At Apple’s WWDC 2020 occasion, the tech giant lifted the lid on iOS 14, which is expected to be fully established in September alongside the iPhone 12 range. However, you don’t need to wait till then to get your hands on itas there’s a beta version available.
The upgrade makes some huge changes to a few of the mobile platform’s trademark features, which is very likely to find plenty of folks excited. Between brand new widgets, translation programs, and a new, streamlined look for Siri, there’s plenty to get stuck into.
We’ve been spending some time together with the very first public beta, and have put together this useful collection of tricks to get you started – be sure to let us know if we have missed any.
1- Add a widget or two
Widgets technically aren’t new for iOS, but iOS 14 sees them make the leap from the today view on your leftmost house screen for your phone’s most important home screens where they can live alongside your apps.
Each of the widgets are put to present clear information with a quick glimpse, so whether it’s checking in on your Task rings, assessing the battery left in your AirPods, or obtaining commonly-used files, this attribute is very long overdue.
That said, third party programs are very likely to form a lot of the excitement around the machine, so we look forward to potential widgets in the likes of Spotify, for example.
To add a widget, just long press on your home screen, and tap the’+’ icon at the top left corner to have the ability to decide on a widget, then select which form you’d prefer it to be, prior to dropping it on your home screen.
2- Insert or remove home screens
Speaking of home screens, there is nothing really like condensing your program collection into one pane. That’s not always possible though, and so Apple is now allowing users to essentially hide pages of their home display.
This also hides the apps on those pages, but do not worry, it does not uninstall them – it simply adds them to the App Library (which we will get onto shortly).
Extended press on your home screen to input’jiggle mode’, and then tap on the dots over the dock which show how many screens you will find. From there, you can just toggle them on or off.
3- Check out the new App Library
If you’re searching for a particular program that has been on one of the concealed home screens, you do not need to unhide and re-hide once you’ve opened it.
Swiping across into the right opens the App Library, a fresh method of curating your apps into categories. From that point, you can launch any of the programs that have a large icon with a single tap, or start a category by tapping the square of four smaller icons, and from there you will have one-tap accessibility to each of the apps within.
4- Try the new translate program
Apple’s new Translate app is a handy new addition that offers on-device translation – meaning it does not need to be connected to the world wide web to be able to operate (perfect if you’ve place your device on plane mode or disabled data to prevent roaming fees ).
Simply input your chosen phrase, define your desired speech, and voila, your translated phrase will look.
5- Translate a web page in Safari
While this isn’t now available in beta, then you will quickly be able to translate entire web pages in Safari with two taps.
Find the site that you need to translate, then tap on the’AA’ button to the left of this search bar. In case the website is supported, it is going to give the chance to translate.
6- Prevent full-screen calls
Despite all the things that they could do, iPhones are, at the close of the day, phones. Unfortunately, if someone calls you in iOS 13 or sooner, your entire phone becomes unusable until you answer, or they stop ringing.
Thankfully, iOS 14 provides a much-requested redesign for telephone calls that are obtained while using your phone. Instead of a full-screen telephone, you’ll find a drop-down box with options to accept or reject a call, which is much more useful.
7- Use image in picture mode
It’s not only voice calls that are obtaining a change either, with FaceTime calls today much less intrusive, also. You can simply return to your own home screen whilst on a call to have your phone continue your video conversation in a little picture in picture’ frame.
This also works with programs such as Netflix, which means that you may catch season two of Umbrella Academy while firing off texts. Regrettably, YouTube doesn’t support the attribute yet. While that could change, it might take away a large reason to own YouTube Premium – so it is unlikely.
8- Pin conversations
The Messages app has seen big changes in the past couple of years, but this one is most welcome. If you would like to ensure messages from the significant other, family member or boss are always available, you can now pin discussions to the peak of the screen.
Doing so is easy – simply press and hold on a dialog, then pick’pin’. This will separate the dialog from the inbox entirely, allowing you to keep tabs on the most important people in your life.
9- Reply to a single individual in a group conversation
Messages are also finally getting inline replies, meaning you can react to a particular message in a thread.
Just press and hold the message in question, and then tap to answer. You’ll have the ability to respond directly, before returning to the text series.
10- Give your Memoji a new look
Memoji is becoming more and more ubiquitous, and they’re about to get even more customizable, too.
Your electronic avatar can wear face coverings, and they can also be obsolete. That’s handy because group messages currently add Memoji into the conversation icon.
11- Plan a bicycle trip
Cycling instructions have come to Apple Maps, but only in supported locations. Still, once your destination is chosen and you have selected pedals over petrol, you’ll be able to determine of staircases, check elevation, and also see how much of your path is shared with pedestrians.
12- Enjoy a selection of recommended places to See
Apple Maps’ other new big trick this year is the newest Guides, which provide curated tips for things to do in your location of choice. It could show you the very best pizza places in NYC, or take you into the best bars in London.
They’ll be upgraded over time, too, and you can save manuals to return to them later.
13- Check out Siri’s facelift
It feels odd to say about a digital assistant, but we adore Siri’s new appearance. Rather than taking up the whole screen, it now appears as a little orb at the base of your display when triggered.
As soon as you’ve submitted your request, Siri’s response will appear on peak of the display. The electronic assistant can also be smarter than previously, and now ready to locate answers using the web and resources such as Wikipedia.
14- Order food With CarPlay
Okay, this one is a tiny market, but CarPlay has been enlarged to allow additional types of app. If you have got an electric car, as an example, you’ll be able to access an app for charging, as well as parking apps.
Obviously, the real power play is to order food straight from your car so you may pick it up on the way through. What a time to be alive, eh?
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