Apple’s newly announced Apple’s iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 update for iPhone and Pad introduce a host of new features that users are excited about. Some highlights include widgets on the home screen, an app drawer, some privacy improvements and much more.
However, like each update there are some hidden tricks and tips in iOS 14 that are not so easy to find. For example, you can completely ditch Apple Mail and Safari with a new default apps setting.
Here are some of the top favourites:
You can choose your default email or web browser
Apple has finally given up some control over default app settings. Currently, the default setting ability is limited to email apps and web browsers. This means you can assign Chrome to be your default browser and Outlook as your primary app of choice.
Developers need to update their apps for iOS 14 so that the new default assignment option appears.
To view this, open your device’s setting app and scroll to the bottom where it shows the full list of apps. Now find the mail or browser app that you were looking for and tap on it.
If it has been updated for the latest release, you will have the default browser app or default email app option.
Currently, Google Chrome, Edge, Outlook and Hey email have updated to include the new default toggle.
The App Drawer
iOS 14’s updated App Library now functions like an app drawer. You can get rid of the numerous home screens full of apps you seldom use. However, instead of doing this for each app manually, you can hide the entire home screen panels using a few taps.
To do this, long-press on an empty part of the home screen. Once trigger mode is activated, tap on the page indicator and then tap the check mark below each panel that you want to ditch. This will not delete the apps, simply hide them in the App library in a drawer that you can access anytime.
Ditch newly downloaded apps from home screen
If after organizing your phone screen and app drawer, you download a new app then it might just have worked in vain. But now you can send newly downloaded apps to the App Library, unless you really want them on your screen.
To do this use, Settings > Home Screen and select App Library only in the top section. You can easily find newly downloaded apps in the Recently Added category – the top right folder when you view it.
Search for Emojis
So far, the only way to find the relevant emoji on iPhone keyboards was to browse the entire selection of emojis until you find the one you want to use. The good news with ioS 14 is that Apple allows you to search for the emojis quickly using a search bar. Simply type the name of the expression you want to show.
Better privacy and security
Apple has truly dialled up the privacy and security features with the new release. One key feature is the ability to find out if any of your saved passwords are weak or should be updated to a more secure option.
Smarter Siri
With every iOS update. Siri gets smarter. She now processes 25 billion requests each month and her knowledge base is now upgraded by 20x more than it was 3 years ago. In fact, be prepared to hear Siri throw facts to your face in the new iOS 14 every now and then.
Siri can now also answer questions that need a web search? For example, which is the best live casino in the UK? Or where should I play online casino games?
Keep eye contact in Facetime
During Facetime calls, a lot of us typically look at the screen and not the camera, giving the impression that we are not paying attention to the caller. In iOS 14, you can change the setting on your device so that it gives the impression that you are looking straight into the camera during a Facetime call. You can go to Settings > General > Facetime > Eye contact to enable this feature.
While Apple’s new update comes with a range of features and refinements, some of these smaller tricks and tips are quite useful to the average user.