15 new features that iOS 14 brings to make your iPhone better

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It’s been just under a month since Apple rolled out iOS 14 to the world. The latest software update brings a slew of new features that make the iPhone experience better than before. From messages to privacy, Apple has made significant and arguably cosmetic changes to how people intend to use their iPhone. Here we list out 10 features that make the iPhone better

Apple has finally given in to the widget ‘charm’ and introduced a feature available on Android since forever. Widgets on the iPhone give a different look than ever before. You can add a widget for batteries, photos, weather — depending on what you want.

Hidden Photos feature was always available on the iPhone but iOS 14 makes it better. There’s a setting through which Hidden Albums can be hidden completely till you turn it back on.

Apple has brought an all-new app library with iOS 14, which is a neat way to organise all the apps. Even if you don’t want an app and don’t want to delete it you can simply remove from home screen and store it in the app library.

Apple has updated Memoji options like new hairstyles, headwear and face coverings. Memojis have also become more expressive with iOS 14.

For years, Apple has been ‘accused’ of being restrictive but with iOS 14 Apple has given access to third-party apps more than ever. This means that one can set Gmail — or any other mail service — as the default mail app. Same goes for browser as well.

One of the most significant changes iOS 14 brings is to the iMessage app. From @ mentions to pinning chats — iMessage is more tilted towards WhatsApp’s functionalities and features.

If you are in a particular app and a YouTube video pops up, with iOS 14 the picture-in-picture mode can be activated. It’s not available in the YouTube app as of now but in Safari and WhatsApp, it works quite well.

The most important — and controversial — feature is that you can share what you want with third-party developers, which makes your data more secure than ever before.

Using the all-new Translate app, you can translate voice and text in 11 different languages. Hindi is not an option as of now but other prominent foreign languages are supported.

The default keyboard on the iPhone now has an easier way to search emojis with iOS 14.

iOS 14 brings a new feature where you will see an orange light on home screen if an app is using the microphone of the iPhone. Or it will show a green light if any app is using the camera. This creates awareness about what app is using camera or microphone and whether it is necessary for the app to do so.

A simple double-tap or triple tap on the back of the iPhone can trigger shortcuts like Notification Centre. It’s a really handy feature that iOS 14 brings to the iPhone.

Two new AirPods related features have been introduced with iOS 14. First is automatic device switching, which will allow your AirPods or AirPods Pro to switch between iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple Watch paired to the same iCloud account. Spatial audio feature — only for AirPods Pro — makes the audio experience more immersive on the iPhone.

The new features — like electric vehicle routing or cycling directions — on Apple Maps might not be available in India but indicate how Apple is making Maps better on the iPhone

Apple has changed the interface for Siri and it is more compact now. For instance, if you activate Siri on iOS 14, it won’t hog on the entire display of the iPhone.