Apple unveiled iOS 14 – its major update to the operating system that powers the iPhone. It has been reported that the company has focused more on stability and performance with this update compared to new features. Nonetheless, this update also packs new features as well.
The major new addition to iOS with the new update is widgets. Users can now place widgets on the home screen alongside the app icons. Android has had this feature for years but Apple’s implementation is a little richer – nicer looking.
The widgets kind of also look like the tiles from Windows Phone. iOS 14 will allow users to select a widget for an app from three different sizes similar to the resizing option on Windows Phone. However, iOS does not allow resizing of the widget on the go; users will have to remove the current and go back to the widget drawer to pull the different sized widget.
Apple is also bringing smart stack – a collection of widgets in a single widget. Users can select all the widgets that should be in the stack and then can swipe through each and every gesture. The smart stack can also be set to intelligently show the right information based on time.
The other major visual change or addition in iOS 14 is App Library. Similar to Android’s app drawer, users will now have a seperate section with all the installed apps along with curated lists. The App Library in iOS 14 lives at the end of the home screen pages and users can also now hide any of the pages they do not want to be seen all the time.
Calls in iOS 14 will now be non-obtrusive compared to the current iOS version which takes over the whole screen when somebody calls. iOS 14 will instead show a mini notification on top with accept or decline options.