Apple Launches iOS 14 With Next-gen Tools For COVID-19 Times

New Delhi: Apple kicked off its annual developer conference WWDC20 with a call to address racism and the Black Lives Matter movement, along with mega updates in the company’s ecosystem by launching iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and WatchOS7 and MacOS, among others. Also Read – George Floyd Protests: Apple Updates Siri to Show Support For ‘Black Lives Matter’

Apple CEO addressed the audience about the importance of “being a force for change” amid these difficult times. He also talked about COVID-19 by lauding the efforts of the frontline health workers. Also Read – 27-Year-Old Indian Developer Finds ‘Sign in With Apple’ Bug, Paid Over Rs 75 Lakh For His Discovery

iOS 14: What’s new? Also Read – Apple Fixes Bug That Stopped Some iOS Apps From Opening

One of the most visual changes in the latest version of iOS, which will be released later this year, is that the home screen will now have widgets.

“The iOS 14 transforms the most iconic elements of the iPhone experience, starting with the biggest update we’ve ever made to the Home Screen,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering.

In iOS 14, users can pin widgets by updating information on the home screen, including calendar and maps mini-programmes. Users can drag a widget onto the iPhone home screen, where it will remain.

Users can create a Smart Stack of widgets, which uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget based on time, location, and activity, said Apple.

Another major change is the App Library. “At the end of the Home Screen pages is the App Library, a new space that automatically organises all of a user’s apps into one simple, easy-to-navigate view, and intelligently surfaces apps that may be helpful in the moment,” the company said during the announcement.

iOS 14: Key Features

> Home Screen Widget, to pin apps like calendar and maps

> App Library, to automatically organise apps based on usage

> Picture-in-Picture support, to stream movies or take video calls via FaceTime while using another app.

> New diverse Memoji options in Messages

> Updated Apple Maps with new cycling directions, electric vehicle routing, and curated Guides.

> Apple Translate, for translating conversations, offering quick and natural translation of voice and text among 11 different languages.

> AirPods will now seamlessly switch between Apple devices with automatic device switching

> Apple Watch with new watch face configurations and health features like sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, etc.

> Big Slur – the new macOS 11