5 new features for iPhone, iPad

When Facebook warns that a change in Apple’s upcoming mobile operating system will negatively impact how accurately it can track you on mobile phones, you know you’ll love iOS14.

This is the latest update to Apple’s mobile operating system, an fall tradition that brings new features to iPhones and iPads, as well as adding a new coat of paint to older models.

On Tuesday, Apple is hosting an annual virtual demo of its product from its corporate campus in Cupertino, where it is expected to advertise new versions of the iPad and Apple Watch, as well as remind users of some of the new features coming in iOS14. (You can watch the presentations at apple.com)

This year, Apple is bringing privacy to the fore with a new iOS, which Apple traditionally releases in the third week of September (last year it was September 19). The iPhone launch will be delayed until October, and Apple is expected to host another iPhone event next month.

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The privacy feature, which Facebook has opposed, informs users when applications such as social networking use data to “track you” or “contact you” by capturing your financial and contact information, browsing history and location. Users will be asked for their permission to allow Facebook to do this, and precisely because people had to say no to this, Facebook was warned that it would take a financial hit when the feature was turned on.

Apple is delaying this feature until early 2021 to give developers like Facebook, Snapchat and others time to resolve issues. But there are other features coming soon that are worth looking forward to. I downloaded the iOS14 beta last week and spent some time on it. I’ll tell you what I found.

Android clones

For years, Android smartphone fans have been able to customize their home screens with a “widget” feature that lets you decide if you want to see big clocks, weather, news headlines and the like. You can now do this in iOS14 by swiping left on your home screen and hitting the edit button to add to the experience. Even though it is a theft, it is a good thing, just as the Google Translate app has always saved lives when traveling internationally. Now Apple is adding Translator to the operating system using the new preloaded Translator app or Siri personal assistant. Ask a question like, “How do you say hello in Japanese?” You get an answer and the ability to keep the conversation going.

Application Library

If you’re like me, you have a bunch of apps on your phone and you’ve lost sight of them. In the past, Apple has offered the ability to create folders of your choice. Apparently Apple believes that consumers are not putting in the effort. Because this year Apple is introducing automatic amalgamation of similar apps with the categories of entertainment, social media, utilities, “reading”, health and more, and they will make them for you, whether you like it or not. In theory, this is good. But since this happens automatically, you might not agree with Apple’s choice. And there is no tool to change the bundle. (However, you can still create folders in the old-fashioned way manually.)

Compact calls

You used to talk on the phone and the black background of the conversation covered your screen. Now, which will be especially useful for people who are talking on speakerphone, part of the conversation will take up a small percentage of the screen and you will be able to see more space on your iPhone.

Cards

The Apple Map app is getting two useful new features this year. Bike routes, which have been a staple of Google Maps for years, are finally getting their due from Apple – although they didn’t work in my area in beta. Second, Apple offers Travel Guides to cities like New York, San Francisco, and London, with tips on what to do when you visit – after a pandemic, of course. At first there will be only a few of them, but in the coming months they will appear in other cities.

Siri

Personal Assistant, which debuted in 2011, smarter this year, according to Apple, which specifically states that Siri has “more than 20 times more facts than just three years ago.” In my tests, he really was more talkative and smarter. Siri still has an annoying tendency to answer questions by saying, “This is what I found on the Internet,” instead of answering you, but this time it happened less often.

Start your car with iOS

This is perhaps the most intriguing new feature of all, the ability to use your iPhone to open your car and start the engine. But even if it’s part of iOS14, don’t get your hopes up. This feature only works with one manufacturer, BMW, on a series of models released after July 2020. But it’s definitely worth the wait.

Follow USA TODAY’s Jefferson Graham (@jeffersongraham) on Twitter