Apple announced the new ios 14 for it iPhones during the
WWDC 2020 event. Apple didn’t give the exact release date but it is expected to
released in the fall of 2020. You can still install the ios 14 beta if you want to try out the latest features. Here are all the new features and supported devices.
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| iOS 14 (Source : Apple) |
New Features
ios 14 finally brings some most awaited features which iPhone users have been wanting for so long. So here are all the new features that ios 14 brings.Home Screen Widgets
With ios 14, we can now finally add widgets on the home
screen. These widgets look beautiful and provide a lot of information at a
glance without having to open that particular app. Apple says that these
widgets are data-rich as these widgets display more useful information. Widgets
are available in the today view but they can be dragged out and arranged on the
home screen. We can also choose from different sizes and arrange however we
like.
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| Widgets (Source : Apple) |
Although these widgets are not as customizable as android widgets, they look pretty cool and can be handy for many users. Most of the widgets available now are from the first party apple apps but developers may soon make widgets available for third party apps as well.
Smart Stack Widgets
We can also add a stack widget which shows information from
different apps in a scrollable stack. These smart stack widget intelligently shows data from apps we use the most and the widgets change automatically
according to the time of the day.
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| Smart Stack Widget (Source : Apple) |
App Library
App Library automatically organizes all your apps into
folders based on their category. All these folders in app library are simple,
clean and easy to navigate. Now, we don’t have to keep all the apps on the home
screen. All the rarely used apps can be moved into a page and there is also an
option to hide these pages. In the app library, the top two folders contain
suggested apps and recently added apps, respectively. There is also a search
bar to search and get to your apps faster. This app library is available at the
end of the home screen pages.
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| App Library (Source : Apple) |
Picture in Picture
ios 14 now add support for picture-in-picture mode, so we can
continue watching videos or facetime calls while working on a different app.
This feature is available in android for quite a while now, and it is very
handy. But in ios 14 we can even zoom in on the window to make it bigger. We
can also swipe it to a side so it gets minimized but the audio still plays in
the background.
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| Picture in Picture (Source : Apple) |
Compact Calls
Incoming calls do not take up the entire screen in ios 14.
They appear as a floating notification on the top, so it doesn’t take up the
entire screen. So we can choose to answer or reject the call or swipe it away
to continue doing our work.
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| Compact Calls (Source : Apple) |
Messages
ios 14 also brings some changes to its messaging app. You can now pin our favourite conversations on top for quick access. Group chats also gets features like inline replies and @mentions. You can also set to get notified only when someone mentions you in a group. The group icon is also customizable, and the recently active members of the group are shown around the group icon. Apple also added some new features to memoji with 20 new hairstyles, head coverings, age options and face coverings.
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| Messages (Source : Apple) |
Siri
Just like the incoming calls, Siri also gets a compact design,
so it doesn’t take the entire screen. When triggered, Siri now appears as a
small animation at the bottom of the screen and the results appear as a small
notification at the top. We can now use an app simultaneously talking to Siri.
Siri also gets some under the hood improvements. Apple claims that Siri is now
20X faster than three years ago. Siri can now send audio messages and can
provide more accurate translations.
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| Siri (Source : Apple) |
Maps
Maps now show you cycling directions using bike lanes, paths and roads so you can reach your destination in an environmentally friendly way. You can also see elevation, busy streets, stairs and steep passages on your way. If you are using an electric car, maps knows which type of charger works with your car and can route you to compatible charging stations and add charging stops along the way.
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| Maps (Source : Apple) |
Translate
ios 14 adds a new translate app which can work with 11
different languages. This app works completely offline, so all the conversations
are private. In the translate app, turn the phone to landscape and tap on the
mic button to say something. The app automatically detects the language and translates
it into the preferred language. We can also save the translations in a favourite
tab to access them later.
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| Translate App (Source : Apple) |
Privacy
You can now share your approximate location rather than your
exact location. This is helpful while using local news or weather apps. A small
dot shows up at the top of the screen indicating that microphone or camera is
in use. App Store shows information about what a particular app needs to track
so you can get a better idea before downloading it. Safari browser now gives a privacy
report of the data tracked by different websites. Safari can also warn you if a
password you are using is not secure.
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| Privacy Improvements (Source : Apple) |
Supported devices:
ios 14 is available for all the devices which supported ios 13. Here is a list of all the devices which are compatible with ios 14.
- iPod touch (7th Generation)
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE (1st Generation)
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd Generation)
