During the 15th September 2020 Apple Meet, the tech giant seeded the GM versions of the upcoming updates of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 for registered developers to test. Two months back, the new software was unveiled at the WWDC keynote, and last week they seeded the eighth betas of the updates. If you are a registered developer, you can download the beta iOS 14 updates after you install your profile from the Apple Developer Center.
With the Apple iOS 14 update, iPhones will have a redesigned view of the Home Screen with special support for widgets. That’s a first for iPhones! The redesigned can be customized in 3 different sizes in the widgets gallery too.
The App Library will show you all the apps installed under the same roof and you get 2 views now: icons and a list in alphabetical order. Finally, the Home Screen will have a fresh and clean look. Yay for the minimalist iPhone lovers!
iOS 14 Update: Facetime and Calls
One of the most requested features is now coming live with the iOS 14 update. Previously if you got an incoming call, it would take up the whole screen of your iPad or iPhone display. But not anymore. Not just your calls, even calling Siri won’t take up your whole screen space. All of them will be minimized. With the iOS 14 update on Apple devices, Siri will be smarter too. You can now send audio messages and run dictation too. Those who like to multitask have something waiting for them with the iOS 14 update as well. The Picture in Picture mode will allow you to open other apps while using FaceTime or watching videos.
iOS 14 and Other Updates
With the App Clips option, you can try out some features of apps without having to actually download the app. App Clips can be scanned from NFC tags, QR codes, and the App Clip Codes designed by Apple.
With the Message app, important conversations can be pinned. For group chats, @mentions will be available and you can use inline replies to keep the chats more organized. New emojis are introduced this time and you can even assign memojis, emojis, and photos as icons for your group chats.
Inside the Maps app, cycling directions will be available with the iOS 14 update. The directions will incorporate elevation, the traffic flow, and signs for stairs. If you own an electric vehicle, the new ios 14 developer beta update in the Maps app will also show you routes that have EV charging stops.
With the Apple iOS 14 beta update comes a translation app that will provide voice and text translations for 11 languages. New privacy protections have also been put in place.
Improved Security with iOS 14 beta
Developers will now need to obtain user permission before they can access devices on local networks. Their access to photos will be limited and instead of exact locations of the devices, they will get approx locations now. A Privacy Report will be available on Safari that lets you check sites with trackers. If your camera and microphone are running in some app in the background, icons on your Home Screen will notify you about that.
With the iOS 14 updates also comes new AirPods capabilities. You can also set third-party browsers and mail apps as the default. That’s another first for the Apple update.
For now, the beta version of iOS 14 is available to developers. And the ios 14 release date is tomorrow in all probabilities.
