We’ll never love unexpected calls, but at
least they don’t steal your screen.
OTHER
CHANGES
Besides adding new features,
Apple has done some tidying
up and polishing all round iOS.
Incoming phone calls and
FaceTime calls no longer take
over the whole screen, instead
appearing as a banner that you
can accept or decline without
losing sight of what you’re doing.
You can now set a non–Apple
web browser or email app as
your default, though the same
courtesy isn’t extended to Maps.
iOS 14’s Camera app promises
faster startup and shooting even
with existing hardware, and at
last you can lock focus and
exposure separately without
resorting to a third–party app.
The Photos app also offers more
sorting and filtering tools.
ARKit 4 enables new features
in augmented reality apps, while
Game Center and Apple Arcade
are redesigned. And there are
new audio enhancement and
organization tools in Voice
Memos, which we can only hope
means it’s harder to fail to save
your recordings.AIRPODS UPDATE
Your AirPods or AirPods Pro will
sound better and do more with new
features in iOS 14. In fact, the amount
of attention Apple’s paid to AirPods
in this update suggests it’s keen to
promote them as an integral part of
the iPhone experience, lending
weight to rumors that the basic
EarPods might no longer be included
as standard with future models. But
it’s not just about the iPhone: AirPods
will now switch automatically
between the Apple devices you’ve
paired them with, so when you Ľnish
a call on your iPhone and start a video
on your iPad, you hear its soundtrack.
When your AirPods need charging,
you’ll get an alert, whether you’re
using them or not. Headphone
Accommodations tune your AirPods
to your hearing, and spatial audio
delivers surround sound with head
tracking. Some features require
second-gen AirPods or AirPods Pro,
while others also work with Beats:
see bit.ly/ios14prevairpods.APP CLIPS
A brand new idea in iOS 14 (though
familiar to Android users as Instant
Apps), App Clips bridge the gap between
the effort of installing an app and the
desire to do something immediately.
Ever parked somewhere different or
spotted a new bike rental stand, only to
find it needs an app you haven’t used
before? Now an NFC tag, QR code, Maps
card, iMessage or Safari link can take you
to a tiny (under 10MB) version of the app
that downloads in a couple of seconds
and does what you need — ideally using
Sign in with Apple and/or Apple Pay to
further minimize fuss. Later, you can
find the App Clip in your App Library
and get the full version if you need it.APP LIBRARY
iPhones have lots of storage. Most apps
are free. Thus you tend to have loads of
apps on them. iOS 14’s App Library is an
extra Home screen that sorts them all
into folders, like the ones you create by
dragging apps onto each other in what
Craig Federighi regrettably called “jiggly
mode.” But here they’re in a scrolling
format that never runs out of space.
Suggestions and Recently Added
folders keep tabs on what you’re likely
to be looking for, and you can search
exclusively for apps, which seems like a
pretty useful feature to us. Thankfully,
you can still organize apps manually
across multiple Home screens if you
prefer to have a little more control.
Image rights: Apple.
Hands–on: iOS 14 & iPadOS 14
maclife.com SEP 2020 25