Hands-on with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 as they launch in public beta with a new home screen with widgets on the iPhone, a Scribble feature for Apple Pencil, more
There are so many new features that it's hard to keep track — In anticipation of today's release of the public betas of iOS 14 …
The VergeDieter Bohn
Context & Ripple Effects
This hands-on lands a few weeks after The Verge's deep dive into the redesigned iOS 14 home screen, which showed widgets and App Library arriving without breaking iOS's grid-based simplicity. Today's public beta is the moment that redesign leaves developers' hands and reaches ordinary iPhone and iPad owners ahead of the fall release.
It also fits a pattern the coverage documents well: Apple has run a summer public-beta cycle for years, from the iOS 11 preview in 2017 to iOS 13's beta in 2019, and this year's build is the one that later reviews judged a bigger change for iPhone than for iPad.
First-order effects
iPhone and iPad owners testing the public beta get home screen widgets, App Library, and Apple Pencil Scribble months before the general release, while developers must now make their apps work against the final widget and Scribble APIs.
Second-order effects
Widget support becomes a checklist item for every major iOS app at launch, since the home screen — previously reserved for static icon grids — is now surface area apps are expected to occupy.
Third-order effects
The bet-on-widgets bet compounds: Apple later extended the same idea to the lock screen in iOS 16's public beta, suggesting the home screen redesign was the first step in turning formerly static iPhone surfaces into glanceable, widget-driven ones — with the iPad deliberately kept on a slower, more incremental track.
The trend: Apple's annual summer public beta has become the fixed on-ramp for its biggest iPhone interface shifts, with widgets expanding from the iOS 14 home screen to the iOS 16 lock screen.
iPadOS 14 is another step in redefining the iPad experience - a platform where multitouch and desktop-like features can coexist. My story on two weeks with iPadOS 14: https://www.macstories.net/... https://twitter.com/...
iPadOS 14 is a unique challenge for Apple - every aspect of the iPad experience now needs to feel great with touch *and* the trackpad. Yes, some features are inspired by macOS - but Apple is adapting (most of) them to a multi-input platform. https://www.macstories.net/... https:/…
Infuriating design that makes no sense. You can't just tap what's on the screen to change it. You have to tap a little “edit” button in the corner to then edit items that fill the entire rest of the screen. The usability and accessibility are horrendous. https://twitter.com/...
Deleted scene from my iOS 14 Public Beta Preview: my years-long quest to get rid of the unnecessary edit button step when changing alarms in the Clock app sadly must continue for another year. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
here's @backlon's preview of iOS / iPadOS 14, which is available in a public beta starting today. he didn't want to use my suggested headline of “all the small things”, but i'll get over it. https://twitter.com/...
I have been running this for a few weeks now and I am very happy with the features and stability on my Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad. https://www.theverge.com/...
The public betas for iOS and iPadOS are out today. Here's a look at what you can expect in them both. The right way to eat at a buffet is to get a little bit of everything, but have like one favorite. That's basically this update. https://www.theverge.com/...