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iOS 14 will bring huge changes to the iPhone – here’s what they might look like

Published Mar 13th, 2020 2:50PM EDT
iOS 14 Release Date
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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  • iOS 14 will feature several big changes according to recent discoveries in leaked code, including a new way to display apps on the home screen.
  • Designers have already come up with renders based on these leaks that show us what a list-based app arrangement might look like on the iPhone.
  • The new iOS 14 home screen design could make it easier for iPhone users to interact with some of their favorite apps, and to access notifications.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

We’re about three months away from Apple’s WWDC 2020 event, which is where Apple will unveil all its software innovation for iPhone, Mac, Watch, TV, and home. Even if the coronavirus outbreak gets worse by then and Apple is forced to cancel the in-person event, the company will probably still unveil the next versions of its operating systems via a virtual press conference. iOS 14 will be the star of the show, as the iPhone remains Apple’s most important product. But a massive iOS 14 leak a few days ago revealed several new features that Apple is building into iOS 14, including a big change that’s coming to the home screen. And designers have now created renders that attempt to guess how these changes might present themselves on the iPhone.

Apple is reportedly going to allow iPhone users to view apps on the home screen differently by adding a new page or new mode with a scrollable list of apps. That might be useful to some people, as it could provide fast access to frequently used apps or to apps that Siri recommends depending on the context.

Designer Parker Ortolani came up with a design for the rumored feature seen below:

While it looks good, it’s also bizzare to see apps arranged that way. But that’s probably because Apple has only displayed apps in a grid on the iPhone and iPad ever since launching the original iPhone back in 2007.

The designer also came up with a method of showing folders in the rumored list:

In other images, Ortolani mocked other rumored features of iOS 14, including wallpaper categories, alarm detectors, and default apps:

The Settings app could also see several design changes, which will allow you to select how apps will be displayed:

The following image shows the rumored Workout features coming to iOS 14:

Finally, the designer imagined the new door knock notification, as well as the new user interface for the wallpaper picker:

Ortolani wasn’t the only person trying to figure out how these rumored iOS 14 features would look like in real life. iSpazio also produced a few renders that show a new notification-based app arrangement.

Here, the designer makes more use of the space available for each app to display contextual information. For example, the Messages app will tell you how many new messages await, while the Home app could remind you to turn off the lights when you’re not home.

A key feature shown in these renders is the possibility of sorting the apps by various parameters. You might want to see the last opened apps on the phones, the ones you use frequently, or just the apps that have new notifications.

Image source: iSpazio and Anthony Boyd Graphics

As exciting as these renders might be, we’re still only looking at concept images that have nothing to do with the real thing. Apple’s actual design for the new iOS home screen hasn’t leaked alongside the iOS 14 code that was just discovered, so these could end up being close or nothing like the real thing.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.