Apple iOS 14: Everything You Need to Know

More organized look. It’s easy to let your homescreen get cluttered with way too many apps, making the ones you do use frequently hard to find. Apple’s new App Library feature will automatically organize them for you, shrinking what once were pages of apps into one screen.

Apps you’re most likely to use next will appear at the top, along with a grouping of your most frequently used apps, and any you recently downloaded.

Apple also has redesigned widgets. They’ll contain more information and be easier to access. You can pin them on any home screen, or view them in a “Smart Stack” that automatically appears at a certain time of day, or when you’re in a certain location. You’ll also be able to choose how big you want them to be.

Picture in picture. The ability to keep watching a video or stay on a FaceTime call while checking your email or texting someone at the same time should delight the multitaskers of the world. You’ll have the option of playing the video in a small window on your screen, or just running the audio in the background.

Smarter messaging. You’ll be able to pin your most important conversations to the top of your screen. And, when responding to group messages, you’ll be able to create conversation threads with inline replies. You’ll also be able to tag specific people in the conversation to make sure they see your message.

Looking for more Memoji fun? Apple’s adding new hair and headwear styles, as well as face-covering and age options.

Improved privacy. Later this year, Apple says, App Store product pages will feature easy-to-read summaries of each app’s privacy practices in order to give you a better idea about what you’re giving up if you download them.

Apple also is going to help you switch existing online accounts that you’re currently logging into with another service, such as Facebook or Google, to the option Apple rolled out last year. The company says its log-in option does more to protect your privacy.

Better maps. You’ll have the option to set your maps up for a cycling experience. They’ll take into account both bike paths and roads when planning your route, as well as warn you of big hills and stairs along the way.

The new maps app also includes electric-vehicle routing that will help you find compatible charging stations.

Conversation translation. Apple’s new Translation app will automatically detect which of 11 languages are being spoken and provide a real-time translation. Other devices have similar capabilities, but what makes Apple unique is that the translation takes place on the device itself, not on a cloud server. That means you don’t have to worry about your private conversations being sent to the cloud for processing.