Another year, another WWDC, another iOS version. We are now on iOS 14, and no, not iPhoneOS, but iOS 14. Apple’s iOS 14 features are plenty — a lot being taken from the Android playbook of old. Having used Android before, these features, e.g., widgets, app drawer, translation, picture-in-picture, App Clips, are not really game changers. They’re novel and fun to have, but, personally, am not really excited that I’ll use them that much, either because I don’t have any use for it, or it won’t be locally supported, like App Clips. However, there are features that I am excited to use, and I cannot wait for September/October to get it. iMessage iMessage is getting a big boost, specially for group messaging. Whilst the features are not new in as far as other messaging systems are concerned, these new features definitely make iMessage jump from the 1990s to the present. Mentions and threaded replies are the major improvements, which will definitely be a big help for those who use iMessage as their main messaging platform, like me. Safari After iMessage, Safari is my main workhorse on the iPhone. Whilst there are other browsers available, which incidentally, you can now choose as your default, Safari is still my preferred one. New features coming, besides the usual speed and stability optimizations, are more centered on security and privacy. Safari’s password repository, the keychain, is now regularly checking passwords against known compromised passwords. I have this same functionality with my favorite password manager, 1Password, but having it on the keychain is very useful for those who don’t yet use a password manager. Safari is known for its Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), which protects users from trackers present on websites. iOS 14 surfaces those trackers so users will know who and what these trackers are and which websites are using them via a Website Privacy Report. Privacy This is one area where Android will have a difficult time copying, Privacy. iOS 14 brings in more privacy features, and I am excited to get these on the hands of all iPhone users. Applications are now required to ask for consent before they track you, and later, you can manage these settings to revoke those that you don’t agree with. How many times have we discovered applications collecting data and tracking us without us knowing? Well, that changes soon. Apple has included a visual indicator every time the microphone or camera is used by an application. The iPhone has no hardware LED similar to laptop cameras, so this is the next best thing. Now there is a way to really know if that particular application is spying on you. Prior to iOS 14, applications requesting access to your photos are an all or nothing thing, i.e., either you give it full access or not. iOS 14 provides you with another protection from applications that are fond of harvesting your photo gallery, by adding a setting that allows you to choose which photos are available to which applications. Whilst it may be tedious, it is always for the best — that way you will not be surprised with how a certain application managed to get all your photos. With the current pandemic, most of us are staying at home (I hope you guys are, unless you have no choice but to go out. More power to frontliners and thank you!), so applications that require location information will have your precise location recorded, and that is not ideal for your privacy (yes, the developers would want to have your precise location, even if they don’t need to, but for other reasons). Well, Apple is now provides a way to share your approximate location, e.g., White Plains, without giving your exact home location to applications. Apple also locks down access to the clipboard. I remember a security researcher disclosing this iOS bug that allows third party applications to read the contents of the clipboard, well, that is no longer the case with iOS 14. For every application that accesses your clipboard, you will be notified. Finally, applications that want to scan your home network for devices, well, iOS 14 gives you more control in managing which applications can be allowed to do so, specially those that require access to smart devices and home automation kits. Shortcuts Shortcuts is one of the most underrated feature of iOS 13, and with iOS 14 is just became more useful with new functions, and support for folders to organize your shortcuts. This becomes even more useful when you pair it with watchOS 7! So there you have it. These new features are what excites me about iOS 14, and sorry for those who love bashing Apple for copying this and that feature from Android, but most of those ‘copied’ features don’t excite me. How about you, what excites you about iOS 14?