Apple playing catch-up with home-screen overhaul for iPhones

Apple is to make major changes to iPhone home screens as part of an operating system upgrade to be rolled out within days.

Apple is to make major changes to iPhone home screens as part of an operating system upgrade to be rolled out within days.

iPhone users will have their apps placed into folders under categories. This will happen automatically. The process will start when Apple phones upgrade to iOS14, the latest version of its ­operating system.

Apple has been behind ­Android in helping users arrange and locate apps on home screens. Apple users have to manually drag and drop icons into position. Android introduced an “app drawer”, which lists apps alphabetically and makes them easy to find.

iPhone apps will be auto-­arranged in the App Library, found by repeatedly swiping from right to left.

Apple has been behind ­Android in helping users arrange and locate apps on home screens.

Apps categories include social, utilities, productivity & finance, creativity, entertainment, health & fitness, travel, information & reading, shopping & food, games and education. Given there are more than two million apps in the App Store, Apple has its work cut out ensuring each is categorised correctly.

The other big home screen change involves widgets, with their functionality vastly ­expanded. Widgets — for calendar, news, maps, stocks, activities and more — are designed to give instant information on the fly.

Another major change ­involves privacy. With iOS14, ­social media companies won’t be able to collect advertising information or details of websites visited without express permission.

This has upset Facebook and Instagram. Facebook says it won’t be able to deliver personalised ads if users reject tracking. Instagram is urging Apple to modify the ­upgrade.

Apple is holding a virtual launch early on Wednesday at which it is expected to unveil the sixth-generation Apple Watch. Better battery life and blood oxygen monitoring are two likely ­features.

It is also expected to announce a new iPad Air.

There are conflicting rumours as to whether Apple will unveil the iPhone 12 or wait until mid-October. The iPhone 12 will be Apple’s first phone to support 5G. Major rivals have had 5G phones on the market for more than a year.