iOS 14 is set to be unveiled very soon, and here’s everything we know so far.
iOS 14 is set to be unveiled later today at the main WWDC 2020 keynote. Don’t expect the final software to land on your phone soon after though as it’s unlikely to arrive until September this year.
This event is just when we’ll be hearing about the new features, what phones will be supported and a variety of other details. One rumor even suggests it won’t be called iOS 14, suggesting Apple will be switching to the name iPhoneOS for its next upgrade.
We don’t know anything for certain yet, and we won’t until the main WWDC 2020 keynote. That said, we’ve seen a variety of leaks and we’ve been able to make some educated guesses considering rumors for the upcoming iPhone 12.
Some of those guesses are more obvious than others. For example, it’s expected the iPhone 12 series will embrace 5G connectivity so it’s likely we’ll see lots about that within iOS.
Below we’ve put together all of the leaks and rumors for the new software so far, plus a little bit of what we want to see the new software do too.
Given last year’s big iOS updates came out on September 19, one day before the then new iPhone line, we’re guessing that iOS 14 will launch in late September 2020. That will be just in time for the launch of the iPhone 12 family, which will be the first phones to get the next iOS.
Assuming Apple follows prior years, it will likely unveil iOS 14 at its WWDC 2020 conference. That’s set to take place virtually this year – due to the Covid-19 pandemic – and it’ll be starting later today.
Apple’s virtual keynote starts at 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 6PM BST so we’d expect it to be unveiled then. This is how you can watch the WWDC 2020 keynote for yourself.
Apple usually releases an initial developer beta the same day, so it may do the same in 2020. The first public beta will likely follow later in the month, and will accordingly get new betas after the developer versions.
Whether you want to use this on your phone will come down to whether you’re fine with having any software problems over the coming months. The public beta can often be temperamental, so you may want to wait until September for the final edition.
A new leak days before the big WWDC 2020 event threw a spanner in the works and suggested that Apple may be switching its naming structure for iOS 14 and returning to the name iPhone OS.
For its first three years of making mobile phones, Apple referred to the mobile software as iPhone OS. That all changed in June 2010 when Apple got the trademark for iOS for the first time and began using it from iOS 4 onward.
Although there’s little evidence to suggest the switch to iPhone OS apart from this leak, it would make sense for Apple to do this. It would sit alongside iPadOS 14 and watchOS 7 as its software naming and it’d make things far clearer for a mainstream audience.
While Apple didn’t leave any phones behind when it introduced iOS 12, the most recent jump to iOS 13 made up for it by stranding two generations of iPhone handsets – anything older than the iPhone 6S or original iPhone SE.
However, current rumors suggest that all phones able to run iOS 13 will also support iOS 14. We first heard that back in January, and then again in June. So that’s our best guess for now, which will be a relief to many who don’t want to upgrade their phone.
Having said that, we would say it’s questionable whether the original iPhone SE will get the iOS 14 update, given that the company has now launched a new iPhone SE. If this rumor is true, we’d expect the following devices to get the upgrade:
We expect to hear about the full compatibility list at WWDC 2020 later today, so you’ll know if you need to upgrade your phone to be able to get iOS 14 by the end of this month.
Now, let’s move into the features you can expect in iOS 14. iOS and iPadOS support widgets up to a point, but based on early code snippets it looks like you might be able to add widgets to your home screens in iOS 14 as well.
