Hey friends!
I’m Tasia and these are the 10 best iOS 14 features!
iOS 14 is finally out of the beta stage and available for everybody!
So I’m breaking down the top 10 features of iOS 14.
Two pro tips for you: Number 1 and most important: Always, always, always backup and sync your
device prior to installing any new software updates.
This is a must.
Do not install anything until you do this.
And tip number 2: Anytime there is a major OS update, I always recommend waiting until
the next minor version update prior to installing the latest OS.
And here's what I mean by that.
We're at iOS 14 now, the first major go with this update.
So you know how when you go to install a software update on your device and it tells you the
version number?
Like 13.6.1 for example?
I won’t get into all the details of what every number means, but the 13 in this example
would be the major OS version, and the 6 would be a minor version.
Meaning, iOS 13 had 6 minor updates.
These little minor updates include important iOS bug fixes.
Any time there is a major release, there will be some hiccups, so it’s nice to wait a
bit for some of those kinks to be worked out.
So you may want to wait until 14.1 before you download iOS 14.
With that said, let’s jump into the 10 best iOS 14 features.
So be sure to watch to the end for a couple of honorable mentions!
First up: The all-new home screen with the App library.
That’s right, Apple has finally updated the iOS home screen.
You can access your shiny new App Library with one swipe left past your last home screen.
This is where all your apps live and are automatically categorized for you.
Plus, this means you can completely remove apps from your home screens, but they’ll
remain organized in your App Library.
And, if you have a ton of home screens, you can get rid of entire screens too, without
losing your apps.
I think of my App Library like storage for a seasonal wardrobe, but for apps.
So, think about apps you don’t use very often.
So for example, I remove less-used apps from my home screens, in order to clean them up,
but I know the apps are tucked away in my App Library should I need them.
Just like my favorite sweater when I need it in the fall.
Second on the list: Picture in picture.
Yes, it’s not just for iPad anymore.
Now, when you’re watching a video or chatting on FaceTime, you can swipe back to your home
screen and your video will keep playing in a little box.
So you can continue on with other tasks while your video is still there on your screen.
And, of course, you can move the video box around on your screen too or just swipe it
to the side where the box will become a tab and you’ll still hear the audio.
Pretty neat.
Moving on to number 3: the Messages updates.
Messages is probably the most-used, most important app, so it’s a great place to start.
You can now pin up to nine conversations, which will move them and keep them at the
top of your Messages stack.
This is super useful if, like me, you have a ton of conversations on the go.
Group convos have gotten a much needed facelift as well.
You can finally reply to messages in-line, like Skype or WhatsApp lets you do.
You can also @ mention someone in Messages now so they know the message is directed towards
them specifically.
Plus, you can even adjust your settings to only notify you when
you are mentioned.
Other noticeable differences in group messages are that you’ll see images of everyone who’s
in the group, with the most recent people first, and you can give your group it’s
own image too, just like you can with a name.
This brings me to number 4 on the list: the all-new Emoji search bar!
So remember how you’d have to type out a word and then pick the emoji from inside your
compose window?
Or scroll through a ton of emoji just to find the one you need?
Well not anymore.
The emoji picker now has a search bar of its own, just like Mac.
Hallelujah!
Alright, number 5 on the list is changing your default browser and email app.
Because, if you’re anything like me, you’re just a Google girl living in an Apple world…
or something.
You can finally designate third-party apps to be your default browser and email apps.
Once you do this from your settings, when you click on a link or email address it’ll
open the app of your choosing!
Woohoo no more safari automatically opening links for me!
Okay, let’s move on to a couple of great iOS 14 accessibility features.
There’s now all-new back tap gestures, and if you’re keeping track this is number 6
on the list.
Found under touch in your accessibility settings, ensure that Back Tap is toggled on.
You can customize whether you want a double-tap or triple-tap or both, and what action you
want to take upon those taps.
So, as an example, I’ve set the control center as my double-tap action, but you can
set any accessibility shortcut or scroll gestures, and other shortcuts too, so now I just double-tap
the back of my phone at any time, and my control center automatically appears.
So another great accessibility feature is number 7 on the list and that’s the sound
recognition feature.
And I know, the first thing you’re going to hit me with is ‘I don’t want my phone
always listening’.
I get it, but I’m looking at this as an important accessibility feature.
Here’s why.
This is another one found in the accessibility features, as I mentioned.
With Sound Recognition toggled on, your iPhone will notify you of certain important sounds.
You can adjust which sounds you want it to listen for as well.
The importance here is that you can set your phone to notify you of say, a fire alarm going
off for example.
Obviously, you’d never solely rely on this sound recognition feature, but I think it
could be really useful in conjunction with your other accessibility features around the
home.
Alright, the last three iOS 14 features on the list all revolve around voice and camera
tools.
So let’s start with voice.
Number 8 is the ability to enhance voice recordings in iOS 14.
The voice memo app has always been a pretty good, basic standard iPhone app for capturing
voice recordings.
But, now with iOS 14, there is a new magic wand in your editing options.
This wand helps to clean up the background noise on a recording.
It’s not perfect of course, but it’s a nice little extra feature for times when you
need to record a memo in a pinch.
Alright, number 9 on the list, are camera improvements.
Now, if you already have the iPhone 11 or 11pro, you’ve had a couple of these already.
But for the rest of you iPhone users, listen up!
iPhone XR and XS users now also have the option to enjoy Quick Take video mode that iPhone
11 and 11 Pro users have been enjoying.
So, you can press and hold the shutter button in photo mode to take a video.
And all iPhone users can now change both the video resolution and frame rate directly from
the camera app, like iPhone 11 and 11 pro users can.
No more fussing around in your settings.
This option can be toggled on in your video recording settings.
And last, but not least on the list, Instagram influencers, you better be listening.
You can now join the ranks of iPhone 11 and 11 Pro users and un-mirror your selfies!
It’s true!
In your camera settings, enable the ‘mirror front camera’ option.
While this sounds like it’s opposite to what you want, it’ll actually end up un-mirroring
your final image or video.
So, in other words, it’ll look backwards to you when you’re taking a photo or video,
but will appear the right way around in your saved photo or video.
Now you can hold up all the inspirational quotes, or promotional products your heart
desires, and they’ll no longer be backwards to the viewer!
See, here I am taking what could be an insta story.
And look, I’ll hold up this random product, or maybe you’ll see the writing on my shirt
looks backwards to me.
But watch what happens when I stop recording and go to my photos app to see my video.
Blamo!
Everything is exactly as it should be.
Nothing is backwards, or mirrored, in the final product!
So I’ve got two more honorable mentions here.
The first is the new widgets on the today screen, that’s the screen to the left of
your first home screen that is accessed via a swipe right.
There are new widgets here, but they can be dragged off the today screen and onto your
homescreen for even quicker access.
The second honorable mention is that there are a ton of Siri improvements, but far too
many to go into detail here.
If you’re interested in any of the Siri updates, let me know in the comments below
and I’ll make a video on that for ya.
I’ve also made a list in the comments below of all the iPhone models that support iOS
14.
Basically, if your device can run iOS 13, it can run 14, so all the way down to the
iPhone SE and up through the iPhone 12s.
So those are my picks for the top 10 iOS 14 features.
What are your picks for the best iOS 14 features?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
As always, if you liked this video, I want to know so give it a like, a share, or leave
a comment below.
You can click right about here to subscribe to my channel and right about here for even
more videos.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.