iOS 14 is here, and it brings a bunch of useful new features to your iPhone. We'll show you some of our favorites and how to use them.
After you are iOS 14 installed on your iPhone, you might be wondering where to start? Well, you're in for a treat! Apple's new update contains a set of fresh features that will change the way you use your phone for the better! In many ways, this is Apple's most ambitious "facelift" in recent years!
From improvements to iMessage and a handy “Android” app section, to home screen widgets, there are tons of new features you can start using right away! If you haven't updated your phone yet, take some time to prepare your iPhone for the new update. Then take a quick look at what our favorite functions are in the iOS 14 and how to use them!
1. Tag someone in a conversation
Apple's updates to iMessage are primarily focused on group conversations. So you can tag someone in a conversation when you want their attention and reply directly to a message by creating a series of conversations within the main conversation. This makes it more likely that the person will respond in a timely manner.
Marking is perfect simply. Just write in the chat @ symbol, followed by the name. To reply to a specific message, hold the message a little longer and select "Reply".
2. Pin the conversation to the top of messages
Pinning a conversation to the top of iMessage means you don't have to scroll through a long list of contacts and group conversations to get to your favorite contact. This is especially useful if you have a group, such as a family chat or friend chat, that you communicate with every day, or if you are planning a longer-term event.
You can pin a contact or conversation to the top of your conversation list by long hold the conversation and select the icon with the word Pin next to it.
3. Apple now has its own translation app
Instead of using Google Translate on your iPhone, you can now v iOS 14 you use your own Translate app, which allows you to convert text and even have conversations with someone who speaks your foreign language. You can translate English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Portuguese and Russian.
When you open the app, you have two options. You can just type the word or phrase you want to translate, or you can tap microphone icon at the bottom of the screen to use the voice-to-text feature. When you're done, the app will translate what you said into the language you selected. This is especially useful if you want to ask someone a quick question or hear the pronunciation.
To continue voice-to-text, turn the phone over in landscape mode and tap on the same microphone icon – you don't need to press or hold it.
4. A more organized home screen with an app library
Have you ever wished your iPhone had a section or “drawer” for apps like Android does? Well, now he has it. It's called App Library.
The app library is a new screen that lives to the right of your home screen. All apps on your phone automatically arranges into folders according to application category. The purpose of this feature is to make it easier for you to find apps installed on your iPhone. It goes hand-in-hand with another new feature on the home screen, which allows you to hide those application pages that you rarely use.
Use the app library when you want to open an app that isn't on the home screen. To get to it, swipe from right to left to get past the last home screen. Search for the desired application icon in the automatically organized folders, or with search bar at the top of the screen search for an app by name if you're not sure where it's located. At the top of the App Library screen, you'll also find two folders: Suggestions and Recently Added. Both will automatically update and adjust the apps in the folders based on how often you use them and what you've installed recently.
5. Gadgets have a new look and home
You no longer have to envy your friends who use Android. The iPhone has an operating system iOS 14 can now widgets on the home screen as well.
Instead of widgets being limited to the Today View, which lives on the left side of your home screen, you can now add widgets directly to the screen with the option of different sizes. There's even a utility Smart Stack, which shows you information from multiple apps when it thinks you need it. So, for example, it can show you the weather on the calendar when you wake up in the morning, and in the afternoon, when you go for a walk with the dog, this gadget turns into an activity tracker, for example.
You can find your widgets in Today View, to the left of your home screen. But it can be an accessory drag from Today View to the Home screen. While editing a widget layout, you can tap the plus sign in the upper left corner of the screen to open the widget gallery and see which widgets you can add to your device. You can pin them to your home screen and customize them to your liking.
6. Picture in Picture is a handy tool that you will simply love
The iPad has been playing video in picture-in-picture mode for several years now, and now the feature is finally coming to the iPhone.
Picture-in-picture creates a thumbnail video that plays even when you're in another app or on another screen. Appears when you want to switch to other phone functions but don't want to stop the video.
Whenever you watch a video in a supported application such as Twitch, and swipe back to the home screen, it will continued playing the video in a smaller window. You can drag the picture-in-picture around the screen, adjust its size, and even temporarily hide it from the screen. When you're done, tap X to close the video. Oh, and let's not forget – picture-in-picture also works with FaceTime video calls and other apps.
More news from this year's September Apple presentation can be found at this link.
