Apple iOS 14: All the key new iPhone features explored
Widgets
Previously, Widgets were only available on the Today screen, but with iOS 14, new Widgets will offer up timely information at a glance and you'll be able to pin them onto any Home Screen page in different sizes. Yes, it's just like the widgets on Android (and, indeed, the live tiles on Windows Phone).
Simply hold down on the home screen to see the new options just as if you were going to move or bin apps. There's a new + icon in the top left which enables you to add widgets depending on what is installed.
You can choose to scroll through more options for each widget (different sizes) or just drag widgets onto the home screen or the Today screen. The existing icons will then be displaced which means it will take a little bit of work to sort out your home screen
There is also something called Smart Stack whereby you can create a stack of widgets that can optionally use on-device intelligence to give you the right widget based on time, location and activity - although our smart stack hasn't quite got the measure of us yet. You can swipe through the Smart Stack to see different widgets. This works really well - though won't be that intuitive to new users.
Because it gives you so many options that iPhone users haven't had before, you feel a sense of freedom with them but also a total confusion over what to put where. We've stuck with simple calendar, activity and weather widgets on our home screen rather than lots and lots of widgets - although we're switching between having them stacked and unstacked.
App Library
The App Library is a new screen that positions itself at the end of your Home Screen pages. It automatically organises all of your apps into folders, such as Social or Recently Added, as well as Suggestions, showing you apps that might be useful at that particular time. You'll be able to choose how many Home Screen pages to display and hide entire pages for quick access to the App Library.
Again, this creates new options for you, but if you're used to searching for your apps anyway using the Spotlight search it doesn't really add anything new. We found our preferred arrangement was to have two home screens of essential apps, followed by the App Library screen (we hid our other screens, which you can see in the example above). To get to the Edit Pages screen, hold down on your screen as if you were going to trash an app icon, then tap the row of dots above the dock.
App ClipAn App Clip is a small part of an app - under 10MB - associated with a particular product or business and designed to be instantly downloaded as soon as it is needed. App Clips should load within seconds to complete a specific task, like paying for parking or buying a coffee, appearing as a card at the bottom of your iPhone's display. So it's not a full app download.
App Clips will be able to be easily discovered and accessed by scanning a new Apple-designed App Clip code or through NFC tags and QR codes, as well as when shared in Messages or Safari.
App Clips are automatically removed from your device after 30 days.
Messages
As you can see from our example above, Messages enables you to pin conversations to the top of your messages list - like WhatsApp can already. Mentions and inline replies are also being introduced in group threads and there will also be new Memoji options, as well as the option to set a group photo using an image or emoji. Users will be able to mute a group conversation but receive notifications when their name is directly mentioned too
Enhanced but minimalised Siri
Siri has been redesigned in iOS 14, so now it pops up on the page you're on (as you can see here) rather than opening up a whole new screen. It's getting a host of new features too, including better translation functionality (thanks to the Translate app, see below) and expansion of knowledge. You'll also be able to start to record and send an audio message using Siri.
New Translate app
CarKey
Home app
The Home app is also getting new automation suggestions and expanded controls in Control Center with iOS 14, as well as new features like Adaptive Lighting for compatible lights and on-device Face Recognition for compatible cameras.
Adaptive Lighting will see smart lights automatically adjust the colour temperature throughout the day, while on-device face recognition will identify friends and family using the information it already has.
Weather
The Weather app and widget get next-hour precipitation charts in iOS 14, presenting minute-by-minute precipitation when rain is in the forecast.
AirPods
Those with a pair of Apple's wireless earbuds will see them gain the ability to seamlessly switch between Apple devices with automatic device switching in iOS 14.
Find My
The Find My app will add support for finding third-party products and accessories in iOS 14, with the new Find My network accessory program. It means users will be able to use the Find My app to locate other items as well as Apple devices and any contacts they share locations with.
Accessibility
Accessibility features in iOS 14 include Headphone Accommodations, which will amplify soft sounds and tunes audio to help music, movies, phone calls, and podcasts sound crisper and clearer. There is also sign language detection in Group FaceTime coming in iOS 14, which makes the person signing more prominent in a video call.
Additionally, VoiceOver - a screen reader for the blind community - will automatically recognise what is displayed visually onscreen.
iOS 14 device support
Apple has said the new iOS 14 software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 6s and later.
Find the below list of devices which support iOS 14
Which iOS devices support iOS 14?
iOS 14 is compatible with all iPhones and iPod touch models already running iOS 13. To be clear, iOS 13 is compatible with the iPhone 6s and later. Here's a list of all the devices, just so you can double-check whether your iPhone or iPod touch will be able to run iOS 14:
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XS
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 8
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone SE (first generation)
iPhone SE (2020 - second generation)
iPod touch (seventh generation)
Stay Tuned.!
As of now #Stay Safe.
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