Apple’s iOS 14 represents some of the biggest changes to the iPhone operating system in years — and now, you can try it out for yourself, even if you’re not a developer. The first public beta for iOS 14 is now available.
If you’re interested in downloading and installing the iOS 14 public beta for yourself, check out our full guide.
Of course, as with any beta software, you shouldn’t install the public beta on your main phone — and if the thought of software bugs worries you at all, you’re better off waiting until iOS 14 is available to the public in the fall. If possible, it’s a good idea to use an extra device you might have lying around to test betas.
If you do end up deciding to install the iOS 14 public beta, perhaps the first thing you’ll notice is how Apple has changed the home screen. The iOS 14 home screen now offers widgets, meaning that you can see information at a glance. Apple has long stuck to the “apps-only” policy for the home screen, and the introduction of widgets represents a significant shift.
The home screen also now offers an “All Library,” which allows you to only select your most-used apps for the main home screen and hide all the rest of your apps in the App Library. That’s good news for those who have dozens of apps that rarely get used.
There are other changes to iOS 14, too. Siri now takes up only a small portion of the display, instead of the entire display, and notifications like phone calls will appear in a banner instead of taking up the screen.
Alongside iOS 14, Apple also revealed MacOS 11 Big Sur, iPadOS 14, and WatchOS 7. Only iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 public betas are available though — so if you’re not a developer and want to use the MacOS or WatchOS beta you’re going to have to wait a little. At its annual Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple said that all betas would be available in July, so you likely won’t have to wait long.
The iOS 14 public beta is available to any iPhone 6s and newer, while the iPadOS 14 beta can run on the iPad Air 2 and newer. In other words, the vast majority of devices still being used today can run the betas.
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