iPhone will finally get one of Android’s best features with iOS 14
Some eye-catching changes could be headed to iOS 14 based on the latest leaks about Apple’s upcoming update to its mobile operating system. That includes a significant new amount of wallpaper options — and a new widget option that could borrow one of Android’s best features.
Over the weekend, Twitter user DongleBookPro — who shows off images of reported Apple projects in process — shared some screenshots that allegedly show off changes to the wallpaper feature in iOS 14. The biggest changes are headed for your home screen wallpaper, where you’ll now have the option to adjust the look of the screen. In addition to the normal view of the wallpaper, you can also toggle between dark, dim and blurred options.
Apple also looks like it’s changing the way wallpapers are organized based on the tweeted iOS 14 screenshots. DongleBookPro shows off a Collections section, which you’ll be able to fill up with your own photos, as well as a section for iOS 13 wallpapers that will remain even after the iOS 14 update arrives layer this year. Similar wallpapers look like they’ll be grouped together and you be able to swipe horizontally to view your options.
Hey @EveryApplePro, @MaxWinebach said you like wallpapers pic.twitter.com/4P8BrMzCkIApril 4, 2020
9to5Mac, which has previously reported that third parties will be able to offer wallpaper collections in iOS 14 which will be integrated into the OS’s settings, says that the DongleBookPro images point to bigger changes for the look and functionality of iOS 14 that include the addition of true widgets to Apple’s mobile OS.
Currently, in iOS 13, widgets live on the Today screen that you reach by swiping right on your home screen. iOS widgets show off calendar events, weather and at-a-glance bits of information from third-party apps that support widgets. (On my Today screen, for example, I’ve got widgets for public transit departures pulled from Google Maps and upcoming sporting events from the ESPN app.) Starting with iPadOS 13, iPad users could pin those widgets to the home screen for easier access.
Apple has something different in the works for iOS 14, 9to5Mac says — in the upcoming OS, you’ll get real widgets that you’ll be able to drag around the home screen of your iPhone or iPad just like you would any other app. This would bring iOS more in line with Android, which has long offered full home screen widgets that let you pin things such as weather bars or calendars in between your favorite apps.
9to5Mac says the project, known within Apple as “Avocado,” is still being implemented and may not make the final cut of iOS 14 features, when the updated OS arrives later this year, mostly likely alongside this fall’s iPhone 12 release.
