iOS 14 is Out Now

So here's what I've learned using the beta for the last few months.

I've been using the iOS 14 beta for a few months now, and I've learned a few cool tips and tricks for putting the new iOS to the best use. I figured today would be a good day to share that.

If you don't already know, iOS 14 dropped today. It's a little surprising; usually Apple drops the new iOS with the new iPhone, but obviously COVID or something (this is a blog, not a publication, okay?) has made that impossible this year. So what does this mean? Well, if you haven't read my previous blog on iOS 14, the new software comes with a new app drawer, redesigned widgets, and a lot of cool Messages updates. This can be a little overwhelming for people, especially if they aren't super nerds like I am, which is why I've decided to write this blog explaining the few things I've learned over the past little bit.

So how do I use iOS 14? Well, honestly, I've taken a pretty simple approach. I use 3-5 widgets consistently, have shaved down my Home Screen, and have taken advantage of the new Messages features, but that's about it. Firstly, my screens and widgets.

My Home Screen

I use two widgets on my main screen and one on my secondary screen, but in a special way. My first Home Screen is where I keep all the apps I use often. It's a place where I can muscle memory my way into pretty much any app I use multiple times a day. Social media, email, and my productivity apps all have a place here. In addition to these apps, I have "two" widgets. The first is the clock widget. I use this to always have the time readily available, and to also set timers and alarms (which I tend to do often). Is it the most information-packed widget out there? Maybe not, but it's useful to me. The second widget is a Smart Stack that I like to call my "daily stack." The stack consists of the Weather, Calendar, and Reminders 1x1 widgets. This stack allows me to know at a glance what the next portion of my day looks like, from individual tasks and big events all the way to whether or not the weather is going to be nice.

My Secondary Screen

Page two is something special, though. I spend a lot of time (regrettably) on Twitter, so when Guilherme Rambo suggested that one fill up a page with the Siri Suggested widget, I was all in. The Siri Suggested widget is a widget that allocates two rows of apps to whatever Siri thinks you use often. I’ve filled my entire second page with three of these widgets, and have found that 9 times out of 10, Siri knows exactly what I want when I want it. It's like a custom App Library. A place for me to glance at when I need a B-tier app so I can quickly access it. It's probably one of my favorite things about iOS 14.

Messages has also received a plethora of well-deserved updates. I won't post any screenshots in the interest of privacy, but I've pinned a few chats I often spend time in to the top of my app, as well as the thread I have with my girlfriend. It's a small thing, all things considered, but having a place for me to store all the threads I use daily is incredibly convenient.

So yeah, that's it. My iOS 14 tips. I learned a few key things that I think a lot of people can use to make their phone experience a lot better, and I hope you're one of them.

Until next time.

-Camruinn

An iOS 14 Beta Review

At the time of writing the third public beta of iOS 14 has just been released. As such, I have decided this is a perfect time to drop my feelings on the new iOS after having used it for a few weeks.

If you're just here for a quick and dirty review I'll tell you this: iOS 14 is good. If you're a nerd like me, you will like it. If you'd like a bit more detail, read on.

In a previous post, I mentioned that the important new features of iOS 14 are its new App Library, the overhaul of widgets, and updates to Messages. I still believe this, so those features will be the ones I focus on.

Also, I don't plan on explaining what these new features do again. If you're reading, I assume it's because you're interested in Apple or because you read my last Apple blog.

My Home Screen

Firstly, the App Library is simply wonderful. I've kept my iPhone pared down to one screen for years now, and this has mostly resulted in a series of ever-more-confusing folders, all due to the amazingly huge amount of apps I keep on my phone. I probably use about six or seven apps every day (Messages, Instagram, Twitter, Reminders, Drafts, Streaks and Safari, if you care), but I have (checks notes) 66 apps on my phone. That means about 90 percent of the apps I have are ones that mostly just... sit around. Before iOS 14 this was a huge issue because my home screen was overly cluttered with folder upon folder of tiny icons I never actually investigated. Now, however, I am proudly folder-free. I keep most of a page of apps at the ready for when I need them and anything else is happily hidden away in the new Apps Library. I genuinely feel a lot better looking at my home screen now, and given my iPhone is by far the device I use the most, that means a lot.

Next comes widgets. Boy, oh boy have I ever been so conflicted on something I was absolutely sure I would love. I keep two (call it four) widgets on my new home screen; the clock on its own, and Weather, Calendar and Reminders in the form of a Smart Stack. I thought widgets were going to be a game-changer for me, but really they're just a neat new addition. My biggest issue comes in the form of utility. See, widgets in the iOS 14 beta act more or less like over-sized, information-presenting buttons. For the most part they are completely non-interactive. For some apps, like Weather, this isn't an issue, but apps like Reminders really suffer here. This means that when I have, let's say, a reminder set to check my email on display that I need to check off, clicking said reminder on my widget doesn't tick off the task, but rather opens up the Reminders app. This is really annoying, because it feels like Apple almost got there, but not quite. The whole point of widgets, to me anyway, is to create situations where I don't have to open the full app, but iOS 14's widgets do the exact opposite. Don't get me wrong, I love widgets. I just hope Apple fleshes them out a bit more before the Fall.

My time with Messages is probably the most boring of all my iOS 14 experiences. I don't use Messages for any kind of professional work, so the biggest new feature to come to Messages for me is the ability to pin threads to the top of the app. I have a couple group chats pinned to the top of my Messages app along with a place of honor for my girlfriend, and it's been really nice for the most part. Pinning group chats means my thread list no longer gets bogged down when a couple people in my friend chat decide to go off and have their own conversation, which can be really nice for managing notifications. This ability to more easily ignore new texts is a double-edged sword, however. I often find myself muscle-memory checking only my main list of message threads for new texts, so I sometimes miss an important update in a group, or worse, a text from my girlfriend. This problem is a user error though, and something I know will fix itself over time as I get better at using the new Messages app.

All in all, I really like what Apple is doing with iOS. It seems like they're finally listening to consumers and adding features we've been asking for since Android got them years ago. It's nice to feel excited about Apple again, and I really look forward to what the next couple years has in store.

What Happened at WWDC 2020

I can only assume those of you who follow me fall into one of two categories: you either, like myself, sit on the metaphorical threshold of the Steve Jobs theater and salivate over the thought of Apple confirming the plethora of leaks you've been hearing about on Twitter for the past six months, or you don't even know what the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is, and you really wish I would stop texting you about it.

So rather than annoy my friends with incessant multi-paragraph updates, I figured I would just write this up and point everyone in one direction.

WWDC is a special presentation Apple does every year for their developers (ie: anyone who makes apps for the Mac, iPhone, or iPad) where in which they usually reveal lots of cool things like the newest version of iOS, MacOS, and iPadOS. It contains lots of important information for those who make all the apps you crowd your iPhone with, and nerd-poser-super-fans like myself tend to also pop a bowl of pop corn and see what's what even though it has almost no bearing on our work or lives in general.

This year, Apple's three biggest announcements came in the form of iOS 14, MacOS Big Sur (yes, it's really called that), and the transition of the Mac to Apple's own processors. These announcements (especially the last) are a big deal.

To start: iOS 14. To quote a friend of mine: "iOS 14: Android. Reimagined." That's right, this year's new iOS boasts a series of features that Android has had for years, and they are extremely welcome. The most notable additions are the changes to the homescreen: widgets and a new app drawer.

Widgets aren't new to iPhone, but now you can move them from the dedicated widget screen on the far left to your other homepages, as well as adjust their sizes and content. This should be especially helpful for apps like Weather, or anything else that offers information you might need at-a-glance.

The new app drawer is an interesting new homepage that sits at the far right, and is a place that all your apps are curated automatically. It also allows you to "hide" pages from view entirely. This is probably the thing I look forward to the most about iOS 14, because it allows you to remove those apps you only ever use once in a while from your overly cluttered iPhone screen without actually deleting them from your phone.

Second only to my love of the upcoming app drawer is my love for picture in picture video, however.

New widgets in iOS 14 // photo: apple.com

Apple’s “App Library” // photo: apple.com

Picture in picture video is already on iPad, and it's something I've come to cherish. Picture in picture allows you to minimize a playing video and have it continue in a tiny screen while you do other things on your device. It's nice, because it lets you keep obsessing over Avatar: The Last Airbender while also giving your loved ones the "time they deserve" by sending them text-by-text updates of your Avatar re-watch.

In a similar vein, iPadOS is getting pretty much all the same updates as its older sibling, including the fan-favorite culling of the full-screen incoming call card. Gone are the days of reading on my Kindle app only to have some robo-caller completely derail my train of thought.

The only iPadOS-exclusive update I caught was an update to the Files app, that makes it appear to operate more like a traditional file explorer, which is also welcome.

Good riddance // photo: apple.com

MacOS is seeing some extreme changes as well. Firstly, it's getting a whole new look (a look very much like iOS...hmmm), and a few more features. As for the re-skin, I'm not that impressed or bothered by it. Some icons are getting changed for the first time since MacOS X, which I'm sure will bother the more nostalgic people out there, and the whole look is a bit more cartoon-y like iOS, which I'm sure will bother those out there with something to prove to their computer.

In addition to the re-skin, MacOS is getting a few new features like Control Center and a re-haul of the Notification Center.

Apple's biggest announcement was, however, their decision to finally switch to in-house processors for their Macs. We've been hearing rumors about this for ages, so it was nice to see it finally announced.

Apple has made processors since the release of the original iPhone in 2007. Since then they've also started making processors for their entire iPad line, and they've gotten pretty good at it.

Overall, I think we will see a definite performance increase in Macs over the next three years (the timeline Apple has set for the transition to the new processors), but more important is the future Apple seems to be preparing for.

See, along with this new processor line comes something pretty interesting: native iOS app support for the Mac. That's right, in time any Mac with an in-house processor will support iPad and iPhone apps straight out the box. What will playing Pokémon Go look like on the Mac? I don't know, but that isn't important. What is important is all the facts of WWDC 2020 coming together.

With the advent of MacOS Big Sur and the additions of iPadOS 14, we're seeing MacOS slowly get more and more in common with iPad OS, including native support for cross-platform publishing, thanks to Macs now utilizing a chip more similar to those seen in Apple's mobile devices.

What does this mean? If I had to guess, I'd say MacOS and iOS are slowly being melded together, and in the near future (perhaps 2023, the end of Apple's processor timeline) we will see an announcement for something along the lines of "AppleOS," a single operating system for all of Apple's devices.

It would explain what Apple's been doing with the iPad Pro for the past two or so years, too. I'm typing this up on the 2020 Pro with the Magic Keyboard, and it certainly feels a lot like using a laptop. I mean, the iPad even has native mouse-and-keyboard support now. The only thing it's really missing for me is a fully-fledged file system, which it looks like iPadOS 14 is going to deliver.

All in all, a pretty big year for WWDC. Apple really feels like it's starting to hit its stride again, and I'm all for the changes they seem to be implementing in the near future and all the plans they seem to be preparing for in the far future.