These are the new iOS 14 standout features

There might be no new Apple hardware surprises at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, but the company has introduced a whole bunch of new features for its different platforms. For iOS 14, Apple is playing catch-up with Android with some of the useful features it's introducing to the platform. We're going to do a quick rundown on some notable ones.

App Library

You can consider it a response to the app drawer, but Apple calls it App Library. At the end of your Home Screen pages, there's a section where your apps are automatically arranged in clusters to make it easier to look for apps you need to use. iOS 14 will also let you hide Home Screen pages, so it's easier to get to your App Library. The search bar at the top will cascade all the apps you've installed in alphabetical order. Suggestions group are filled with apps your iPhone thinks you might want to use next. 

Picture-in-picture

If you've been waiting for this feature to arrive, your wait is over. iOS 14 now supports picture-in-picture, allowing you to watch videos or make FaceTime calls while you use other apps.

Translate

Apple is taking on Google with its translation service, which can be used offline if you want to private voice or text translation. It works with 11 languages so far, including English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Arabic.

Conversations

It's now also possible to pin conversation threads to the top of your Messages app to make it easier to access contacts you want to prioritize. There are also now mentions and inline replies for Group messages, which also simplifies how you can view messages you have within Group chats. And you can get notified explicitly for any mentions you get in these chats.

App Clips

App discovery is also being highlighted with the new App Clip, which lets you load a specific task within an app quickly. For example, loading the rental portion for a scooter or filling a parking meter. These can be discovered through a new Apple-designed App Clip code, NFC tags, QR codes, or even shared through Messages or from Safari. But Apple assures that these work all "with the security and privacy expected from apps."

 

Widgets

Apple is introducing new, resizable widgets that you can pin on your Home Screen. The new Smart Stack widgets use on-device intelligence to surface the correct widget based on time, activity, or location.

Siri redesign

Apple calls the new Siri redesign as a compact design, which means it doesn't take up your full screen when you try to pull up Siri. It allows you to stay in context while attempting to get the virtual assistant to answer your queries or perform specific tasks. It can now send audio messages for you as well.

Memoji

If you love Memojis, there are new styles that you can use to customize your avatar, including face masks. There are also new age options as well as three new stickers that depict a hug, fist bump, and blushing.

Improved privacy feature

All apps will now be required to get user permission before tracking. According to Apple, "this includes connecting information collected about a user on an app or website owned by one company with information collected separately by other companies for targeted advertisements, for advertising measurement, or via data brokers."

Later this year, product pages for apps will have developers' summary of its self-reported privacy practices in easy-to-read formats. Users will also be able to upgrade existing accounts to Sign in with Apple. You will also have the option to share your approximate location with app developers instead of your precise location as when granting app location access. There will also be more transparency surrounding an app's use of your phone's mic and camera.

You can check out the automotive/mobility-related updates available in iOS 14 over here, the new iPadOS features over here, and the new watchOS features over here.

Source: Apple