOS 14, users will be able to change the Mail and Safari browser to any other downloaded from the App Store. Other standard applications cannot be changed to third-party ones.
New call screen
In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple has implemented a long-awaited innovation – an updated compact incoming call screen. The new call screen appears as a small bar at the top of the display. Due to this innovation, users will not be distracted from the running application when a call comes in on their iPhone.
The material is being supplemented.
iOS 14: which devices will support
iOS 14
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPod touch (7th generation)
iPadOS 14
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
- iPad (7th generation)
- iPad (6th generation)
- iPad (5th generation)
- iPad mini (5th generation)
- iPad mini 4
- iPad Air (3rd generation)
- iPad Air 2
