News: Apple's First iOS 14 Public Beta for iPhone Introduces Haptic Feedback Music Controls, Files Widget & More

Apple just released public beta 2 for iOS 14 today, Thursday, July 9. The good news comes two days after Apple released the second iOS 14 developer beta, and 17 days after the release of the first developer beta. While this is the first public beta for iOS 14, it's called "public beta 2" to keep in line with developer beta numbering.

Apple released public beta 2 at 1 p.m. PDT. While Apple usually releases public betas at this time, we weren't sure we'd see public beta 2 today. That's because Apple never confirmed a specific release date for public beta 2, just that we'd see it sometime in July.

• Update: Apple's iOS 14 Public Beta 3 Now Available for iPhone

While developer beta 1 introduced us to over 200 new features and changes in iOS 14, dev beta 2 and public beta 2 add some new options to the mix as well:

Calendar Icon Receives a Facelift

Add Widget Button Matches the Color Theme of the App in Question

Clock Icon's Hands Are Slightly Bigger

Files App Now Has a Widget, Features 'Recents' Option

Small Reminders Widget Includes a Task Now

New Music Option to Disable Motion for Animated Cover Art

Slightly Redesigned Widget Stack Editor

New, More Descriptive Banner for Copy & Paste from Another Device

New Limit Counter When Sharing Photos from Messages

'Tracker Report' Now 'Privacy Report,' Now Fully Functional

Slight Change to Air Quality & Location Info in Weather

Clipboard Notification Banner Mildly Slimmer

Here are some other awesome changes in beta 2:

• Smart Stack automatically added to the top of your Today View
• Haptic feedback when tapping playback controls in Music
• Music's overall layout is slightly tweaked
• Slightly tweaked animation when long-pressing an item in Music
• "Show Apple Music" is no longer a setting; Apple Music is always in view now
• Library icon in Music now aligned with other tabs' icons
• Glyphs throughout iOS are slightly different
• Picture-in-picture now has three sizing options (via double-tap)
• You can now double-tap on the picture-in-picture minimized tab to open it
• "Add to Library" is now "Remove from Home Screen"
• You can no longer remove some stock apps from the App Library
• Apple slightly reorganized App Library's folder
• Photos now has a large widget (previously only came in small and medium)
• App Suggestions widget now shows notifications on app icons
• Emoji icons for lists in Reminders now have borders
• Home tile in Control Center is now larger
• Sleep mode tile in Control Center in now teal instead of dark blue
• Wallpaper settings reflect your widgets with live data
• "Privacy Warning" in Wi-Fi settings now features a summary of the option
• New icon for Family Sharing
• "Avoid Stairs" has been removed from Cycling in Maps (not so awesome)
• HomePod beta testers can change default music service
• New "Add Automation" option in HomePod
• New "Handwashing" article in Health app
• QR code Apple Pay payment system found in iOS 14 code

iOS & iPadOS 14 Beta 2 Release Notes

Overview

• The iOS & iPadOS 14 SDK provides support to develop apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 14. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 12 beta 2, available from Beta Software Downloads. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 12 beta 2, see Xcode 12 Beta Release Notes.

General - Known Issues

• Important: Updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta from previous versions of iOS & iPadOS might take significantly longer than expected. Data loss could occur if the update is interrupted. (59101197)
• macOS Big Sur 11 beta or Xcode 12 beta might be required to sync or update devices running iOS & iPadOS 14 beta.

Accessibility - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• You can now activate Siri or trigger the Accessibility Shortcut using Full Keyboard Access. (59607413)
• Non-hearing aid devices no longer unexpectedly appear in the Hearing Devices setting. (64213426)

Accessibility - Known Issues

• Hey Siri isn't recognized while Sound Recognition is enabled. (57295771)

Guided Access might be unavailable. (64222059)

• VoiceOver users might have difficulty answering incoming calls using the new Banner display style. (64858244) Workaround: Magic Tap will answer incoming calls or you can set incoming calls to use the legacy Full-Screen display style in Settings > Phone > Incoming Calls.
• VoiceOver users might be unable to interact with your Home Screen after returning from the App Library. (65043969) Workaround: Restart your device.

App Store - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• The userInfo parameter can now be passed to Account Authentication Modification Extensions during in-app upgrades. (64128404)

App Store - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• You no longer need to use a GM version of iOS & iPad OS 13 for on-boarding to the SKAdNetwork API. (64228858)

App Store - Known Issues

• Avoid calling the presentCodeRedemptionSheet() API until you're able to create supported codes. (59351258)

ARKit - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Replaying an ARKit ARSession using the new ARGeoTrackingConfiguration is now supported. (63249747)

Audio - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Parameter curves are now supported with CHHapticAdvancedPatternPlayer, and can have greater than 16 controlPoints. (48822574)

AVFoundation - Known Issues

• AVAssetDownloadTask options, AVAssetDownloadTaskMinimumRequiredPresentationSizeKey, and AVAssetDownloadTaskAllowHighDynamicRangeKey are currently unavailable. (64000708)

Calendar - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Custom recurring events can now be created. (64318342)

Core Media - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Apps using the built-in compositor for transitioning effects no longer get stuck following the first clip. (63677038)

Core Media - Known Issues

• Low-Latency HLS isn't currently supported in Safari or Webkit. (61859389)

Core ML - Deprecations

• The default initializer on the auto-generated model interface has been deprecated in favor of init(configuration:). Use init(configuration:) or the newly introduced .load() method and handle model load errors as appropriate. (62875309)

DeviceCheck - Known Issues

• When implementing the DCAppAttestService class, calls to a attestKey(_:clientDataHash:completionHandler:) method currently returns a serverUnavailable error. (55893194)

ExposureNotification - Known Issues

• ExposureNotification isn't currently available in iOS 14 beta. Use iOS 13.6 beta to preview the latest functionality. (64433241)

Fonts - Known Issues

• Beginning in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta, fonts installed using configuration profiles are only available to apps supporting the font APIs and entitlements introduced in iOS & iPadOS 13. If your app provides a custom font-selection interface, it can no longer access fonts installed via configuration profiles. For reference, see the WWDC 2019 Session Font Management and Text Scaling (55317428)

Game Controller - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• If your app imports the Game Controller framework, you no longer see a spurious compiler warning "Report this issue to the owners of GameController". (64172595)

HealthKit - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• You can now request authorization to share HKQuantityTypeIdentifierStairDescentSpeed. (64369379)

Home screen - Known Issues

• App Library section headers aren't positioned as expected in right-to-left languages. (63558681)
• Spotlight might not appear as expected. (64121178) Workaround: Restart your device.

HomeKit - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Home no longer quits unexpectedly when first launched. (63900758)

The following deprecated Swift APIs are now available in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2:

• HMHomeManager.addHome(withName:completionHandler:), replaced by HMHomeManager.addHome(name:completionHandler:);
• HMHome.addActionSet(withName:completionHandler:), replaced by

HMHome.addActionSet(name:completionHandler:);

• HMHome.addRoom(withName:completionHandler:), replaced by

HMHome.addRoom(name:completionHandler:);

• HMHome.addServiceGroup(withName:completionHandler:), replaced by

HMHome.addServiceGroup(name:completionHandler:);

• HMHome.addZone(withName:completionHandler:), replaced by

HMHome.addZone(name:completionHandler:). (64371987)

Localization - Known Issues

• Certain languages might exhibit clipped or misaligned layout.
• Certain languages might display unlocalized text. (63246545, 64040564)

Location - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• App-provided Usage Description strings no longer appear in bold text in location prompts. (63882116)

Location - Known Issues

• Widgets have access to location information even if the NSWidgetWantsLocation key isn't in their Info.plist. (61953645)
• In Swift, the authorizationStatus() property of CLLocationManager is incorrectly exposed as a method instead of a property. (62853845)
• requestTemporaryFullAccuracyAuthorization(withPurposeKey:completion:) might call its completion handler before the accuracyAuthorization property has been updated. (64036689)
• Location Services might become unavailable if Set Automatically is disabled in Settings > General > Date & Time. (63654865) Workaround: Restart your device.

Maps - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Alerts are now available for congestion zones or license plate restriction zones. (63826260)
• Maps is now available to provide driving directions. (64415002)
• License plates added to My Vehicles are no longer unexpectedly removed. (64203230)
• When performing certain actions such as finding directions, you can now grant Maps temporary access to your precise location using either your watch or your phone. (63202251)
• In Simulator, MapKit views no longer unexpectedly render all-black. (63834449)

Maps - Known Issues

• After updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2, user data such as Favorites, Collections, and Recents no longer syncs with devices running earlier versions of iOS & iPadOS. (65005848)

Measure - Known Issues

• Automatic person height measurement using iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) and iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) is currently unavailable. (64613902)

Messages - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• You no longer receive an alert that indicates the maximum number of pinned conversations has been reached. (62919406)

Messages - Known Issues

• iMessage apps icons aren't hidden when switching to the emoji keyboard. (60897469)

Metal - Known Issues

• API validation can't be used while using shader validation. (64055248)

Music - Known Issues

• If your device is subject to the EU Volume Limit, you might be unable to increase headphone volume above the recommended limit. (64172180) Workaround: Use the volume slider in Control Center instead.

Networking - Known Issues

• HTTP/3 Draft 29 isn't yet supported. (63524866)

Notification Center - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Touching and holding on Mail notifications now displays the content of the message as expected. (64001154)

PencilKit - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• After updating to iPadOS 14 beta and enabling a Chinese or English keyboard, you no longer need to force close an app to use Scribble or Copy As Text. (64222317)

Phone and FaceTime - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Boost Mobile customers now receive incoming calls. (64381514)
• Regular and emergency Wi-Fi Calling using iPadOS 14 beta, macOS Big Sur 11 beta, and watchOS 7 beta are now available for T-Mobile USA customers. (63078572)

Phone and FaceTime - Known Issues

• Control Center indicates "Phone" is using the microphone for calls placed over the cellular network, but indicates "System" for calls placed over Wi-Fi networks. (64269165)

Photos - Known Issues

• Image search isn't supported in Simulator. (62479686)

Screen Time - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• It no longer takes a few seconds to dismiss Screen Time after choosing to ignore a time limit. (60307739)
• The Screen Time widget is now available. (64037493)

Settings - Known Issues

• The "Learn More…" link in Settings > Privacy > Tracking isn't currently available. (63106206)
• The "Allow Apps to Request to Track" preference in Settings > Privacy > Tracking might unexpectedly become re-enabled after being disabled. (64168665)

Siri - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Home automation that contains a shortcut will function as expected. (64016006)
• Widget configuration will work for apps that adopt the new in-app intent handling API. (64045419)
• When tapping to edit, Siri now dismisses. (63735795)
• While using Siri in silent mode, you no longer have to tap the Siri button before each new request. (62853659)
• Siri will no longer produce inconsistent responses when using Simulator. (64225134)

Siri - Known Issues

• Triggering an automation when closing an app isn't currently available. (62820498)

Searching for "Timer" and tapping a suggestion to start a timer doesn't start the timer as expected. (62849336)

• Siri might not recognize shortcuts. (63648718) Workaround: Create a new shortcut in the Shortcuts app, then Siri will once again recognize previously created shortcuts.
• Built-in and developer-provided actions that contain text array parameters might produce an unexpected error. (64808212)

Software Update - Known Issues

• Your device might restart but isn't updated to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta. (64606517)

Workaround: Try removing content to free up additional storage or update your device using your computer.

SwiftUI - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Usability issues affecting the ColorPicker have been resolved. (60470474)
• A Label used with a symbol image no longer appears misaligned. (60193698)
• Sections in sidebar lists no longer have an unexpected appearance. (63586698)
• Disclosure groups in Forms no longer produce unexpected results. (64079102)
• Nested disclosure groups generated by OutlineGroup no longer produce unexpected results. (64097731)
• Document-based apps can now open documents. (64282719
• Using ContainerRelativeShape now works inside the clipShape modifier. (64325583)

SwiftUI - Known Issues

• View.body is now implicitly a @ViewBuilder and App.body is now implicitly a @SceneBuilder. (63606493)
• Rebuilding against the iOS 14 SDK will modify instances of custom(:fixedSize:) to scale with dynamic type. To create a font which doesn't scale with dynamic type, use Font.custom(:fixedSize:). (51463566)
• The SignInWithAppleButton view expands to fill its container. (64136568) Workaround: Apply a frame modifier.

Third-Party Apps - Known Issues

• Apps using JSONKit might quit unexpectedly on launch. Some forks of JSONKit hardcode private pointer representation details which are subject to change. (60290929) Workaround: Use NSJSONSerialization instead.
• fstab has been removed. Filesystem contents outside of an app's sandbox can no longer be used for validation. (61098152)
• Apps using the NativeScript framework might quit unexpectedly on launch. NativeScript performs an unsafe operation to determine if an arbitrary pointer is an Objective-C object pointer. You can temporarily resolve this issue by using objectgetClass(:) instead of reading the isa directly; however, update this code to avoid checking whether arbitrary pointers are Objective-C object pointers. (62913064)

Translate - Known Issues

• On-Device Mode isn't currently supported. (64437614)

TV - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Subscribing to channels through the TV app using iOS & iPadOS 14 beta or tvOS 14 beta isn't currently supported. (64141164)

Vision - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• The NSSecureCoding implementation of VNRecognizedPointsObservation no longer causes -initWithCoder: to fail. (63681919)

Vision - Deprecations

• The VNIdentifiedPointsObservation class is deprecated. Use VNRecognizedPointsObservation instances instead. (63690311)

Wallet - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Apple Pay support is now available to Mac Catalyst apps. Two methods have been added to existing delegate protocols. No changes are required for iPad apps, but one or both of these methods must be implemented when building for Catalyst. (64187739)
• The first method is an addition to the PKPaymentAuthorizationControllerDelegate protocol: presentationWindowForPaymentAuthorizationController:. This method is required for Catalyst when using PKPaymentAuthorizationController, because PKPaymentAuthorizationController, unlike PKPaymentAuthorizationViewController, doesn't have knowledge of the window requesting presentation of the payment sheet. Pass back the UIWindow instance displaying the UI requesting the payment, for example, MyViewController.view.window. This method is marked as required when building for Catalyst, but is otherwise optional.
• The second method depends on whether you're using PKPaymentAuthorizationController or PKPaymentAuthorizationViewController. For PKPaymentAuthorizationControllerDelegate, use paymentAuthorizationController(:didRequestMerchantSessionUpdate:). For PKPaymentAuthorizationViewControllerDelegate, use paymentAuthorizationViewController(:didRequestMerchantSessionUpdate:).

This method must be implemented to request a merchant session via your server, and return it via the handler. This mirrors the security model used in WebKit, and replaces listing merchant IDs in the app's Apple Pay entitlements. This method in turn uses the following class to send back results:

• API_AVAILABLE(macos(10.16), ios(14.0), watchos(7.0))
• @interface PKPaymentRequestMerchantSessionUpdate : NSObject
• (instancetype)initWithStatus:(PKPaymentAuthorizationStatus)status
• merchantSession:(nullable PKPaymentMerchantSession *)session;
• @property (nonatomic, assign) PKPaymentAuthorizationStatus status;
• @property (nullable, nonatomic, strong) PKPaymentMerchantSession *session;
• @end

Wallet - Known Issues

• isPassLibraryAvailable() doesn't ensure uniform availability of pass library functionality between platforms and devices. (60697880) Workaround: Call a more specific API to check available functionality, such as canAddPasses().

Watch - Known Issues

• Your Medical ID might not appear as expected in the Apple Watch app. (64953421)

Workaround: Verify your Medical ID using Settings > Health > Medical ID instead.

Widgets - Resolved in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2

• Deploying widgets directly no longer causes excessive reloading of the timeline in Simulator. (64131405)
• Widgets now appear in the widget gallery when using Simulator. (64222135)
• When deploying a widget directly from Xcode, the widget now appears, even if the device's home screens are full or if the target device is iPad. (64141978)
• An Edit Widget option no longer appears when touching and holding a widget, when the widget isn't configurable. (60287590)
• When deploying a widget from Xcode, apps and other overlays now dismiss automatically on build and run. (63692203)
• The Weather widget no longer displays weather for Cupertino instead of your current location. (64221611)

Widget - Known Issues

• The quick actions menu might unexpectedly appear behind the widget overlay. (64456466) Workaround: Restart your device.
• onBackgroundURLSessionEvents(matching:_:) might not be called as expected. (64671952)
• Stacks might unexpectedly become unavailable. (64682733) Workaround: Restart your device.
• Some widgets might disappear from your Home Screen after updating to iOS & iPadOS 14 beta 2. (64823469) Workaround: Add the missing widgets back to your Home Screen.
• Widgets might sometimes appear unresponsive. (64899088)
• Fonts size currently doesn't adjust automatically for different device sizes. (60348216)
• Widgets aren't blocked for Screen Time when their parent app is blocked. (60747373)
• The frame(width:height:alignment:) modifier doesn't currently work for views including root level VStack and HStack. (62617098)
• WidgetKit extensions can continue to access location services for up to 15 minutes after being viewed if their app has been granted 'While Using the App' location access. (62888317)
• When a device is locked, widgets on the lock screen might have an unexpected appearance. (63246894)
• You can't resize an existing widget. (63500799) Workaround: Remove the widget and re-add it at the desired size.
• After tapping Edit Widget for a large widget, an unexpected animation might appear. (63646749)

Updates in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

App Store - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• SKOverlay enables downloading an app without having to leave the current app. The overlay can also be tapped to view the app in the App Store. In an App Clip, SKOverlay enables users to download the corresponding full app from within the App Clip. (56886149)
• You can now manage subscriptions, test upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations, as well as reset the introductory offer eligibility for a test account, by tapping on your sandbox account in Settings. (57248908)

AVFoundation - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• A new feature in AVAudioSession allows clients to request stereo polar patterns from the built-in mic. Clients choosing a stereo polar pattern must call a new method of AVAudioSession to specify the stereo input orientation. For more information, see AVAudioSession (58584572)

HealthKit - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• New data types are available to track mobility metrics including walking speed, step length, double-support percentage, and more. (56387364)
• HKElectrocardiogram enables reading electrocardiogram voltage data and classifications recorded by Apple Watch. (56396806)

Localization - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• Three Simplified Chinese Wubi input methods are now supported: Wubi 86, Wubi 98, and Wubi New Century. (56277474)
• QuickPath now supports swiping English words on the Simplified Chinese Pinyin keyboard. (56314466)
• Typing numbers using the Japanese Kana keyboard has been significantly enhanced. (56285976)
• CarPlay keyboard support has been added for over 100 additional languages. (56791047)

Irish Gaelic and Norwegian Nynorsk keyboards now support Auto-Correction. (53156919, 48183197)

Logging - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

New APIs are available for using os_log from Swift as part of the framework os:

• A new type, Logger, can be instantiated using a subsystem and category and provides methods for logging at different levels (Logger.debug, Logger.error, Logger.fault).
• The Logger APIs support specifying most formatting and privacy options supported by legacy Logging APIs.
• The new APIs provide significant performance improvements over the legacy APIs.
• You can now pass Swift string interpolation to the os_log function. Note: The new APIs can't be back deployed; however, the existing os_log API remains available for back deployment. (22539144)

Networking - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• Experimental HTTP/3 support can be enabled in Safari Settings > Advanced > Experimental Features, and enabled system-wide in Developer settings. (62969220)

Safari and Webkit - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• Translation is now available in the U.S. and Canada. Supported languages include English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Safari will automatically detect if translation is available based on your Preferred Languages list. (64437861)

Voice Control - New Features in iOS & iPadOS 14 beta

• Voice Control is now available in English (United Kingdom) and English (India). (55904557)

To download and install iOS 14 public beta 2, sign up through Apple's beta site, download and install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update to begin the installation of the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.