We’ve collected all of the iOS 14 update leaks and rumors so far to give you a clear picture of your next big upgrade.
iOS 14 is almost official, and this coming Monday (June 22) is expected to be the big day where we’ll hear about it with the software likely being announced as part of Apple’s WWDC 2020 event.
That’s not when it will land on your iPhone though. It’s likely just to be when we’ll officially hear about many of the key features and upgrades that should land later in 2020.
We don’t know anything official yet, but there are plenty of leaks and rumors about iOS 14 – or iPhone OS 14, if some rumors are to be believed – that we’ve collected together below. We can also make some educated guesses considering rumors for the upcoming iPhone 12.
Some of these are obvious, like support for 5G should Apple finally decide to release a 5G iPhone that works with the next-gen phone networks. If there’s somehow an Apple foldable, well, iOS 14 will have software to make that work, too.
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 on June 22.
Apple has confirmed it’s hosting a virtual keynote on June 22 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 6PM BST so we’d expect it to be unveiled then.
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 on June 22, 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. At the moment though, sources say the feature could be still be scrapped.
Other leaks suggest that more wallpaper options will be added in iOS 14 as well, so you’ll be able to add dynamic, flat and gradient options. We’ve also seen a sneak peek at what some of the new wallpapers in iOS 14 will look like.
In other interface news, this leaked video (below) supposedly shows an internal build of iOS 14, and as you can see it sports a new app switcher layout that’s similar to the one on iPadOS.
