When my colleague wrote five months ago about some interesting things Android is better at unlike iOS, it was as though Apple was being attentive to it and decides to make up those features in it’s future release…the current iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 which were both released officially yesterday September 16th and can now be downloaded to devices that supports them.

The “Time Flies” event on September 15th was interesting and was the time Apple had to impress everyone of us which they did with their new devices except for the iPhone 12 which is being rescheduled till ending or beginning of the next month.

Meanwhile the iOS 14 had been in Beta version back since the WWDC 2020 where developer and some inquisitive users had a look into the software but then we have the stable release which is now available to download and of course will definitely feel new to those who’re not familiar with it but that could be a good head start for those who are porting in from Android as it appears quite similar which is why I feel there were features copied from the Google-owned software.

Anyway, below are some of the new but interesting features that come with the new iOS 14 update.

There is now a Translate feature

Apple included a Translate app which is made to function in real-time during a conversation and it’s able to translate about 11 languages which includes English, Mandarin, Chinese, French, German and Korean.

But not to sound goofy, it’s worth mentioning that Google’s 14 years old translate application an only transcribe conversations in eight languages in real-time.

The widgets are from Android?

You might be right to think so because that’s one aspect whereby Android was unique but then iOS 14 now have the feature as well. The impressive thing about this is that you can be able to revamp your homepage to suite your needs meanwhile there still some limitations to this compared to Android but well, it is what it is.

App Clips 

There is the feature which allow user to preview “small parts” of apps quickly without the need to download them which can be a good thing as not every application needed to be downloaded sometimes. It can also save you the stress of paying for an application you will end up requesting for a refund right after it’s been uninstalled.

Instant Apps gives apps their own URL so users don’t have to download an entire app for a single transaction, like buying concert tickets for example. 

App Library is my favorite

I’ve been yearning for this for a really long time now Apple decided to answer my call or maybe some others who like the feature whereby you won’t have to clutter your homescreen with a pile of applications something which Android excels well in whereby your homescreen is clean and can be customized with widgets and shortcuts.

The App Library is just the equivalent of the Android’s App Drawer just with the absence of app-grouping feature unlike the iOS 14.

Apple Maps’ cycling

Apple Maps gets further improvements with the dedicated Cycling option which is meant to help users find bike paths in order to know whether the route they take is busy or a quite one as well as whether they’ll encounter stairs.

Okay again comparing this to Google Maps, it doesn’t account in the stairs but there has been option to select the cycling way back a decade ago.

Picture-in-picture

There had been picture-in-picture feature which allows users to watch videos while exiting to use other applications rather than being restricted to the media application. The video window appears like a floating box anywhere on the screen and can even be swiped away while keeping the audio playing in the background.

Wind Down mode

There is also the Wind Down Mode which help user get prepared for bed at night and works for iPhone and the Apple Watch as well which let a user set up a desired bedtime and a wake up time which then puts the device in a Do not Disturb mode.

There are also options to add shortcuts for meditation or playing relaxing music. Google doesn’t have a dedicated app for this although there are some third-party applications to achieve this.