Following the conclusion of today's keynote event that saw the unveiling of new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, Apple has made the first betas of iOS and iPadOS 14 available to developers for testing purposes.
Over the course of the iOS/iPadOS 14 beta testing period, Apple will be able to refine new features and work out bugs ahead of the software's release, which is expected in the fall. The early June release will also allow developers to build new iOS and iPadOS 14 features into their apps.
Registered developers can download the profile for the first iOS and iPadOS betas from the Apple Developer Center, and after that, betas will be available over the air.
As with all of the updates introduced at WWDC, iOS and iPadOS bring major new features to the iPhone and the iPad, with updates to Messages, Safari, and the Home screen, plus a new Fitness app and AR capabilities. iOS 14 includes a redesigned Home screen experience with an App Library view that allows you to see all of your apps at once and support for widgets on the Home screen for the first time.
A widget Smart Stack can be set up, which uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget base don time, location, and activity. FaceTime and Phone calls no longer take over the entire iPhone or iPad display, an update that iOS users have wanted for years.
A new feature called App Clips is designed to allow users to scan an App Clip code, QR code, or NFC tag to get a quick clip of an app that can be used without the need to download the entire app. App Clips also work from Messages or Safari.
Messages gets pinned conversations, @mentions in group chats, inline replies for group chats, and new Memoji options.
Maps now supports cycling directions and electric vehicle routing that adds information about charging stops on a planned route. A new Guides feature offers up curated lists of interesting places to visit in different cities.
App privacy has been enhanced and all apps need to require user permission before tracking. All App Store product pages will also feature summaries of developers' privacy practices in an easy-to-understand format. Users can also choose to share approximate location information with apps, and users can also upgrade existing accounts to Sign in With Apple.
For Safari, there's a new built-in translation feature, Siri is smarter than ever and can send audio messages, the Home app has new Adaptive Lightning features, and CarKey, a new feature that will let you unlock your car with your iPhone, is coming. Switching between devices with AirPods is more seamless, and for AirPods Pro, there's an incredible new spatial audio feature with dynamic head tracking.
iPadOS 14 includes all of the features in iOS 14 plus a new "Scribble" feature that lets users handwrite in any text field on the iPad, with the handwritten text automatically converted to typed text.
Many apps in iPadOS 14 feature sidebars and toolbars with consolidated controls for a more streamlined user experience, and there's a new Depth API that lets developers create more powerful features for their apps.
Search on the iPad has been entirely redesigned and is now similar to Finder for Mac, a one-stop place to find anything. You can launch apps, access contacts, access files, and more.
Only registered developers can download the iOS and iPadOS 14 betas at this time. Apple will provide a public beta for public beta testers later in the summer after the software has gone through a couple of rounds of developer testing. Beta testing for iOS 14 will last for several months, with the update set to be released in September 2020.
