iOS 14 remains on schedule despite developers working from home

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iOS 14 on an iPhone 11
Don’t worry that iOS 14 will be delayed.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple employees required to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic supposedly aren’t letting iOS 14 fall behind schedule. The next version of the iPhone and iPad operating system is reportedly on track for release.

And company engineers are also creating new versions of an array of hardware products from their home offices.

No iOS 14 delays

Apple employees, speaking on a promise of anonymity, told Bloomberg that there have been no delays in the development of iOS 14. If true, that means it’ll likely debut in the autumn, just as its predecessors have for many years.

Quite a bit of information has already leaked out about this next version. There’ll supposedly be an augmented reality viewer built in, tweaks to the home screen, iMessage unsend, and other changes.

Before COVID-19, Apple would not have allowed at-home work on iOS 14. Even now, high-level executives are reportedly carefully restricting the number of developers allowed to access this next version outside of the Cupertino headquarters.

Plenty of Apple hardware in development too

The Apple employees also leaked to Bloomberg that their company is “working on new versions of the HomePod speaker, Apple TV set-top box, MacBook Pro, budget iPads, Apple Watch and iMac for as early as later this year.” These sources say the 2020 iPhone is also on track for a fall release.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about many these products. Rumors of a cheaper HomePod version have been circulating since at least 2018. It’s supposedly coming some time this year. Code found in iOS 13.4 hints at a new Apple TV settop box, and a refresh of the iMac line is expected soon. And Apple Watch and low-cost iPads are typically updated every year.

A carefully screened group of engineers have supposedly been allowed to take prototypes of these devices home to work on.

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