iOS 14: Release Date, New Features, Compatible Devices, More
2024-04-18 11:56:27 • Filed to: iOS Tips and Tricks • Proven solutions
When will the iOS 14 release?
After Apple unveiled the new iOS 14 in June 2020, this question has been raised by many curious minds. In our article, we will not only tell you the expected release dates for iOS 14 but also fill you in with all the new features Apple has introduced for its loyal customers.
iOS 14: Release Date, Features, and Compatibility
Release Date
Usually, Apple releases its new iPhone models in the middle of September, and the iOS upgrade becomes available to current iPhone users a couple of days before that. However, the lockdown due to Covid-19 has halted the production of iPhones, causing their release to be delayed by several weeks. Still, Bloomberg claims that the iOS 14 update will hit the market at the usual time, i.e., the middle of September.
Furthermore, if you are really interested in trying out Apple iOS 14, you can try out the beta iOS 14 release or the developer release for an iOS 14 preview.
New Features
A treat for the iPhone users, iOS 14 is jam-packed with features that will literally change the way you've been using your iPhone. We have listed some of the most eagerly awaited iOS 14 features below:
1. Own your Home Screen
You have downloaded several apps that do not present a good look on your Home Screen. But you cannot remove them as that will delete them from your system. Annoying, right? Well, the new iOS 14 is here to the rescue! Now, you can simply long-press on an app and remove it from your Home Screen without actually uninstalling the app!
The apps on your iPhone are now organized in the App Library – another addition in iOS 14. Apple automatically groups these apps, giving you a clutter-free experience.
2. Move the Widgets
You read that right! Instead of being shoved to the left-most page of your Home Screen, you can freely place them anywhere on your screen. More so, their sizes can be adjusted to suit your needs. This makes it easier for us to access many functionalities of different apps right after unlocking the phone.
Even though the third-party developers would introduce most widgets, Apple itself provides several widgets to make your iPhone useful. You can view the weather forecast, your plan for the day, essential news headlines right on your Home Screen now.
3. Picture in Picture Mode
Do you have an urgent email to reply to, but also do not want to disconnect your FaceTime call with your significant other? The Picture in Picture mode presents itself as the perfect solution on your iOS 14. You can now minimize or decrease the size of the video to open up space on your screen to access other apps on your new iOS 14.
It might be a welcome feature for the students too, letting the procrastinating spirit of yours to minimize the Zoom meeting and browse social media apps to pass out the lecture.
4. Compact Calls
Many a times, we have received an incoming call while using our phone, but if you did not want to answer the call, you had no option to ignore it, as the call occupied the whole of your screen. However, with iOS 14 you no longer need to worry about that! Incoming calls now have a compact layout and appear only as a banner on top of your screen when the screen is active.
5. iMessage
iMessage is genuinely one of the trademark apps of Apple, and the new iOS 14 brings you even more features. Now, you can pin up to 9 conversations so that your important contacts and conversations never get lost in the swarm of less important messages.
Moreover, group conversations have been made more personalized. You can now direct your message in a group to a specific person, and use the Inline reply feature to keep track of a particular conversation within the group.
6. Discover with Maps
The iOS 14 release has probably benefitted Maps the most out of other Apple's applications. It had been lagging behind Google Maps by a fair margin, but this update brings Apple Maps up on top again.
It introduces unique features such as offering a bicycling route – which takes into account bike lanes in the city – and helping you plan the optimal path by including nearby charging stations for your electric car. What's more, your wanderlust soul doesn't need to search multiple websites to choose places to visit in a city. Apple claims that it has worked with several brands and professionals to help design specialized Guides, which help you choose the best and most popular places in a city.
7. Translate
Apple iOS 14 even introduces a brand-new app for its users. The Translate application is exceptionally versatile and will help you communicate with foreign-language speakers in real-time!
The application includes a Conversation mode (which is activated in Landscape orientation), which listens to the speaker, and displays the translated text instantly on the screen. The languages can also be downloaded in the Translate app, so you can still use the app in places without an internet connection.
8. Siri
Apple said that the Siri being introduced in iOS 14 contains 20 times more facts than it did 3 years ago. And the additional knowledge is powered with AI, making it a reliable virtual assistant for your needs.
Now, instead of opening up Siri on a separate screen, Siri appears as a small round button on the bottom of your screen. It can help you list down notes, send audio messages to contacts, and receive curated answers from the internet.
9. App Clips
In our opinion, the most exciting feature being introduced in the new iOS 14 is App Clips. This lets you use certain features of an application without actually installing it. After the App Clip has served its function, it is simply removed from the system memory.
Apple says that the App Clips appear on part of your screen only when they're needed. They are activated through NFC tags, QR codes, Safari, Maps, and iMessage. Through App Clips, you can pay for your parking virtually, order food by viewing a restaurant's complete menu, and do much more without the hassle of permanently downloading the app.
10. Compatibility
Fortunately, Apple has announced that iOS 14 compatibility would be available to all the devices on iOS 14. This means that iPhone 6s, which was released 5 years back in 2015, would be eligible for an update. This speaks volumes to the customer support Apple shows towards its customers.
All the iPhone models released after iPhone 6 – iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max – are iOS 14 compatible devices.
Best PDF App for New iOS 14 – PDFelement for iOS
Your device may be capable of a lot through iOS 14. However, you will still need to download a reliable PDF Reader to satisfy your business needs or work on your university's assignments. PDFelement for iOS has a lot of credentials to its name, making it the best PDF reader currently on the App Store.
It suits the iOS 14's minimalistic design and offers you a clean PDF reading experience. You can easily zoom in and out of your documents, choose between a vertical or horizontal scrolling layout, and even bookmark your favorite PDF files.
Moreover, PDFelement lets you work on your PDF files as efficiently as you would Google Docs or Microsoft Word's files. You can simply write more text into the file, delete unneeded lines from it, or use the Eraser utility to delete parts of the documents. Then, you can insert textboxes or add freehand drawings as per your needs in the PDF.
But that's not all. PDFelement goes beyond the PDF Readers available on iOS 14, and uses its Font Recognition technology to recognize the font style in the document. This text can then be manipulated to change the font size, font color, and even the font style. Furthermore, you can input images into the app, and it will scan the photo and convert it into PDF format.
Once you add PDFelement to your new iOS 14, you will never need to look at another PDF Reader again!
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!
Buy PDFelement right now!
Audrey Goodwin
chief Editor