iOS 14’s App Library: The FAQ

Using an iPhone nowadays is hard work in trying to remember all the swipes, pokes and prods to do something straightforward. Not only is a book of instructions needed but that book needs to be carried with the iPhone - always. Just as soon as you get the hang of something, Apple decides to do an ‘improvement’.

Once I was a purveyor of any new iPhone/iPad app, but now I cant be bothered - would just add more unnecessary complications.

My hope is that Apple never loses control of its App Store otherwise things will get much more messy.

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I could not agree more! And the behavior seems to have gotten more touchy with recent iOS updates/upgrades. I don’t think there’s anything that makes me scream at my phone more (except maybe the Mail app). :roll_eyes:

I’d have to agree with that. I usually have to try two or three times until I can successfully move an app without inadvertently creating a folder.

I have a different problem for which I haven’t found a solution. . .

A few days ago I wanted to find an app that I purchased 8 years ago. In the good 'ol days before iTunes 13, I could have opened iTunes and seen all of my purchased apps listed in alphabetical order. Easy Peasy and I liked having the apps stored locally too.

But that was then and this is now: I had to go to the App Store and scroll through a long list of apps before I located the one that I was looking for. Fortunately, it was still available. . .

If there is an easier way to do this, I would appreciate hearing about it. . . I searched for an alternative method and I admit that I could have been unsuccessful and Apple already has an answer for me.

Very useful article Josh. Thanks. Looking forward to using the app library. Makes so much sense.

One question: can you drag multiple instances of an app to different places on the Home screen? Just as you can with Mac aliases

No, sorry. You can’t have multiple copies appearing on the Home screen(s).

An app can exist:

  • Only in the App Library
  • In both the App Library and one location on a Home screen.

Shame! Thanks Adam

Hi - I have just started exploring the App Library. One initial observation is that sometimes an app is put in a specific category but it makes better sense for me for it to be in another category - for instance, one app is sitting in Health & Fitness but I’d rather have it in Shopping & Food. Can we move apps from one category to another? A related question is that I’d like to split one of the categories (for instance Information & Reading) - is that possible? Thanks!

No, sorry, the App Library categories are pre-set, and you can’t move things between them (or change their contents other than by deleting apps). I believe they pick up on App Store categories that the developers have chosen, though I haven’t verified that for sure.

I am trying to use App Library. I like it, but for me the screen is in the wrong place. It should come before the Home Screen. For me it should be search, App Library, first page. I would like to be able move the page order.

I know have search, page of widgets, old Home Screen, App Library.

I also would like to be able to move the App Library screen. I suspect that iOS 15 will eliminate Today View entirely and maybe move App Library there because Today View is completely pointless when you can put widgets on any Home screen.

As far as moving and reorganizing apps in App Library, I think this would defeat the purpose, which is effortless and automatic app organization. If you want to organize apps a certain way, you can add them to the Home screen and sort them however you like.

I was hoping the new App Library would make it easier. Delete an app from the home screen (but leave it in the App Library) then add it to another screen. It always adds to the last screen.

You can hide home screens, and just have the one you want to add the app to be the last one showing. Then unhide the other home screens once you add it.

Hmm. I’m not seeing that. When I start dragging an app out of the App Library, I can scroll or swipe to other Home screens and drop it on whatever one I want.

I like the idea of hiding all but the Home screen you want to work on temporarily!

This is about the difficulty of moving an app from one screen to the next. A lot of people find it frustrating. Here’s my work around.

  1. Delete the app from the Home Screen, but not the App Library. You’ll be asked when you select an app as if you’re deleting it, which you want to do.
  2. Edit the Home Screen by clicking on the … button on the bottom.
  3. Hide all the Home screens from the Home Screen where you want the app to go, and the end. You want the destination Home Screen to be the last one.
  4. Go to the App Library and add the app. It will now be on the Home Screen you want. Move the app if you desire on that screen.
  5. Go back and unhide all the home screens you previously hid.

By the way, I went from over a dozen Home Screens and a ton of folders to just four Home Screens and maybe two or three folders with iOS 14. Any app I don’t use at least once per week is banished to the App Library. I’m actually quite happy with the new arrangement and I even have a widget on my Home Screen (it’s a stack of widgets). I didn’t think it would make that much difference, but it does.

Very naive question: is there some simple way to see in App Library which apps are not displayed on any home screen?

For what it’s worth, you don’t have to delete the app from a Home screen to move it to a different Home screen starting from the App Library.

Not that I can tell.

When I added a widget, I assumed iOS 14 would make room for the widget by moving the bottom 8 apps and folders from page 1 to page 2. But iOS 14 didn’t merely move things – it removed them from all pages. I wanted easy access to them – that’s why I had them on page 1. (Page 2 would have been a good compromise so that I could use a widget on page 1.) To restore the apps, I had to go to the App Library and restore them one by one. Some of the apps had been in folders, so then I had to recreate the folders. Then I had to move them back to page 1.

Plan B: move the bottom 8 on page 1 to page 2 and then add the widget. But as I did so, iOS moved some apps to fill in the spaces I was leaving. The apps seemed to be chosen at random. Some – and I wouldn’t have believed this had I not seen it – were taken out of folders and placed on page 1.

Josh’s comment in the video, “If you’re concerned that your app library is going to mess up your organization, you don’t have to worry, that’s not an issue” is only true if you never add a widget.

I removed the widget and will avoid using them unless Apple gives us more control on the placement of apps and folders.

Yeah, the App Library isn’t going to cause any problems along those lines, but Home screen widgets certainly can.

Just a quick note here. In the article, Josh and I noted:

When you start removing an app from the Home Screen, you’ll be given a choice whether to delete it from the device entirely or “move” it to your App Library. (Remember, apps always exist in the App Library, so there’s no moving involved; you’re just removing it from the Home screen.)

Happily, I just noticed that Apple fixed this awkward interface wording. Instead of saying “Move to App Library,” the dialog now correctly says “Remove from Home Screen.”

Thanks, Apple!

Only took 7 years, but at least Apple finally listened to me :slight_smile:

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November 5, 2013
Apple’s confusing delete/move app to trash language
To: TidBITS Talk tidbits-talk@tidbits.com

Just for the fun of it, am I the only one that has always found this language extremely confusing? Every time you want to delete an app in iTunes, you’re presented with this:


Do you want to move the selected app to the Trash, or keep it in the Mobile Applications folder?

Only files in the Mobile Applications folder will be moved to the Trash."

Cancel Delete Files Move to Trash

Well, starting from the assumption that I was trying to DELETE it in the first place, why wouldn’t I want it moved to the trash, isn’t that what DELETE implies? And if I wanted the files kept in the mobile app folder, why would I be trying to DELETE it at all? Is there a missing explanation or clarification that should be there, or that I should otherwise be aware of? Is it so obvious that I’m just not seeing it?

And then if I chose “keep it in the Mobile Applications folder” (yet still DELETE it?), it then says “Only files in the Mobile Applications folder will be moved to the Trash.”. Wait, what?