New iOS 14: What Can It Do to Your iPhones?

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Sep 16, 2020 04:20 AM EDT

iPhone users will be able to install Apple's newest operating system, which is the iOS 14, starting Wednesday.

iOS 14 was initially announced in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Among the new features coming to iOS 14 are new app organizer and home screen widgets, as well as a more compact Siri interface.

The new iOS 14 will also let you play a video thumbnail while doing other things. There is also a new add face covering to your Memoji.

With this recent development, many Apple users are asking whether they will still be able to use their old iPhone or if it's time to upgrade to a newer version.

When Apple introduced the iOS 13 last year, it said that the update would work with iPhone 6S, iPhone SE (2016), and newer models.

Fortunately, this year is the same. Apple is not dropping its iPhone 6S or its older version of the iPhone SE.

New Features

Apple included new features that you could enjoy with the introduction of iOS 14.

One of the many new operating system features is that you can now tag someone in a conversation when you want to get their attention, which can be useful for large groups.

It will also allow you to reply to a message thread within your conversation, which should get you a timely response directly.

Aside from the tag feature, you can now also pin a conversation to top messages. This means you do not have to go scroll through the long list of contacts and group conversations to find the thread you are looking for.

Apple also has a Translate app built-in instead of having to use Google's Translate app. It will allow you to convert text and even converse with someone who only speaks a different language.

Languages available for this built-in Translate app are English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Portuguese and Russian.

Your iPhone can now also experience an app drawer like Android, called App Library. It is a new screen that is located just to the right of your last home screen. It auto-arranges all applications on your phone like folders.

iPhone users can also now experience having widgets on the home screen. The Smart Stack widget will show you information from multiple apps when it thinks you need it.

The Picture in Picture will finally be introduced to iPhone users. The Picture in Picture creates a thumbnail image of a video that continues to play even when you are on another application or screen.

This feature will also appear when you want to switch gears to see the different phone parts without pausing your video. The Picture in Picture feature also works with FaceTime video.

Other apps such as Apple TV, Podcasts, Safari, iTunes, Home also supports the Picture in Picture feature of the iOS 14.