iOS 14 – Biggest Announcement made by Apple at WWDC 2020

Apple started its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2020 on 22nd June 2020. In general, this particular conference takes place in the month of March every year. It was hosted online this year since it was delayed due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

This mega event provides an opportunity for the mobile app developers for sharing their knowledge, contracts, and stories with each other personally. However, it was shifted online just like any other event. Fresh products were revealed by the online stream and a demonstration was presented by various departmental heads of the company.

The most notable announcements made by Apple

It might be the fact that you were not fortunate enough to watch the stream live. In that case, we have mentioned the most notable announcements made by the company at the event.

1. macOS Big Sur

The subsequent development of Mac OS is going to be given the name of “Big Sur”. It is going to include some modifications which will help you to appear more like iOS.

• Notification Center – Notifications or widgets were purchased by the Notification Center into an integrated view. It’s been cleaned up and you will be able to easily clear out lots of notifications simultaneously.

• Control Center – Deriving the idea from iOS, Mac OS at present is going to come with a dropdown menu in the top right area of the screen which provides 1-click accessibility to show dark mode, Wi-Fi controls, brightness, volume, and so on.

• Safari – Now it will be possible for Safari to verify your saved passwords. At the same time, a Privacy Report button conveys what is known about the information that the website you are currently on is recording.

• New Maps – On macOS maps were again developed with support for items like favorite places, indoor maps, directions, and so on.

• Updated Extensions – Safari’s long-outdated extension program will provide an upgrade that focuses on limiting or expressing what data extension can be used by the developers. When an extension requests for the right of doing something, such as using browsing history to its advantage, it can be viewed for a brief time, only on a single website.

• Mac Catalyst – Mac Catalyst, which was launched in 2019 alongside macOS Catalina, has made it possible for the developers to transfer all iPad apps to the Mac. Mac Catalyst apps automatically inherit the latest appearance in macOS Big Sur, thus supplying developers with fresh, powerful APIs and full power over their apps’ behavior plus feel.

2. iOS 14

iOS 14, the new edition of iOS, has been rolled out to iOS app development programmers in preview mode from 22 June along with a beta release that is planned sometime during July.

• App Library – Users should be able to classify their applications with App Library which are spread on separate home screen pages. You can pick the number of pages you need to search in the home screen and then classify the remainder of the applications as Recently Added, Suggestions, as well as other folders. You also can check for such applications using the search tool provided, where you’ll see each alphabetically enlisted application.

• Widgets – iOS 14 offers several widgets which you can also display on the main screen. Clicking the Widget Gallery feature will help you to customize them. To search for any related application, click the Smart Stack link, and this will depend on what time it is.

• iMessage – Today users should pin their messages so as not to get lost while chatting. You may address a particular message when conversing in a community and list others as well. Features are now introduced in iOS 14 to choose various ages as well as new Memojis with specific hairstyles, facial filters, skin colors, and expressions such as fist bumps, kisses, and embraces.

• Translate App – These will enable Siri to convert what you’re saying into 11 languages that include English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and much more. You can perform the translation offline, too. Siri is 20 times more conscious of reality than before, as per Apple. You can now also ask Siri to send out an audio clip too.

• Apple CarPlay – Apple CarPlay is going to help you alter the wallpaper on your in-car device. You can unlock the vehicle by simply clicking on your iPhone. Simply place the gadget on the charging pad and turn the car’s start button on. Their key can be shared by the users via iMessage. The 2021 BMW 5 Series has been declared by Apple to be the best-known vehicle to support CarPlay.

• Apple Maps – An innovative feature named Apple’s Guide will help users locate astounding places around them by showing other users’ latest suggestions. Cycling directions would be introduced to the Apple Maps so that users can view traffic on the roads, bike lanes, and paths, as well as advancement data.

• App Store – Apple has announced App Clip to automatically download only one aspect of the program when you need it. Your original authentication and credit card information are filled in via Apple Login and Apple Pay. This package will be no more than 10 MB in size.

3. Apple WatchOS 7

The latest WatchOS 7 comes with minor updates. WatchOS 7’s main highlights involve handwash identification, new watch faces, sleep monitoring, and much more.

• Wind Down – This functionality can allow users to customize app shortcuts to schedule snoozing alarm, Apple Music playlist, turning on Meditation app, and so on.

• Face Sharing – You can share with others your existing watch face configuration with WatchOS 7 through Mail, Safari, or Messages. If the recipient does not have an app that is needed, they will show up where to obtain it.

• Handwashing Detection – The Apple Watch is able to locate the right movements with the accelerometer and the microphone to listen to scrubbing noises, as you wash your hands. When it recognizes you ‘re washing your hands, it can automatically start a countdown timer to ensure that you’ve done the full 20 seconds.

• Workouts – In addition to new supports for workouts, WatchOS 7 will assist you to monitor your action while you start practicing Bollywood, Hip Hop, or Latin Dance.

• Sleep Tracking – Now Apple Watch will notice this data while you’re asleep, then monitor it, and help you manage your sleeping pattern over time.

4. iPadOS 14

While iPadOS, alongside iOS 14, will get the full features above, it will receive some new techniques of its own as well.

• Universal Search – This feature was unveiled by Apple for iPadOS 14. It can help users scan for records, contacts, or even scan inside an app that supports this function.

• Redesigned UI – Apple has updated the latest iPadOS UI like Photos, and a modern toolbar for streamlined control is also included in the Music app. Applications such as iMessage, mail, and calendar have also received identical alterations to the UI.

• Apple Pencil – Apple Pencil has added some innovative features such as better handwriting recognition and smart suggestions that enable you to pick the handwritten text for altering color, and so on. Apple Pencil will assist users in selecting and pasting handwritten text in other applications, and automatically converting it to typed text.

• Call Notifications – Similar to Android, iPadOS 14 has introduced compact call notifications. The alerts will show up at the top of the screen without impeding the ongoing job.

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5. AirPods

• Automatic Device Switching – Now the AirPods will be able to switch automatically between different gadgets. You can listen to that audio recording from the AirPods if you watch footage on the iPad. If you get an iPhone message, AirPods will instantly turn the call accordingly.

• Spatial Audio – The app uses motion data to recognize the system, and syncs the audio with the video continually. It’s exclusive to AirPods Pro Earbuds only.

6. Apple HomeKit

• Adjusted Lighting – HomeKit will automatically adjust the temperature or illumination of your wired smart bulbs during the day, allowing for things like colder temperatures while shutting down and cooler lighting throughout working hours.

•  Face Identification – Now doorbell cameras which are HomeKit-enabled can recognize familiar faces via HomePod or AppleTV alerts and let you know who’s at the entrance.

•  Activity Zones – If you’ve set up a security camera with HomeKit, alerts may be restricted to different video stream segments only. Notifications regarding motions would only be accessible when anyone enters your building.

7. Privacy Changes

• Approx Location – Now you can take into account accessing the app to your approx spot, rather than the precise location.

• Camera or Microphone Indicator – Although perhaps not as effective as a specialized hardware indicator, an on-screen indication can now be displayed by iOS once your microphone or camera is accessed by an app.

• Easy Privacy Policy – iOS App development services will now provide a simple overview of what app details they exchange with third parties. Those synopses will now show up in the iOS or macOS App Stores before downloading.

8. Apple tvOS 14

• Multi-user capacities – If you’ve ever tried to swap profiles so quickly that anyone else might enjoy the Apple Arcade title without deleting your progression, with the new layout, you can seamlessly do it. The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller as well as the Xbox Adaptive Controller is supported by Apple. Using the Control Center, players will easily move between Game Center milestones, users, their game progression, buddies, as well as leaderboards.

• Picture-in-Picture Formation – Every video software in iOS 14 can pop up on Apple TV in a Picture-in-Picture framework. In brief, you can enjoy more stuff on your television without swapping apps. Your tabs can be kept on the news channel while exercising, for example.

Release Date of iOS 14

When does iOS 14 hit the market at large? Although a clear release date has not been announced by Apple, iOS 13 was launched on 13th September 2019. It’s possibly at the same time that iOS 14 will arrive on the market.