One feature that makes Android a favourite mobile operating system is the customisation options that come with it plus the additional ones that come with smartphone manufacturers user interfaces. iOS 14 wants to bring some of these customisation features as seen on an early build of Apple’s latest mobile operating system.
iOS 14 was set to be launched at this year’s WWDC which got switched to be a digital-only event over COVID-19 concerns which has had a far-reaching impact on the tech industry including the smartphone market and streaming sites.
Homescreen Widgets
These will be full-fledged widgets and unlike the pinned widgets on iPadOS 13, these new widgets will be movable similar to how app icons get moved across the various home screens.
We’ve also seen mockup images of homescreen designs that pick up on the rumoured list view user interface that’ll come with iOS 14.
I’ve been trying to think about how folders might be impacted by this. I’ve come up with a collapsible nested list view. If you dragged an app out in abc mode, that app would move to it’s alphabetically correct location. pic.twitter.com/jyRbgwDojU
— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) March 12, 2020
Wallpaper Customization
Another feature that iOS 14 is bringing to iPhones is more customization options to wallpapers in a new “Home Screen Appearance” option.
iOS 14 features a redesigned wallpaper settings panel that will have the default wallpapers separated by collections for better organisation including “Earth & Moon”, “Classic Stripes” and “Flowers” as seen from these screenshots.
Hey @EveryApplePro, @MaxWinebach said you like wallpapers pic.twitter.com/4P8BrMzCkI
— Dongle (@DongleBookPro) April 4, 2020
With iOS 14, users will be able to choose the smart dynamic wallpapers by choosing a flat colour, blurry one(gradient) or a dark version – dimmed wallpapers when iOS 13 is set to dark mode.
A blurry wallpaper on the homescreen would work so well with the widgets as details would be visible.
It is interesting to note that with iOS 14, Apple is planning to include support for third-party wallpaper packs. This would allow developers to create wallpaper options that could be installed via the Wallpaper section of the Settings app.
These new features already have fans excited.
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1246562767693365249
The Unknown
Although having real widgets is a welcome feature, it’s unknown if Apple will make them as flexible as those on Android that allow for resizing with the option of placing the app shortcuts anywhere on the homescreen.
