Major redesign of the Home Screen since the launch of the first iPhone includes the new App Library
THE Apps Library (App Library in English) was one of the highlights of the announcement of the next update of the iPhone operating system, the iOS 14.
Historically, apps installed on the iPhone they are lined up on Home screen pages and can be organized only in folders. The lack of customization options kept iOS usability consistent, but with the accumulation of apps over the years it made it more complicated to find a specific app amidst rows of icons in the Home screen.
Current layout of apps on iOS: rows of icons arranged on pagesWith the Apps Library, Apple adopted a similar old app drawer solution found on most smartphones Android, whose objective is to centralize and classify the applications installed on the device, as well as to use the machine learning iOS to highlight apps that the system considers most relevant to the user.
Apps Library on the Home Screen
To view the iOS 14 App Library, on the Home Screen, navigate to the last application page and drag it to the side. You will see installed apps grouped into categories and a search bar at the top of the screen.
IOS 14 App LibraryIn each category, the icons of the three apps considered most relevant by iOS are displayed in the standard size of the interface, while the other apps in the category are displayed in thumbnail size, as in a folder.
When you touch one of the large cones, the selected app opens immediately; by tapping on the small cones, the category expanded for an app to be selected.
Automatic categorization
The division of applications into categories is done entirely automatically by the system: iOS decides both the names of the categories and which of them a particular app should belong to.
Apple Arcade games have their own category in the App LibraryIn the test version of iOS 14 made available by Apple, it is not possible to rearrange, rename or remove categories manually, but these functions may be added in the future.
Some of the classifications made by the system are still somewhat misleading, such as that of the Uber in “Lifestyle” and that of Nubank in “Productivity”. The Library categories appear to be based on those in the App Store, but the rating of apps is not. Uber, for example, belongs to the category "Travel" in the App Store, while Nubank is in "Finanas".
Recently Added
The category Recently Added has a fixed position at the top right of the Library and displays the latest apps downloaded from the App Store to the device.
A setting, available in Settings> Home Screen, allows new downloads to be sent automatically to the Library instead of the Home Screen.
Suggestions and Recently Added are fixed categories at the top of the Apps LibraryYou suggest
The category of You suggest has a fixed place in the top left corner of the Apps Library. In this section are presented the four apps that, iOS believes, the most accurate user at that moment.
Suggestions are based on how the user uses the apps, considering the time the app is usually open, the location (at home, at work, etc.) or the type of activity.
According to Apple, the recommendation algorithm runs on the device itself, not on datacenters, with the aim of preserving the user's privacy – a theme that was highlighted by the company during WWDC this year.
Search
At the top of the Apps Library, a search bar is displayed, where you can search for an application by name. In addition, when you tap the bar, all apps installed on the iPhone are listed in alphabetical order.
List of applications installed on the device in alphabetical order in the Apps LibraryHide Pages
One of the most unexpected additions to iOS 14 is the ability to hide Home Screen pages. With that, the user can hide a page – and all the apps contained in it – permanently, or just for a while. For example, it is possible to create a page with all the corporate and productivity apps and hide it during weekends or holidays.
To choose which pages to show or hide, tap anywhere on the Home screen and hold until the cones start to dance. Then touch the row of dots above the Dock, which indicate the pages on the Home Screen. You will enter the page editing screen.
IOS 14 App Library page editing screenTouch the checkbox below the pages you want to hide or show. At the end, touch any empty space to return to the Home screen. Apps are still available in the App Library if the user needs them.
The Apps Library will be available from the third quarter of 2020 for all iPhones launched since 2015. For the curious and courageous, the news of iOS 14 can be tested in advance through Apple's public beta program.
Source: Apple