Apple has announced today that iOS 14 will be released to users tomorrow on September 16, bringing the biggest refresh ever to the Home Screen, including redesigned widgets, an App Library that automatically organizes all of a user’s apps into one simple view, several enhancements to Messages, new App Clips, and more.
The update will be available for all devices that run iOS 13, including the iPhone 11, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, and iPhone 6s, as well as both the 1st and 2nd generation iPhone SE and iPod touch (7th generation).
With iOS 14, new widgets present timely information at a glance and can be pinned in different sizes on any Home Screen page. Users can create a Smart Stack of widgets, which uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget based on time, location, and activity.
Image: Apple
Home Screen pages can display widgets that are customised for work, travel, sports, entertainment, and other areas of interest. At the end of the Home Screen pages is the App Library, a new space that automatically organises all of a user’s apps into one simple, easy-to-navigate view, and surfaces apps that may be helpful at the moment. Users can choose how many Home Screen pages to display and hide pages for quick access to the App Library.
Now, incoming FaceTime and phone calls and Siri interactions take on an all-new compact design that enables users to stay in the context of what they are doing. With Picture-in-Picture support, iPhone users can watch a video or make a FaceTime call while using another app.
Messages have received a significant update. Users can pin conversations to the top of their messages list, manage lively group threads through mentions and inline replies, and further customise conversations by setting a group photo using an image or emoji. New Memoji options in Messages include additional hairstyles, headwear, face coverings, and more.
Maps now offers electric vehicle (EV) routing that shows charging stops along a planned route based on current vehicle charge and charger types, and Cycling directions take into account elevation, how busy a street is, and whether there are stairs along the route.
Image: Apple
An all-new feature with iOS 14 is App Clips. An App Clip is a small part of an app experience designed to be found the moment it is needed. App Clips are associated with a particular product or business and load within seconds to complete a specific task, such as renting a scooter, purchasing a coffee, or filling a parking meter.
They can be discovered and accessed by scanning a new Apple-designed App Clip code, or through NFC tags and QR codes, or shared in Messages or from Safari.
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