iOS 14 – New Features & Observations
on July 27, 2020iOS 14 Feature Summary.
App Clips
With App Clips, Apple has created a fast way to link users to a rich application experience that works like a standard web link. So instead of directing users to the app store to download, install and load your app (which can be time consuming), users can bring up the lightweight feature immediately and quickly perform a key app function.
Apple offered a few examples of the functionality that this new tool could be perfect for, including “A museum could have visitors scan visual codes on labels next to displayed works to launch an app clip that reveals augmented reality content or provides audio commentary” or “A rental bike could come with an NFC tag that people scan to launch an app clip that lets them rent the bike.”
Other examples might be: Adding yourself to a reservation wait list or checking yourself in upon arrival for a restaurant/retail app, perform a quick pay action using Apple Pay, credit card or even loyalty points, or accessing pushed content that shows up as an alert.
App Clips are launchable directly by scanning a QR Code or NFC tags, and easily integrated with Apple Pay. We expect to see a lot of real world integrations to take advantage of app clips and are excited to see how our clients will put them to use.
App Clips Overview.
App Widgets
While Android devices have been able to use widgets on their mobile phones for years, iPhone and iPad users join the party with iOS 14. This feature has us the most excited for our clients as the possibilities are truly endless to offer bite size content to users without requiring them to fully open the application. Think of these as dynamic app icons, in 3 different available sizes on your home screen.
For example: weather apps can now show the current temperature, a loyalty/rewards app can show your available points and membership status, a health app can show the calories burned for the day, your smart car app can show you whether or not your doors are locked or the battery charge level….all while avoiding the delay and clicks needed to launch the app and navigate to the desired information.
Beyond simply displaying data, app widgets can be a very useful tool to encourage re-engagement with your application. A game or health-club app can show you your current spot on the leaderboards, a news-reader app can tease new content, or a loyalty app can show the “deal of the day” and indicate today is a double rewards points day.
App Widgets Overview
App Privacy Updates
With rumors of mobile applications “spying” on users, Apple has released privacy updates to give users more control and visibility if/when their personal data is collected. This will include requirements for posting privacy practices in the app stores and updates to key features.
Approximate Location Permissions
Prior to iOS 14 an app could request “When in Use” or “Always On” location permissions. Once granted an app could monitor the location of a user down to 1 meter in accuracy. Now users will be able to deny app developers their precise location. Instead, you can grant an approximate location for the user. If your application requires accurate location data (for mileage capture, or presenting nearby locations or services) this could cause issues with the functionality of your app and we recommend investigating and testing your application to get ahead of this change.
Microphone and Camera Indicators
Once released, Apple will give you clear visible notifications when the camera or microphone are capturing data. When your phone’s mic is on, an orange dot appears on the top right side of the screen. The dot shows up green when an app is using your camera. While we hope or expect that your app isn’t capturing sound or video without your user’s knowledge, this upcoming change is a reminder to confirm your app isn’t recording your user’s actions in this manner.
App Tracking Transparency Permissions
Apple is now making it more difficult to associate data collected within one app, across multiple websites or other mobile applications. While we don’t anticipate this affecting our clients directly, we expect to continue monitoring this feature, as many common Analytics and Advertising SDKs may run afoul of Apple’s new guidelines and restrictions, even if the App is not using those built in features directly. We anticipate the Google Analytics SDK and the Facebook SDK will likely need to be updated in your apps to avoid your users being prompted that they are being tracked.
App Privacy Overview
