iOS 14: How to Use the App Library on iPhone - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 14: How to Use the App Library on iPhone

by

In iOS 14, Apple introduced some big changes to the Home Screen, including new widgets and an App Library. The latter feature is designed to organize large collections of apps and make them easier to access. Keep reading to learn how it works.

app library
The App Library offers a new way to manage your apps by using automatically generated app categories and a new searchable alphabetical list view. It may not be immediately obvious how to find the App Library, but that's because it lives beyond the last screen of apps.

How to Access the iOS App Library

  1. On the ‌Home Screen‌ of your iPhone, swipe left to your last screen of apps.
  2. Swipe left once more to bring up the App Library.

app library

How to Use the App Library

With the App Library open, you'll see two columns containing auto-generated categories of apps. You can tap an individual app to open it, or tap the group of four smaller app icons to reveal all the apps in that category.

app library

To delete individual apps, you can long press on a category name or a blank space to enable jiggle mode, then tap the small x in the corner of the app you want to remove. To add an app to your ‌Home Screen‌, long press on it and select Add to Home Screen.

How to Use the App Library List View

The App Library also incorporates a list view that you can use to find apps installed on your device.

  1. Tap the App Library search bar at the top of the screen. Alternately, swipe down on the screen.
  2. Type in the name of an app to filter the alphabetical list, or scroll down through the list with your finger to find what you're looking for. You can also swipe up and down the letters of the alphabet on the right of the screen for faster navigation through the list.
  3. Tap an app to launch it.

app library

If you like using the App Library, you can hide pages of apps on your ‌Home Screen‌ to get to it in fewer swipes. Click here to learn how.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

WWDC26 MR Live Coverage Article

WWDC 2026 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 27, Revamped Siri, and More

Monday June 8, 2026 9:15 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements today, headlined by a reset on Apple's push into AI that should see a significant overhaul...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:53 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...
macOS Golden Gate Mac

Apple Announces macOS Golden Gate

Monday June 8, 2026 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today announced that macOS 27 is named macOS Golden Gate. Much like Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, Apple said it focused on improving macOS's performance and dozens of underlying technologies this year. Apple says macOS Golden Gate offers quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, improved syncing in the Messages app, better Spotlight search suggestions, and other...