Leak reveals that iOS 14 will include Android features that iPhone users have long wanted
In the long-running smartphone OS war known as iOS vs. Android, one of the biggest complaints about Apple's mobile OS is that it is not as customizable as Android. But Twitter tipster @DongleBookPro has shared some screenshots allegedly showing some changes to iOS 14. These changes could be included in the next version of the software that could drop this coming September. Google gave its Pixel phones a huge advantage over iOS in this department by adding its Styles & wallpapers feature last year. This allows Pixel users to change the shape and color of the icons on their phone.
Apple could copy one of Android's signature OS features for iOS 14
Will iOS 14 bring more customization to iPhone users? It appears from the screenshots that iPhone users will be able to browse through default wallpaper separated into collections with choices like "Classic Stripes," "Earth & Moon," and "Flowers." Another screenshot shows a "Home Screen Appearance" feature similar to the one found on the Apple Watch. Users will be able to create smart dynamic wallpaper for the home screen. But even more exciting for iPhone users is the possibility that Android-style widgets could be coming to the iPhone.
Apple's iOS 14 could feature Android-style widgets like these
9to5Mac discovered another feature on iOS 14 that is being called "Avocado" internally and is related to the SpringBoard app that controls the Home screen on iOS. If Apple decides to implement this on iOS 14, iPhone and iPad users will be able to select widgets from selected apps and add them to the Home screen, moving them around at will. And this would also suggest that at last iOS users will be able to move around app icons at will rather in a left to right format. Otherwise, you would see app icons on the Home screen placed around widgets, some of which might take up a larger portion of the screen than others.
Diagram from internal iOS 14 build hints at movable app icons and Android-style widgets for iOS 14
It's not like Apple hasn't listened to its customers-eventually. Remember, iOS 13 finally got rid of that clunky volume heads-up display (HUD) that covered much of the center of the screen. The point being, of course, that while iOS users might have been hoping for more app icon customization and Android-style widgets for some time, eventually the complaints do make it through to the ears of the appropriate people in Cupertino.
Keep in mind though, that there is always the possibility that Apple will decide not to keep any of the aforementioned features in the final version of iOS 14. If that is the case, it simply could mean that Apple plans on offering all of this customization in a future version of the operating system. Speaking of iOS 14, we probably will see Apple introduce it online during its annual WWDC Developers Conference. Held every June in San Jose, Apple had no choice but to move the conference online after the coronavirus outbreak.
We could see more customization with iOS 14
With a redesign for the iPhone and the addition of 5G connectivity, this might be a good time for Apple to add some long-desired customization features to iOS. Still, some iOS users might not be terribly happy to see blank icon slots on their iPhone screens. On Android, this is quite common because when an app is uninstalled, it doesn't call for a seismic shift with all of the remaining app icons. When an app is uninstalled on the iPhone, the remaining icons all move in order to prevent that one blank spot from appearing on the display. If Apple does add "Avocado" to iOS 14, blank spots just might be the price that users have to pay to get that customizable app icon grid that they have been jealously watching Android users mess around with with going back so many years.
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