iOS 14 is official. On Monday, at its first-ever global digital developer conference, Apple unveiled the latest software that will power its iPhones - both the new devices expected later this year and the phones we already have in our hands.
The updated software includes features such as redesigned home screen called App Library. iOS 14 will automatically group apps into folders to clean up the different pages of an iPhone. Apple tweaked its widgets to allow you to decide the size and location of boxes containing information such as the weather. Apple's Memoji covers your face and more age options, and Messages gets pinned contacts, mentions and answers online.
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Apple also offers the iPhone a picture-in-picture, already available on the iPad. It will allow you to do things like watching a video on a small screen while sending messages to people on the main screen. Apple voice assistant Siri also receives an update, just like Apple Maps, CarPlay and many other features of popular Apple mobile software.
The company detailed the changes in a quick fire press conference monday, with Apple executives speaking to cameras broadcasting the presentation worldwide. The keynote included photos of the Steve Jobs Theater from Apple, with executives isolated from each other to stay safe during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"iPhone, iOS, [are] at the heart of how we navigate our lives and stay connected, "Apple software manager Craig Federighi said Monday in an empty Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California." We make it even more powerful and easier to use. . ... This year we spent time rethinking some of the most iconic elements of the iPhone experience. "
Apple's annual developer convention, called WWDC for short, is where the company unveils updates for its software and services, showing upcoming features that developers can integrate into their applications. Apple may be better known for its devices, but the seamless integration of its hardware with its software is what sets Apple apart from its competitors. Apple's ability to control all aspects of its products - something that started when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded the company in 1976 - was essential to making it one of the most powerful tech companies. This year's WWDC is the company's 31st.
Typically, Apple is hosting several thousand developers for the event at its base in northern California, with the conference taking place last year in San Jose. But this year's WWDC is coming as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday, COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, has infected more than 9 million people worldwide. Tens of millions of Americans applied for unemployment when businesses closed and governments ordered their citizens to stay home. While parts of the world and the United States reopen, life is far from normal, making it risky to bring thousands of developers together in one place.
All digital
Apple said in mid-March that WWDC will be fully digital this year, along with other gatherings such as the Collision conference and Microsoft's Build confab. Companies like Google and Facebook have chosen to drop their developer conferences this year.
WWDC steps in as Apple focuses more on its software and services. There are iOS, MacOS for its computers, TVOS for Apple TV and WatchOS for Apple Watch. And last year, Apple split its mobile software, retaining iOS for phones and introducing iPadOS with tweaked functionality for Apple tablets. In terms of services, the company offers Apple TV Plus, Apple Pay, Apple Music, the App Store, iCloud, HomeKit and various other applications and services. It is essential that Apple makes a strong impression on WWDC with future versions of its software.
But even if there aren't any huge new changes or redesigns, the majority of users will download the updates, especially when it comes to iOS. IPhone owners usually download the latest software within weeks or months of its release, aided by prompts that Apple sends to them. As of January 27, four months after its release, iOS 13 was used on 77% of all iPhones introduced in the previous four years.
