The Top 10 Updates Coming To iOS14
With the latest Apple event showcasing Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone, iOS 14, here I will be going through the ten best features coming with the new update.
1.Widgets — One feature many people were sceptical about ever coming to the iPhone was on-screen widgets. Apple sort of introduced them on the iPad, although you were not able to move them around wherever you want or even choose their size. On the iPhone, you will be able to place widgets wherever you want on your screen and you can choose the size. Apple also added a new feature called the smart stack. This is where your iPhone knows what widget will be most useful to you depending on the time and day of the week. So for example, in the morning it might show your calendar and then in the evening switch to your activity levels for the day. You can swipe through the swipe stack to find another widget.
2. App Library — With so many apps to choose from in the app store the different pages on our iPhones often get clogged up with so many apps that you can lose track of where things are. This problem will also get worse if people start adding lots of widgets. To manage this Apple have designed the App Library which is similar to the App Drawer found on Android devices. To access the app library all you need to do is swipe left from the main page and you will get a list of all of the folders with all of your apps that are split up into different categories. To make it even easier to find what you are looking for, you can search, use the recently added folder or the suggestions folder.
3. Fixed calls — This is probably one of the best and most anticipated features. When you are receiving a call or facetime on an iPhone or iPad, the page that you are using gets completely blocked up until you either answer the call or wait for it to decline. Instead of this happening, any sort of phone calls, even from third-party apps, can appear as a notification pop up. This will allow users to easily answer the call or choose to swipe it away and carry on doing whatever they were doing.
4. Translate app — Although it seems the same as Google Translate, it looks like the new Translate App could be a very useful app that many people will use. The app will only support eleven languages at first although more will be added later. The supported languages include English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Japanese and Korean. The app will allow you to have accurate conversations in these languages. Once you ask to translate something, you instantly get back the text and audio right away. When you put your phone in landscape you enter conversation mode to make it easier for people to have conversations. The app will work offline.
5. App clips — An App Clip is a small part of an app that is light and fast which lets you get what you need, right when you need it. For example, when you need to pay for parking somewhere, you simply scan the app click and pay for it there and then without much hassle. App Clips supports Apple Pay and Sign In With Apple. You can use the new App Library to access your recently used App Clips. For smaller shops and business that partner with bigger ones like Yelp will also be able to take advantage of app clips if they do not have their own app.
6. Siri — Siri is not the smartest of assistants with Alexa and Google able to do much more. To fix this problem Siri will be getting a lot better. Apple have said that Siri will now know 20 times more facts with web answers being significantly improved. Siri will also now be able to send audio messages. As well as becoming a whole lot smarter, Siri will see a whole design change as well. It will no longer take up the entire screen allowing you to see whatever you were looking whilst getting help from Siri, although you will not be able to interact with the display. It will appear as a little circle card on the bottom of the screen.
8. Car key and CarPlay — CarPlay will be getting new wallpapers. Parking, EV charging and quick food ordering apps are coming to CarPlay. You will also now be able to unlock and start your car from your iPhone. The first car getting support for this will be the 2021 BWM 5 Series. It works through NFC, you just tap the car door and open. Once your in, place your phone on the charging mat and push the start button. If you lose your car keys you can disable them from iCloud. You can share your keys with someone through iMessage.
9. Maps — Apple Maps has previously been updated with Apple’s new map in the USA. Now it is coming to three new countries: the UK, Ireland and Canada. Apple is partnering with some of the most trusted brands to bring guides to people so they can discover new places around the cities they visit. You can save guides to easily access them. They will regularly be updated. It is now more and more important to be environmentally friendly and lower your carbon footprint. This will be made much easier in the new Apple Maps with more walking and public transport options. Maps will be getting a dedicated cycling option with better cycle routes and it will inform you of elevation. The app will also give you crucial information like steep passages coming up if you will need to climb stairs. This is limited to a couple of cities in the US and China although Apple has said it is coming to more cities in the coming months. EV Routing will track your cars battery level and factor in charging into your maps. They are working with BMW and Ford with more coming soon. Congestion and green zones will also be included. In China, you can store your licence plate numbers.
10. Messages — Conversations can now be pinned at the top to make the conversations that are most important to you, easy to find. Memoji is getting more features which include over twenty new hairstyles, face coverings, new age options and three new Memoji stickers. Group texts are going to be much easier to use with inline replies. You can also start a thread to make a particular conversation easier to read and understand. Mentions have been introduced to make it easy to state who you are talking to. There is also the ability to only receive notifications when you are mentioned. You can also customise the group logo.
