How to Use App Library on iPhone to Create Categories and Folders

Apple redesigned the home screen of the iPhone with the release of iOS 14. There are a few new features you can look forward to and one of them is the Application Library. The other part of the equation is Widgets. Together, they strengthen the user experience of iPhone users, or Apple’s claims. We’ll find out soon.

Android has had widgets and editable home screens for years. Now, iPhone users will have it too, but there are subtle changes here and there. Some are good while others are not so cool. We’re testing the beta version so it’s ready when the final release comes out in September.

Let’s start.

How to Access the Application Library

There is a new area on your home screen called the Application Library. You will find it by swiping left on the last screen.

You will see that all the apps you have installed on your iPhone are already categorized. These categories or folders are created automatically by the system and are fairly general; for example, entertainment, social and productivity.

Categories in the Application Library

There are two smart folders named Recently Added and Suggestions. The first one will show all the apps you have recently installed or recently installed on your iPhone. Suggestions are a list of apps that Apple thinks you’ll want or likely use, based on your recent activity, time, and location.

The frustrating thing about App Library is that there is no way to create new categories or edit existing ones. Some apps in the App Library are listed in the wrong category. In other cases, there is a folder within the category that requires an additional tap to access the apps.

The way it’s done is three apps in the category and resting inside the folder. If you don’t like it, you can’t do anything about it. App Library aside, there is no way to drag and drop apps even within a category (auto-generated). The first and last word on this issue belongs to Apple.

Your iPhone will reorder the apps in the folder/category by ‘app usage’ which means it will keep an eye on your activities. If it wasn’t for Apple we’re talking about privacy, I’d be worried.

Search in Application Library

Did you notice the search bar at the top? It is visible even when scrolling and thus always remains accessible, but not when you enter a folder. This makes it easy to find an app quickly. There’s no smart search here, so you can’t search for data inside an app. For example, the name of the contact in the phone book. All apps are listed in alphabetical order with a way to skip the order on the right.

You can do this using the search bar on the home screen. Swipe down from anywhere on the screen to reveal it. I’d like both to be the same to reduce unnecessary confusion, but this is beta. Fingers crossed.

Hide Home Screen Apps and Pages

Apps you have installed on your iPhone are placed on the home screen. This app is there whether you use it or not, and all you could do was create a folder to house all the unnecessary apps. It was always like that, but not anymore. Go to Settings > Home Screen and you can now select it.

Select ‘Add to Home Screen’ if you want newly installed apps to still show up there, and ‘App Library Only’ if you want the app to go directly to an App Library category. There is another option for notification badges. If you want a familiar badge above the app icon in the App Library, turn it on. It is on by default and I suggest you let it be like that.

How about the existing apps that have been cluttering your home screen for over a decade? You can uninstall apps the same way you uninstall them. Tap and hold the app you want to remove and select Edit Home Screen. All apps will now start shaking with a minus icon at the top.

Tap the minus icon to reveal a hidden menu where you will select Remove from Home Screen.

And you’re done. Again, there is no way to select multiple apps to remove them all from the home screen at once. However, there is a way to remove all pages if you want. Press and hold a space on the home screen to enter edit mode. Tap the dot icon that represents the number of pages.

You will now see all pages with a check mark at the bottom. Tap once to remove the checkmark; When you press Done, the page disappears from the main screen. For some reason I couldn’t revert the changes, which means my page is private for now. I can still view it in edit view, but tapping it doesn’t bring it back. I guess I’ll have to wait for an OS update.

Touch and hold any app in the App Library to re-add it to the home screen. As you removed it.

Note: Folders on the home screen work as before. Drag and drop one app onto another to create a new folder that you can rename. I wish it would work in the Application Library as well.

Home Run

The beta version looks promising, but there are some aspects of the new App Library that I don’t like. And then there are some expected bugs. I wish the App Library feature was more flexible as Apple finally decided to let users have more control. I want to be able to create and edit categories as I want. Apple can’t decide for me which app goes where. It’s just annoying, but it’s a start.

Apple is opening more and more each year. Hopefully, things will get better with future updates. Until then, we’ll keep you updated.

Next: Have you always wanted to use pictures in picture mode on your iPhone? Find out how you can do it on iOS 14 by clicking the link below.