If you own an iPhone, you’ve probably been hearing all the buzz about the upcoming iOS 14. The newest in Apple’s proprietary operating systems promises a whole host of updates to improve your user experience. The final version will be made available to Apple users sometime this fall. Can’t wait that long? Don’t worry, the tech giant has recently made the beta version of iOS 14 available to the public. This includes an early peek at all the new features Apple plans to introduce.
This blog discusses some of the best features that make the new OS as appealing as the internet offers in Arkansas, but in a different way.
#1 Tag People in iMessages
Many people call the iMessage app an alternative to WhatsApp for people who aren’t broke. Classist jokes aside, iMessage is certainly a great app to have. It ensures end-to-end encryption, protecting your privacy as you instantly text friends and family. Since it is one of the most-used apps on the iPhone, it makes sense that Apple wants to tweak and improve it in iOS 14. One of the newest features allows users to tag people in their iMessage conversations. This can be useful both in large messaging groups like your family chat or your friends’ banter group, ensuring the person the message is intended for can see it.
In the beta version, a simple “@” preceding the name of the person is enough to tag them. To reply to a specific message, you can long-press on it for the inline reply option.
#2: Pin Favorite Contacts to Top of iMessages
Let’s just admit the truth. We can have thousands of Instagram and Snapchat followers, but the group of people we actually talk to remains small. You likely have a small group of people, including friends and family, that you enjoy talking to the most. However, with most older iOS versions, you have to manually scroll through your conversations to arrive at your favorite one. This has prompted Apple to address the problem, and now we are getting a new iMessage feature that allows us to pin our favorite conversations and contacts to the top of the app. All you have to do is simply swipe across a thread in iMessage.
#3: Apple’s Native Translate App
“Wait, didn’t Apple already have language translation functions?”, you ask. You’re right, but the previous OS versions have primarily relied on Google Translate to help users communicate in different languages. Apple’s Translate App doesn’t just convert text into a selected language, it can help you hold conversations in real-time with non-English speakers. The Translate App can work its magic both on text input as well as voice. Using your iPhone in landscape mode will help you hold a conversation with real-time translations.
#4: Android-Like App Gallery
Apple taking a page out of Android’s book doesn’t happen very often. But in this case, we are glad it did. If you’re an app fiend with tons of apps for just about everything, you can understand how cluttered your screen can look. Most people use only a few apps on a daily basis, the rest aren’t used as regularly. iOS 14 doesn’t just tidy up your screen by hiding pages with apps that aren’t frequently used. It also comes with an app gallery called App Library, that helps you organize your apps more efficiently. App Library is any other app drawer, except that it automatically organizes apps into easy-to-navigate folders. Never waste time looking for that fitness app again.
#5: Redesigned Feature-Rich Widgets
Widgets have been the domain of Android devices for far too long. iPhones also have a widget function with older OS versions. But they are limited to the Today View page to the left of your home screen. However, the new iOS 14 promises to change that. You can now have multiple-sized widgets directly on your home screen. As always, Apple has gone several steps beyond and come up with a widget called Smart Stack. This single widget displays widgets from different apps, like your calendar and weather apps. Overall, it makes for a vastly different experience from previous iOS versions.
#6: Picture-In-Picture Window for the iPhone
Many people often make the mistake of thinking Apple doesn’t have a windowed or picture-in-picture mode. This is only about half true since the iPad lets you play a video in windowed mode.
However, with iOS 14, this feature is coming to iPhones as well. The windowed mode creates a thumbnail that continues to play content even when you’re switching through other apps. That means you can continue to watch content on TV apps that come with many affordable TV essentials packages, even when sharing memes in iMessage groups or playing a game. You’ll never have any issues cycling between apps when getting your entertainment needs to be met.
