What are the new Apple iOS 14 features showcased at Apple Keynote in Spetember 2020? Our guide outlines iOS 14, which can already be downloaded, and the new functions.
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Top new Apple iOS 14 features
Widgets on the home screen
Finally the home screen on the iPhone can be customized! Until now, widgets could only be found on a separate screen, but now – similar to Android – they can be arranged together with your apps on the home screen. Simply set the position and size of the respective widget and design your very own home screen – for example with the weather report, the battery level or your memories. Particularly useful: You can create intelligent widget stacks that are then displayed at a specific time, location or activity.
The widgets can be added by pressing and holding an empty area on the home screen until the apps start to wobble. Then tap the plus in the top left and search for suitable widgets. Before you add a widget, you can still adjust the size. You can then set the position as desired on the home screen.
To create stacks of widgets, simply drag and drop widgets of the same size on top of each other. You can then switch between the stacked widgets by swiping up and down. To edit the batch, just hold it down until a menu appears.
Organization of apps in the media library
The new app media library is a relief especially for people with a large number of apps. Because the application automatically summarizes your apps on the last page of the home screen, sorted by topic. The media library creates, for example, folders for social networks, entertainment, games or also for frequently used apps. You can set how many pages of the home screen should be displayed.
The media library can be found on the last page of the home screen. All of your apps will be displayed there. If you now want to slim down your home screen, you can simply remove an app there and move it to the library without deleting it.
To remove pages from the home screen overview, simply press and hold the screen until the apps jiggle, then tap on the dots at the bottom that indicate the different pages of the home screen. The pages are then displayed and can be deselected. The apps on the hidden pages are not deleted, but still appear in the media library.
Messages app
Messages can now be pinned to Apple’s messaging app – this function is already known from WhatsApp. A reply function also comes with iOS 14: You can reply to a specific message in groups – also known from WhatsApp. And another feature that has been active in WhatsApp for a long time: In group chats, contacts can now be addressed directly with a link.
Travel guide in “Maps”
Another of the new iOS 14 features is the travel guide function in the map app, which shows tips for shopping, eating or discovering sights for some cities. The travel guides are automatically updated as new places are added. However, there is currently only a travel guide for San Francisco, New York, London and Los Angeles.
App clips
App clips are mini-apps that allow you to try out some features without actually downloading the application. Android users already know this feature under the name “Instant Apps”, with which you can get a quick overview of the functions of an application. You can access the Clips app via special Apple clip codes, QR codes or NFC tags.
An example of an app clip: You would like to jet through the city on an eScooter, but cannot currently find a provider from whom you have installed the app? Then you can now scan a code on the scooter with your smartphone and make the booking without installing the app.
Picture-in-picture
If you play a video, you can now continue to navigate through your iPhone or open another app – because iOS 14 comes with the picture-in-picture function. So the video continues to run even when you start a new application.
You can activate the picture-in-picture function by playing a video in full screen mode and then swiping upwards. Just give it a try with a Netflix video. Many television broadcasters’ media libraries also support the picture-in-picture function. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with the YouTube app and the workaround via YouTube in the Safari browser has apparently been deactivated by Google .
Data protection and transparency
A feature will be introduced in Safari with iOS 14 that will warn you as soon as one of your passwords has been hacked. However, Apple has not revealed exactly how this works.
In addition, the iPhone now warns its users when an app is looking at the smartphone’s clipboard – i.e. cut-out text or images.
Apple is making the tracking of user data more transparent with iOS 14: You now have to explicitly allow apps to access your user data and the developers have to disclose in the App Store which data they want to access.
There is also a new feature for the location services: under “Data protection”> “Location services” you can now set for each app whether the location should be shared precisely or only approximately. To do this, activate or deactivate the corresponding slider.
