Why didn't Apple give us the iOS 14 App Library years ago?
There was a lot to take in from Apple's latest special event, but the development of iOS was, perhaps, the strangest.
Apple introduced App Library - yes it's pretty close in name to Huawei's App Gallery - to sit at the end of your home screens and auto-arrange your apps. You can also hide your numerous home screens as a result if you want. Then there are widgets, which you can put anywhere on your home screens.
And yes, both are straight out of the Android playbook. App Libary is identical to the concept of the Android app drawer.
You could also make a case for the live-updating widgets looking a lot like those on the lost-opportunity that was Windows Phone, too, especially the square versions that take up the space of four app icons.
That Apple is inspired by Android is nothing new - after all, Google is often inspired by Apple and Android contains numerous little enhancements you could say came from iOS.
But the big question for us is - why now?
What has changed to encourage Apple to bin its long-standing rigid home screen layouts and introduce complete customisation that some could say will lead to a total mess of a home screen?
Apple does tend to hold back on features, but it's quite strange that it has happened 13 years after the advent of the iPhone.
Are we just too lazy?
Obviously there's the competitive aspect - it could be said that iOS is looking a little tired compared to Android these days and maybe it's an obvious way to keep pace with the competition.
But could it also be that Apple has finally realised some of us are drowning in apps that we don't use or prune and it has decided to give us a way out?
Folders are all very well, but they do require maintenance and maybe it's that most of us just aren't keeping our phones tidy ourselves. I'm actually pretty happy this is coming in. I usually swipe down to search for the app I want. After all, I've got eight app screens on the go and they're all a mess.
The App Library, on the other hand, automatically organises all of your apps. Maybe we're just too lazy, it's just taken Apple a while to realise.
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