5: App Store Policies
Apple has been greatly criticised for its App Store policies,
with developers frustrated at inconsistencies in approving
apps and balking at the 30% commission taken by Apple.
Like Microsoft in the Nineties, Apple is facing probes into
alleged monopolistic practices. In June 2020, the European
Commission opened two antitrust investigations, and cases
are in progress in the US too.
These complaints are nothing new, but the launch of iOS
and iPadOS 14 would’ve been a great opportunity to
overhaul the way Apple runs the App Store, with any
back-end changes needed being made for the release of the
new operating systems. It was an opportunity missed.
6: No Call Recording
A screenshot from a leaked version of iOS 14 implied we
were getting a new Call Recording feature, allowing us to
make recordings of telephone and FaceTime calls. This
would be incredibly useful for saving conversations for later
review. Journalists could record interviews, businesspeople
could agree terms over the phone and type up a contract
later, and more. But the (unofficial) word from Apple is that
this is a feature included on early builds of iOS 14 for
debugging, and won’t be in the final release. Bah!
7: Slow on Older Phones
The new operating systems run on anything that
can run version 13, which is always welcome, but
at the time of writing, the current developer’s
builds run very slowly on older devices. This is only
to be expected and will likely be alleviated when
the final versions of iOS and iPadOS 14 are
released in September, but for now, if you’re using
an iPhone 7, it’s probably wise to avoid the public
betas and wait for the finished release.
8: Missing iPadOS Features
We’re saving this one until last, as it’s possible the situation will change
before the final release in September, but at the moment, iPadOS 14 is
missing a couple of iOS 14’s best features. Developers who download the
early builds of iPadOS 14 won’t find the App Library at the end of their iPads’
home screens, and nor can they take advantage of Home Screen Widgets.
These features, lauded on the iPhone, simply aren’t there.
This seems a very strange omission. Handy widgets in various sizes and
places would be just as advantageous on the tablet as on the smart phone,
as would the chance to organise them in a better way with App Library. We
hope future builds of iOS 14 will include these features.
AppleUserMAGAZINE
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(Antfer)
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