iPhone users will finally have access to widgets with iOS 14

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During Apple’s digital WWDC event, the company highlighted a variety of things coming to the Apple ecosystem, but one thing that any iPhone owner will be glad to see is some of the updates coming to the iPhone’s home screen with iOS 14.

Quite possibly the biggest update is something that Android has been doing seemingly forever, and that’s adding widgets to the home screen of the iPhone. Using a “widget gallery,” iPhone users will have access to a variety of widgets that they can add to their home screen. As a long-time iPhone user, seeing different shapes on the home screen is strange, but overall will be a good addition for varying functionality.

One interesting addition to this is the “Smart Stack” which is a widget that lets users put different apps into a stack. Then, using “on-device intelligence,” Apple will display certain apps based on the time of day, your location, and more.

There’s also a new App Library with iOS 14, that basically will take your apps and organize them into folders automatically. This section will be found after your Home Screen pages. It’s a small thing, but Apple notes that using its same on-device intelligence, it will try to surface relevant apps at the time.

In addition to the updates above, one of the more interesting things announced is the new “App Clip” feature. This new feature will let users gain access to various app functionality without having to actually download and sign up for an app. They can be accessed by Apple’s new App Clip codes, NFC tags, and QR codes. One example Apple gave pertains to renting a scooter. Instead of downloading the app, you’ll be able to scan the code, see the relevant app snippet on screen and do what you need to do.

Overall, these are all solid additions to the iPhone. Obviously, things like widgets should probably be standard on a phone in 2020, but App Clip definitely looks interesting.

What do you think? Excited about iOS 14? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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