[fb-exchange] iOS 14

From: "Dominique Farrell" <dominiqueafarrell@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <iphone_newbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2020 22:49:38 +0100

By  <https://9to5mac.com/author/michaelpotuck/> Michael Potuck

Apple has officially
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/16/best-ios-14-features-release/> released its
latest software for iPhone with iOS 14 today. While there is a range of
compelling new features like home screen widgets, picture in picture
support, new compact call interface, redesigned Siri, and much more, is it
actually best to hold off on installing it for now? Read on as we consider
whether or not you should upgrade to iOS 14.

With the new
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/22/how-to-use-iphone-home-screen-widgets-ios-14
/> home screen widgets marking the biggest change to iOS' user interface
since it was introduced over ten years ago along with a host of other
long-awaited features like a compact call interface, Siri UI that doesn't
take over your whole screen, and more, it's certainly tempting to install
iOS 14 as soon as possible.

Critical or important apps?

However, there are a few things to consider before upgrading. First, if you
have any apps that are critical, check in with the developer to see what
they're saying about iOS 14. If you can't find any information on the
compatibility of specific apps with iOS 14, the safest move is to hold off
on installing the iOS upgrade for now.

Notably, while Apple often gives a week's notice or so to developers at its
September event before the public release, this year it surprised many as it
announced iOS 14 would roll out the day after the Time Flies event. That's
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/16/developers-frustrated-at-just-one-days-notic
e-of-ios-ipados-and-watchos-rollout/> frustrated developers and some won't
be able to ship their apps with the launch of the new system update.

We've also seen issues with specific apps during the beta period, for
example if Pokemon Go is an important app to you, you'll probably want to
hold off on upgrading to iOS 14. Developer Niantic
<https://twitter.com/NianticHelp/status/1306052356711223297> shared a tweet
last night that said it fixed the issues, but some are reportedly
<https://twitter.com/ParkerOrtolani/status/1306280768197582850> still seeing
problems.

Bugs and performance issues

All in all, iOS 14 has been relatively stable and hasn't seen many bugs or
performance issues during the beta period. However, if you're wanting to
play it safe, it could be worth waiting a few days or up to a week or so
before installing iOS 14. Last year with iOS 13,
<https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/24/best-ios-13-1-features/> Apple released both
iOS 13.1 and iOS 13.1.1 within just 8 days. The latter fixed a
<https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/27/apple-releases-ios-13-1-1-with-fixes-for-bat
tery-drain-siri-iphone-restores/> battery drain issue, Siri bug, and flaw
that prevented restoring from a backup.

Wrap-up

iOS 14 is definitely a great update but if you have any concerns about
important apps that you absolutely need to work or feel like you'd rather
skip any potential early bugs or performance issues, waiting a week or so
before installing it is your best bet to make sure all is clear.

However, if you're eager to try out all the new features and changes and
don't really have any critical apps and don't mind potential bugs and early
problems, go for it. Just be sure to make a fresh backup of your iPhone or
iPad first.  To check for iOS 14 when available head to Settings > General >
Software Update.

<https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/16/best-ios-14-features-release/> iOS 14 is
now available; these are the 14 best features

By  <https://9to5mac.com/author/chmiller44/> Chance Miller

After three months of beta testing, Apple officially
<https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/09/ios-14-is-available-today/> released
iOS 14 to the public today. Today's update includes a variety of new
features, including widgets on the Home screen, an all-new App Library, and
much more. Read on as we round up the 14 best features in iOS 14 this year.

Does your iPhone support iOS 14 features?

First and foremost, here are the details on which iPhone models are
supported by iOS 14. Apple says iOS 14 can run on the iPhone 6s and later,
which is the exact same as iOS 13. This means that any iPhone supported by
iOS 13 is also supported by iOS 14.

Find the full list of devices
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/22/iphones-supported-by-ios-14/> supported by
iOS 14 right here.

Home screen widgets

iOS 14 is the first version of iOS to support adding widgets directly to
your Home screen. This means that the iconic grid of icons can officially be
switched up to include widgets for first-party Apple applications and
third-party developers.

You can also add a Smart Stack of multiple widgets to your Home screen, and
iOS 14 will use on-device intelligence to surface the right widget based on
time, location, and activity. Built-in iOS 14 widgets include:

*       Batteries
*       Calendar
*       Clock
*       Files
*       Fitness
*       Maps
*       Music
*       News
*       Notes
*       Photos
*       Podcasts
*       Reminders
*       Screen Time
*       Shortcuts
*       Siri Suggestions
*       Stocks
*       TV
*       Tips
*       Weather

Learn more about how to
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/22/how-to-use-iphone-home-screen-widgets-ios-14
/> use iOS 14 widgets in our detailed guide here. A variety of third-party
applications are also adding Home screen widgets. We'll have more details on
those updates throughout the rest of the month.

App Library

In conjunction with the new Home screen widgets, iOS 14 also includes an
all-new App Library. Apple describes the App Library as a new Home page
screen that "organizes all of a user's apps into one simple,
easy-to-navigate view, and intelligently surfaces apps that are helpful in
the moment."

Essentially, this means that you no longer have to keep all of your
applications on your iPhone's Home screen. Instead, you can delete apps from
your Home screen but keep them in the App Library for when you might need to
access them. You can also hide Home screen pages in iOS 14 as well.

Picture-in-Picture

One of the best iPadOS features is finally making its way to the iPhone this
year thanks to iOS 14: Picture-in-Picture video support. This means you can
watch video from a variety of applications on your iPhone while you navigate
throughout iOS 14.

Picture-in-Picture support also extends to FaceTime calls, so you can stay
in a FaceTime call while using other applications. The video simply floats
to the corner of your iPhone.

YouTube 4K support

Thanks to iOS 14 enhancements, the YouTube app now supports 4K playback for
the first time. To access this feature, open the YouTube app on your iPhone,
start playing a video, choose the "More" icon in the upper-right corner, tap
"Quality," and choose 2160p.

Learn more about
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/27/how-to-watch-4k-youtube-iphone-ipad-apple-tv
/> 4K YouTube support in iOS 14 here.

Compact Siri and Phone interfaces

With iOS 14, incoming phone calls will no longer take over your iPhone's
entire display. Instead, a small incoming call bar will appear at the top of
iOS, allowing you to easily accept or reject the call without missing out on
anything else. It's a small change, but one that has been on many iOS
wishlists for years.

Siri has also gotten a complete redesign in iOS 14. This means that
activating Siri no longer overtakes your iPhone's entire display. Instead, a
small Siri interface will appear along the bottom of your iPhone's display.
Unfortunately, you can't interact with the rest of iOS 14 while the Siri
interface is on-screen.

Change default browser and email apps

Even though Apple isn't heavily promoting this year, iOS 14 also brings
support for changing the default email and browser applications. This means
you can set a third-party app such
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/11/ios-14-iphone-google-chrome-default-browser/

as Google Chrome as your default web browser, and all links will open in

Chrome by default.

You can also set third-party email apps such as Gmail as your default email
client, and all mail:to links will automatically open in that app instead of
Apple's Mail app. Note that these features require adoption by third-party
apps, so not all email and browser apps will be supported from day one.

App Clips

One of the biggest features in iOS 14 is something Apple calls App Clips.
Essentially, Apple bills this as a way to download parts of an application
at the moment they need it, without downloading the full application.

For example, a parking application such as ParkWhiz could offer an App Clip
that allows you to quickly find and pay for parking without downloading the
full ParkWhiz app from the App Store. Apple says that App Clips can be
discovered and accessed by scanning a new Apple-designed App Clip code, or
through NFC tags and QR codes, or shared in Messages or from Safari.

Again, third-party apps will have to adopt App Clips, so it might take some
time until you see a prevalence of use cases for App Clips in the wild.

Accessibility features

Apple touts that iOS 14 also includes a variety of Accessibility
improvements, including the popular Back Tap feature that allows users to
trigger gestures, Shortcuts, and Accessibility controls by tapping the back
of their iPhone.

Back Tap, which offers a quick new way to trigger gestures, tasks, and
accessibility shortcuts, sign language detection in Group FaceTime, and
Sound Recognition, which uses on-device intelligence to notify users when
the sound of a fire alarm or doorbell is detected. VoiceOver, the industry's
leading screen reader for the blind community, now automatically recognizes
what is displayed visually onscreen so more apps and web experiences are
accessible to more people.

Emoji search

Another simple but long-awaited feature has made its way to iOS 14 this
year: support for searching the incredibly vast collection of emoji. To
search for the exact emoji you're looking for, simply open the emoji picker
from the iOS keyboard and you'll see a brand new search field.

Maps app updates

iOS 14 also brings new features to the Maps application. Apple says that
Maps now makes it easier than ever to "navigate and explore with new cycling
directions, electric vehicle routing, and curated Guides."

Apple explains:

Cycling directions take into account elevation, how busy a street is, and
whether there are stairs along the route. Electric vehicle routing adds
charging stops along a planned route based on current vehicle charge and
charger types. Guides provide a curated list of interesting places to visit
in a city, created by a selection of trusted resources.

New Messages app features

The Messages app is getting a notable overhaul with iOS 14. One of the
biggest changes in Messages is the ability to pin threads and conversations
to the top of the messages list. This includes one-on-one conversations as
well as groups for quick access.

Other enhancements to the Messages app in iOS 14: @ mentions in group chats,
setting a group photo, new Memoji options, and threading replies.

Privacy

Privacy is a tentpole of iOS 14 like it is for every modern iOS update. Here
are the highlights of iOS 14's new privacy features:

*       Users can choose to share their approximate location with app
developers rather than their precise location when granting an app location
access
*       Developers can now offer users the option to upgrade their existing
accounts to Sign in with Apple
*       New status bar indicator when app uses the microphone and camera
*       Later this year, App Store product pages will feature summaries of
developers' self-reported privacy practices, displayed in a simple,
easy-to-read format
*       Starting early next year, all apps will be required to obtain user
permission before tracking

New AirPods features

iOS 14 also enables two new features for AirPods users: spatial audio and
automatic device switching.

The spatial audio feature is exclusive to AirPods Pro, and the toggle is
accessible via Control Center when your AirPods Pro are connected. Apple
says that spatial audio is an immersive experience using directional audio
filters to "play sounds virtually anywhere in space, creating an immersive
sound experience." This will put surround channels exactly in the right
spot, even as you turn your head or move your device.

Meanwhile, automatic device switching will allow your AirPods or AirPods to
switch between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple Watch paired to
the same iCloud account.

Translate app

Finally, iOS 14 brings an all-new built-in application called Translate.
Apple says that Translate is designed for conversations across 11 different
languages with features including conversation mode and offline mode:

Translate is designed to be the best and easiest app for translating
conversations, offering quick and natural translation of voice and text
among 11 different languages. On-device mode allows users to experience the
features of the app offline for private voice and text translation

iOS 14 wrap up

iOS 14 is a major update to the iPhone, and the features outlined here are
only the beginning. To update your iPhone to iOS 14, simply open the
Settings app, choose General, then choose Software Update.

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[fb-exchange] iOS 14

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