Tuesday, June 16, 2020

iOS 14 Predictions vs What Apple Actually Shipped

Updated September 2026: in June 2020, days before Apple announced iOS 14, I wrote down my predictions based on Apple's track record, including home screen widgets. I have rewritten the post to compare those predictions with what iOS 14 actually brought, and why it still matters for iPhone users.

I made my predictions without any inside sources, only from Apple's history and what analysts were discussing. My two main guesses were that Apple would focus on performance improvements, and that it would bring widgets to the home screen, perhaps in a panel you could swipe to. The second turned out to be the headline of the release.

What did iOS 14 actually introduce?

  • Home screen widgets: resizable widgets that could sit among app icons, plus a Smart Stack that rotated widgets through the day.
  • App Library: an automatically organised list of all apps at the end of the home screen pages, letting users hide pages.
  • Compact calls: incoming calls as a banner instead of taking over the whole screen.
  • Picture in picture for video on iPhone.
  • App Clips: small parts of apps launched without installing the full app.
  • Default apps: the ability to choose a different default browser and email app.
  • A Translate app for conversation and text.

Which predictions came true?

Widgets, clearly. Apple's version went further than a swipe-in panel: widgets could live directly on the home screen, which was a real change in how iPhones looked. The performance focus was less visible in the announcement; features, not speed, dominated the launch.

Why were the predictions possible?

Because Apple often adopts features after they have matured elsewhere, and because widgets had existed in a limited form in the Today View for years. Watching what Apple has already half-built is usually a better guide than rumours.

Do these features still matter?

Yes. Home screen widgets, the App Library and compact calls remain part of iOS today, and customisation has kept expanding in later versions. If you never set up widgets or hide home screen pages with the App Library, it is worth ten minutes: a tidier home screen with the information you check most is one of the easiest ways to make an iPhone feel faster to use.

How can you make predictions like this yourself?

Follow Apple's developer conference each June, look at what the previous version introduced in a limited form, and treat single-source rumours cautiously. Most of what arrives each year is an extension of the year before.

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Monday, June 8, 2020

Building a Proposal Storyline on a Two-Week Turnaround

Updated September 2026: in June 2020, working from home, I was given a two-week opportunity to collate slides on listed topics with a clear storyline. I built it as my manager described, and the onsite team discarded it, having never agreed that approach. I have rewritten it into advice on building a proposal storyline under a short turnaround.

I had just returned from leave and was working from home because of the pandemic. My manager messaged that a new opportunity had arrived from a familiar account team, with a two-week turnaround. His brief was to collate slides on listed topics with a defined storyline; customisation would come later with inputs from the delivery team. I put in the effort, built the storyline, and the onsite team, who had not been part of that brief, set it aside.

What is a proposal storyline?

It is the sequence of messages the proposal makes, from the client's problem to your solution to why you are the right partner, with each slide supporting one point. A good storyline lets a reader skim the headlines and understand the argument. Collecting good slides without an agreed storyline produces a deck that reads like a catalogue.

Who should agree the storyline?

The person who will present it to the client, usually the onsite lead or account manager. An offshore brief, even from your own manager, is a starting point unless the presenter has confirmed it. That was the gap in my case: the storyline was agreed between offshore people, not with the onsite team who owned the client conversation.

How do you build one quickly?

  • Write the storyline as five to eight headline sentences before touching slides.
  • Send those sentences to the onsite lead for approval. It takes minutes to review.
  • Map existing slides to each headline, and list the gaps.
  • Build only the gaps, then customise with delivery team inputs.

What makes a two-week turnaround manageable?

An approved storyline by day two, a first full draft by the end of week one, and one agreed review cycle in week two. Anything beyond that must come with a trade-off. Short turnarounds fail when direction is settled late, not when the team works slowly.

What if your manager and the onsite team disagree?

Get them on the same thread early. Share the storyline sentences with both and ask for a single agreed version before building. It avoids spending days on a direction one of them has not accepted.

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