There is no iPhone 12 at the Apple conference this week, but the official version of iOS 14 will meet you in advance. The most obvious change in this major version is the redesigned widgets and App resource library. The idea is that Android has long existed, but just like many “late” features, Apple always likes “coming from behind” and unified. The software and hardware ecology is its huge advantage. Of course, there are some functions that should have been there for a long time, but this time they are just supplemented.
In any case, without the regret of iPhone 12, you can still make up for it with the new iOS 14.
More free and beautiful widgets
Let’s talk about widgets. Previously, iOS widgets could only be displayed on the negative screen, but now they can also be placed on the home screen. It is also richer in form, with multiple sizes, and the information above can change dynamically. Small components of the same size can be stacked together to support sliding switching. Apple also provides a “smart stack” widget, which can automatically display appropriate widgets according to the scene (time, location, schedule, etc.).
At present, the App Store already has an App area that supports iOS 14 widgets, and it is expected that there will be more App adaptations soon. Widgets, or widgets, have long existed on Android. They allow users to view the information in the app and perform some quick operations without opening the app. However, the display mode of Android widgets is not flexible, and it seems that there is no change after several years of development.
There are several advantages for Apple to do this: First, the interface is unified and easy to adapt; second, the form is rich, which may give birth to some new usages, such as stacking small components of maps, taxi applications, and Dianping; The third is that Apple’s small components are really beautiful, and it’s not impossible to put them on the desktop as a display.
iPhone also has an app drawer
The second more obvious change in iOS 14 is the App Resource Library, which is actually an app drawer similar to Android, which can “hide” some infrequently used apps from the desktop. Apple has also done smart grouping, but the localization is not very good, and the classification of individual apps is not accurate. Now you can put frequently used applications on the desktop more freely, and leave the others in the resource library on the right side of the last page, which facilitates desktop organization to a certain extent.
Apple version of the applet is here, with greater opportunities offline
The less obvious big update on iOS 14 is the Apple version of the applet, the official translation is Light App. It is similar to the WeChat applet, which can use part of the functions without downloading the complete App. The access portal is slightly different. In addition to the identification code specially designed by Apple, it can also be opened through NFC, information, maps, and Safari.
The more potential is the NFC method, because Apple itself has the advantage of hardware coverage. If the offline scene can have enough coverage, in the future, you only need to hold the iPhone close to the NFC tag to open the corresponding service. In fact, it is more than scanning the code. Direct and convenient for children and the elderly to use. The development of light apps in domestic offline scenarios depends on their future promotion. Just like Apple Pay, it will face the first-mover advantage of WeChat.
Continue to protect user privacy
Apple has always paid great attention to privacy, and this time iOS 14 is no exception. The clipboard reminder has already caused a turmoil. When the app reads the user’s clipboard, the system will display it at the top of the screen to “expose” some app behavior. Regarding this issue, you can’t just consider privacy. Some clipboard readings are for the purpose of enhancing the experience. For specific discussions, please see this article I wrote earlier.
There are many more privacy protection measures in iOS 14. When the application calls the camera, the upper right corner will display a green indicator, and the microphone will display a yellow indicator. This is not only a feedback to the user’s operation behavior, but also reminds the user whether privacy has been violated. . The function is not difficult to do, but the concept is commendable.
There are more options when acquiring permissions, you can choose to acquire one photo or all photos permissions, and you can get the approximate location or the precise location when acquiring the location. And Safari’s privacy report, etc.
Your AirPods “appreciated”
AirPods are Apple’s most successful new product line in recent years. Although there are only two main models (the first generation and the second generation have little change), Apple has increased their value through firmware updates this time. One is the “Spatial Audio” of AirPods Pro, which can provide a surround sound experience similar to a movie theater, which is the so-called sense of space. When the head is turned, “head tracking” can be achieved. The virtual sound field will be dynamically adjusted, and you can feel that the sound is still It is sent from the location of the phone.
The second is “automatic device switching”. This feature is not so highly concerned, but its current practical effect is even greater. It supports AirPods Pro and AirPods second generation, it will automatically recognize which device you need to use headphones (such as making calls, listening to music, watching videos), and then automatically switch. In fact, AirPods is fast enough to switch compared to other TWS headsets, but after this update, you don’t need to switch manually in most cases.
Allow modification of some default apps In iOS 14, you can set some third-party software as default apps. Currently, mail and browsers are supported. Although compared with Android, it is still not open enough, but I think this is just the beginning. “Limited freedom is true freedom.” This sentence is too suitable to describe Apple’s ecology.
The advantage of Apple’s open default applications is that it is very convenient to jump between applications. For example, a third-party browser will get the same jump experience as the previous Safari, fast and accurate. Putting it in other applications is similar, because this is originally the advantage of Apple’s closed system. It will provide strict specifications for third-party applications to achieve unified management. It was just not open before.
Some of the remaining functions to improve screen utilization can be regarded as supplements and optimizations. For example, the interface of Siri call does not occupy the full screen, the video call and video playback of the iPhone support picture-in-picture, and there are card calls. They are all of the same category, that is, the screen utilization rate is higher, but it is still a bit worse than Android. If you are interested, please see my previous discussion on the split screen and small window mode of mobile phones.
This is the end of the major updates of iOS 14. Of course, this is not the whole story. We just picked out the more worthy of attention, and the rest is up to everyone to discover. If you can’t see the iPhone 12, at least you can find some surprises in iOS 14.
Photos credit: chinese website
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