How to Get Started With the IOS 14 Public Beta
Don’t worry for those of you who were wary of installing iOS 14 as a developer beta. It’s time for a public beta, which means this preview of Apple’s latest iPhone operating system may be a little glitchy, but nowhere near as wild as what some of us have been using for weeks.
Try it on your device and you have tons of awesome new features to play with. But before we get to them, let’s talk about the basics:
How to install iOS 14 public beta
First, make sure you back up your iPhone via iCloud or iTunes (just in case). Then launch Safari on your iPhone, visit the Apple Software Beta Program website, and register your device with the program. Then you will need to download and install the profile on your iPhone:
Finally, you will update your iPhone as usual for any iOS update: Settings> Software Update. After a little download and some installation time, you should be ready to use iOS 14.
Where to begin?
Use the app library to clean up your iPhone
One of the best and most noteworthy features of iOS 14 – not iPadOS 14, sorry iPad users – is an all-new App Library that will make it much easier for you to manage apps on huge pages. You will be able to clean your iPhone so well that you will be amazed at the results. (I’ve gone from over seven pages of crap to two pages that aren’t even full.) The only thing better than the app library would be if Apple provided you with a quick switch to alphabetically arrange all of your apps on your pages or last used. This won’t happen in iOS 14, but the app library is still great for organizing.
Try the hidden features of iOS 14
One of my favorite things to do with a brand new operating system is to rummage through all the different screens to find all the weird, quirky, undeclared features. IOS 14 has a lot to play with, but I don’t want you to waste the weekend repeating my steps. Stay curious, but use my iOS 14 guide to get started with 14 different features worth checking out, including:
- Where to Find iOS 14’s Built-in Emoji Finder (Finally)
- How to change the resolution and frame rate of your video in the Camera app
- How to get notified when your iPhone detects certain sounds like doorbells, sirens, pets, etc.
- How to use picture-in-picture mode in iOS 14 (even from YouTube!)
- How to Improve Voice Memos Recordings
- How to hide the MAC address of your iPhone
Strange with back presses
I wrote separately about the hidden backpress feature in iOS 14 because it is unusual, fun, and I had the feeling that I would be using it for some time – I still use it! If everything is fine with you, you can enable this setting to launch all sorts of actions or shortcuts on your iPhone by simply pressing it several times in a row during boot. This includes launching Google Assistant if you’re tired of using Siri (or need cross-platform compatibility in your mixed Android and iOS home).
Don’t forget to set the new CarPlay wallpaper
If you like to connect your iPhone to your car for driving and getting around town – and your car comes with the always-useful Apple CarPlay – you can now choose from several different wallpapers to decorate your dash display. Your iPhone, which loves iOS 14, will be one by default, but tapping on the Settings button in CarPlay will allow you to select a range of others (including light / dark combinations if you’ve set CarPlay to shift colors over time). day).
What else?
We’ve covered all the other features, big and small, that are coming in iOS 14, and we have a lot to talk about. Check out our liveblog of Apple’s WWDC 2020 event to see what else you can do, including home screen widgets, pinned messages in group conversations, and find out what the hell is an App Clip. (Spoiler alert: easy to understand.)
If you can’t upgrade to iOS 14 because your device is too old, we have some tips on how to do it ! It might be time for an update this year, but don’t worry, because you’ll still be living a normal life on iOS 13 if you absolutely can’t upgrade to a new iPhone.
And all of our other incredible iOS tips still apply. IOS has a lot of incredible accessibility features that you probably didn’t know about, and they will appear in iOS 14. The same is true for the iOS keyboard ; have you already mastered the different ways to interact with it? Want to silence your notification-obsessed apps ? We have advice on this matter as well. And don’t forget to turn on iOS’s built-in dark mode , because it looks its best at night.
And while you are doing that, why not check which subscriptions you are paying for by clicking this link on your iPhone or iPad. Hope you’re not wasting your money.
This story was originally published on July 9, 2020 and is enhanced by a video on July 16, 2020.