The update of iOS to version 14 completely disrupts the organization of the iPhone home screen. Here is everything you need to know to get started with the library, master widgets and find your applications.
Since the appearance of folders in iOS 4, Apple has never made such a significant change to the home screen of iOS. iOS 14 does not take half measures and offers a decluttering operation that risks disrupting everyone’s habits.
First of all because applications can now be launched from a dedicated library, offered in the form of folders automatically generated according to the categories of applications in the App Store, but also from a list classifying each of them in the alphabetical order. The goal here is to minimize the number of applications (and pages) displayed on the iPhone home screen. The user can thus quickly access the applications he uses most frequently and search the library for the applications he uses only occasionally.
But another equally important novelty is the arrival of Widgets, once relegated to a page accessible after deploying the notification center. Discover everything you need to know to properly reorganize your home page by taking advantage of the latest innovations brought by iOS 14.
1. Go to the application library
If you’ve been using an iPhone forever, the concept of an app launcher might be foreign to you. In iOS 14, Apple wants to declutter your Home screen so that you only show the apps you use most often.
For this, Apple offers to reduce the number of pages displayed, and to group other applications, those that you only use from time to time, in a library grouping all the applications installed on your iPhone.
This library can be accessed by scrolling the home screen to the left. It automatically groups all the applications by classifying them by categories. Depending on their frequency of use, the icons of these applications will be larger or smaller.
To access other applications installed on the iPhone, you can search for them directly in the search field, or drag the screen down to display the list of applications in alphabetical order.
2. Choose the destination of the downloaded apps
When you download new applications, they are automatically added to the home screen, within the first page of the home screen which has a free space. With the arrival of the library, things change.
If you can keep this operating mode, it is also possible to configure iOS so that the latest downloaded applications no longer pollute the home screen, but are simply accessible from the library.
To do this, open the iOS Settings, and go to the Home screen menu. You can then choose to display New downloaded apps in the App Library only. Take the opportunity, if you wish, to activate the display of notification dots in the app library as well.
3. Remove pages and apps from the Home screen
If over time you have multiplied the pages of apps on the iPhone home screen, it might be time to change and revise your organization. Tap and hold an app icon, and choose to Edit Home screen (you can also tap and hold between icons to open edit mode directly).
Then press the page count indicator, represented by several dots at the bottom of the screen, to display the editor. You can then check or uncheck the pages you want to display or hide on the screen. Then validate your changes by pressing OK.
Likewise, it is also possible to remove apps from the home screen without uninstalling them from the device.
Put the home screen in edit mode and press the – button displayed on an app icon. Then choose to Move to app library. The application will then be removed from the home screen, but will remain accessible from the iOS application library.
4. Add Widgets
The other great novelty of iOS 14 is the highlighting of Widgets which now have real utility. To add a widget, press and hold your finger on the home screen to enter edit mode. Then press the + button displayed at the top left of the screen.
The list of available Widgets is then displayed. iOS 14 offers a smart stack in which are integrated several Widgets that you can scroll and change the order. Each of the iOS 14 Widgets comes in three formats, each with more or less information. They can also be placed anywhere on home pages, with application icons automatically reorganizing themselves around widgets placed on the screen.
5. Quickly find an app
With the implementation of the app library, your habits for quickly finding an application will change. The easiest solution, however, is still to bring up Spotlight by dragging the Home screen down and entering the first letters of the app name.
And if you still can’t remember the name, bring up the library and drag it down to access the full list of apps installed on your device.