Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
iOS 8 is hugely telling : it has a host of small but convenient tweaks ( particularly in Messages , Mail and Photos , but throughout the system ) , and spread up unexampled theory for app developers to get creative . whatchamacallit are a big addition , third - company keyboard are a Brobdingnagian summation , and we ca n’t wait to see what biz developers do with Metal . Most of these new feature will appeal more to the seasoned iOS fan than to the beginner – convert a tech - stupefy parent or ally to upgrade may be a harder sell , since there are fewer straightforwardly impressive new features than in iOS 7 . But on the other hand , there are essentially no removed features and very few down side . Those on older devices may find that it slow down thing down to an unacceptable point , and it is astonishingly demanding of store space when you ’re installing the update in the first berth – but as far as we are concerned these are the only substantial points against iOS 8 .
Welcome to our iOS 8 review . If you ’d like to hump about the latest edition of Io , take ouriOS 10 reviewandiOS 9 vs Io 10 .
Io 8is the a la mode operating organisation software foriPhoneandiPadusers , adding a range of exciting new features for Apple devices . In our iOS 8 critique we go through all the new feature , design and interface modification in iOS 8 , iOS 8 ’s security pros and con ( how secure is iOS 8 ? ) , the new possibilities the software open up for app developers and much , much more . Ultimately we will help you decide whether or not you should raise your iPad , iPhone or iPod touch from iOS 7 ( or sooner ) to iOS 8 . ( The video above shows the install procedure ) .
Plus : which iPads and iPhones can execute iOS 8 , will iOS 8 retard down your iPhone or iPad ( particularly older iPhones and iPads ) , and the answer to other significant iOS 8 questions .
iOS 18 is the latest interpretation and will inSeptember 2025be replaced with iOS 19 . Io 18 which has come a longsighted elbow room sinceolder versions of iOS(seeiOS 18 vs Io 17 ) . find oneself outwhich iPhones are compatible with iOS 18 in ouriOS compatibility chequer . You candownload the Io genus Beta to try out novel features , but you will need to cautiously considerwhether you should deploy the Io betafirst .
iOS 8 review: Which iPads & iPhones can run iOS 8?
We ’ve looked at this in more astuteness in a disjoined clause – Will my iPad or iPhone be able to run Io 8?But to summarize it up : the iPhone 4s and after , the iPad 2 and later , all the iPad minis and the iPod touch 5 G will all be able-bodied to run iOS 8 . Plus , of course , all the new iOS machine launch in 2014 – the iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 Plusboth have iOS 8 preinstalled , as do theiPad Air 2andiPad miniskirt 3 .
await in advance to rumor product , theiPad Prowould be expected to persist iOS 8 , assuming it total out before iOS 9 is launched ( and assuming it does n’t run Mac OS X alternatively – which is one of the wilderiPad Pro rumours ) .
iOS 8 review: Will my iPad or iPhone get slower if I update to iOS 8?
This is the logical follow - up head : if your iPad or iPhone is near the bottom of that list of iOS 8 - compatible machine – if it ’s only just compatible , in other quarrel – does that mean it will fight to run iOS 8 ?
The truth is that the older generation of iPhone and iPad in particular may indeed get noticeably slower if you update them from iOS 7 to iOS 8 .
When iOS 7 launched , the iPhone 4 was the oldest phone that was give away as compatible for an ascent , and those of us still running such an senior twist ( joke ! ) thought ourselves lucky to make it . But lucky we were not , because the iPhone 4 struggle to do the most basic undertaking in iOS 7 – just opening apps felt urgently slow compared to our previous experience on iOS 6 .
And sure enough , we ’ve try fairly widespread reports from owners of the modest rank of iPhone rated iOS 8 - compatible ( the iPhone 4s ) that Io 8 is taxing their twist to the utmost .
SometimeMacworldcontributorOrestis Bastounistweeted that he found iOS 8 on his iPhone 4s so slow that he ended up downgrading back to Io 7.1 ( a process that was reasonably straightforward at the time , accidentally , but is now pretty much impossible – see our guide todowngrading from iOS 8 to iOS 7 ) ; and the sitenaboow.comran trial on an iPhone 4s in iOS 7.1 and iOS 8 and notice that some apps take up to 50 percent longer to load in the unexampled OS .
have downgrade my 4S back to iOS 7 . Way too slow . Currently looking down back of sofa for 1p coins to put towards a 6 . — Orestis Bastounis ( @MrBastounis)September 18 , 2014
Your milage may vary , as we always say , but my personal good word to friends and home on the lowest rung of iOS 8 - compatible gadget ( the iPad 2 as well as the iPhone 4s ) would be : consider giving it a miss . You wo n’t get all the feature in any instance ; as naboow points out , many of the features you do get were created with a farsighted filmdom in mind and wo n’t seem smart as a whip ; and most importantly , you might get a noticeable speed fall .
A last point , however : Apple did call the speed exit on the iPhone 4 by releasing iOS 7.1 , which while still ho-hum than iOS 6 was noticeably quick than iOS 7.0 . Things might get better in the future tense .
iOS 8 review: How to update your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8
If you do decide to upgrade to iOS 8 , there are a few steps you should take beforehand , and some rough-cut problems ( such as not having enough distance on the gimmick ) you should know about .
We discuss such thing in depth in our disjoined articleHow to refresh your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8 . That article include a TV guide to installing via iTunes if you ’re struggling with place issues and do n’t care to delete anything from your twist .
iOS 8 review: Visual design and interface
After a succession of operating scheme that look roughly the same , Io 7was a barren departure : brighter , light , less skeuomorphic and far more innovative than iOS 6 . As we expected , Apple has n’t done anything as radical as this for iOS 8 .
iOS 8 ’s panoptic aesthetic cues are as far as we can tell almost on the dot the same as Io 7 , with the same sporty , minimum icon , and transparency effects in place of iOS 6 ’s skeuomorphic design element . It retains the bold ( but very slightly toned down ) colour palette of tardy iterations of iOS 7 , which visit the bright green of Io 7.0 darkened a touch .
iOS 8 ’s port is largely the same as iOS 7 ’s too . But there are a few changes . Take the app - switching interface . As well as your open apps , this now shows circular thumbnail of recently ‘ used ’ contacts . rap one of these and iOS 8 offer icon that let you border , FaceTime or text that person , look on what liaison inside information you have available .
( A couple of tech expert I abide by have an odd aversion to this feature film , and one of them aim out that you may well twist it off : go to the preferences app , then Mail , Contacts , Calendars , scroll down to Contacts and tap Show In App Switcher . slew the on-off switch left so it changes from green to white . )
However , most of the change to Io ’s user interface are designed to make out with new feature of speech , which we will look at in a mo .
iOS 8 review: Security
But first , we ’ll briefly treat a question that ’s potential to be occurring to a circumstances of iPhone owner following the recent escape of au naturel exposure of celebrities : is iOS really as secure as we thought ? And do the new features within iOS 8 make the operating scheme more or less secure ?
First of all , Apple insiststhat the iCloud - related photo leak was n’t down to a failure of iCloud ’s security system of rules – it was rather a “ very targeted attack on user name , password and security doubtfulness ” . And while a few dim-witted safeguard will make your photo secure from attack , it ’s distinctly the typesetter’s case that famous person photos will be a more appealing target ( and will be share more wide ) than those of us humble civilian . So by all means take precautions against hacking ( and do n’t ever the mistake of thinking Io is entirely immune to cyber - attack – no platform is completely good ) but evenly , do n’t let this incident make you think that Io is leaky .
My colleague Karen Haslam discuss this all in more detail in a dyad of useful articles : Is Apple ’s iOS is really safer than Android?andHow to preclude naughty picture show appearing on the World Wide Web . See also : How to fix up two - factor authentication on iPhone .
Changes to iOS 8’s security
Talking specifically about Io 8 , however , it ’s worth remark a couple of changes from iOS 7 that could conceivably sham platform security – but probably wo n’t .
In unspecific terminus – and we talk over this far more below – Apple has become much more unresolved to drug user and third - political party customisation . iOS 8 let third - party apps to talk to each other and exchange data , which stand for you’re able to install widgets and make other change to system - wide of the mark behaviour . And it ’s possible to download third - political party characteristic , such as keyboards , and use them across iOS 8 .
For years Apple devotee have defended the fellowship ’s notoriously wet control over the user experience by say that Android ’s outstanding openness makes it less unafraid . And it ’s possible that we will see more example of iOS malware or hack once the public version of iOS 8 launch , as black hats attempt to sway user to download rogue software under the guise of third - party feature .
But Apple has made every effort to reassure users that this wo n’t befall . It insists that the thwartwise - app communication will be allow to happen only via iOS itself , and that substance abuser info will be made useable from one app to another if it receive exploiter permission – much as apps must try your permission to access your photograph or location data presently . We should also expect Apple to inflict tight vetting on downloadable keyboards , just as it does with apps that wish to be sold via the App Store . ( Of course , malware sometimes make it through this process . But it is far less common on the App Store than on Google Play and other companies app mart . )
Because the public adaptation of Io 8 has n’t been set up yet , we ca n’t yet definitively say that Io 8 will be secure . But all the sign suggest that it will be far more secure than the alternatives , irrespective of the more welcoming approach Apple has take to third - party customisation .
relaxation assured that the many benefits of Apple ’s Modern , more open approach will be discussed further in this clause .
register : Apple Home Kit release date
Improvements to iCloud security in iOS 8
Conversely , some of the melioration Apple is make to iCloud as part of the iOS 8 update will see protection tighten up . Three relevant change :
Security notifications : In two weeks ’ time , Apple says , it will get going send word users ( via email or a push telling ) every time someone seek to regenerate data from iCloud to a machine it does n’t recognize , on top of the current notification for when an iCloud account password is deepen .
Two - divisor hallmark : Once iOS 8 is launched , Apple will require two - factor hallmark for access to iCloud account from mobile devices .
Handoffmeans better document syncing and version ascendance , so you ’re less likely to suffer file putrescence or mislay versions of documents you ’ve been working on on other devices .
iOS 8 review: New features for users
Io 8 has a host of bright new feature article , which we ’ll wait at one by one in the follow section . But it ’s deserving observe before we start on one interesting aspect to Apple ’s presentation : alotof emphasis was given to developer - specific , extremely techie parts of iOS 8 , and the Modern openness Apple is allowing in the thing that app developers can do within iOS 8 . So we ’ll separate this into two parts : innate features that iOS 8 itself can do , and developer feature that will provide apps to do new things .
If you ’d care to see how we got on in our feature prevision chair up iOS 8 ’s entry , take a look at our article ‘ iOS 8 button escort , rumours & concept images ‘ . you could also compare what we really develop with what we care for , in the next section .
iOS 8’s new features: Apple Pay
One feature film that we did n’t eff about until Apple announced the last version of Io 8 on 9 September was a new mobile payments serve called Apple Pay . This has since launch in the US , but wo n’t plunge in the UK until next twelvemonth .
Apple Pay allow you pay for trade good in - store or online by touch your iPhone to a sensing element and then bear upon your digit to the Touch ID image scanner . Your credit - card details are stored within Passbook ( which now , picture fans , has an supernumerary red personal credit line along the top of its icon to stand for credit cards ) but Apple importune that it wo n’t have access to your write up inside information or indeed the details of your purchases . We appear at Apple Pay in far more point in ourApple Pay FAQs .
Apple Pay requires two hardware components : a Touch ID fingerprint scanner and an NFC aerial . The full feature article of Apple Pay are therefore restricted to the newfangled iPhones ( theiPhone 6and theiPhone 6 Plus ) , which have been specifically built to patronise it .
The most recent iPads ( theiPad Air 2and theiPad mini 3 ) have Touch ID , and get access to a circumscribed interpretation of Apple Pay : they can make app- and web - base payments , but ca n’t be used to yield in store . Although teardowns of the two devices break that they have get NFC , which mean that in principle Apple could get allow them to use the full version of Apple Pay at some peak in the futurity . Oh , and Apple order theApple Watchwill also support Apple Pay , although it ’s not entirely clear just yet how the Apple Watch will get around its lack of a Touch ID electronic scanner .
you may also record ourfull first look review of the Apple Watch , and ourApple Watch Release Date story , including UK pricing for the Apple Watch .
iOS 8’s new features: Messages
Messages – the most heavily used app in iOS , evidently – gets lots of ready to hand tweaks in iOS 8 .
vox message : The sea wolf feature in iOS 8 Messages is vocalization . There ’s a micriphone icon to the right of the message input box , and if you tapdance and hold in this a circular audio transcription palette pop up and iOS begin recording what you ’re saying . Release it and swipe upwards ( or tap the upwards - pointing arrow ) and the articulation substance wings its means to the recipient role . Tap X or swipe left to cancel the transcription ; press play to see what you recorded ..
When the voice message arrive on the recipient ’s twist , it ’ll exhibit with a neat wave form ikon :
The voice message self - destruct ( to salve computer storage ) after a sure period of time unless you choose to save them . brightly , you’re able to mind to the subject matter in question by simply lift the iPhone to your capitulum – iOS detect the motion and see the gesture automatically . you may then reply , again without pressing any on - projection screen controls ; verbalise your reply , then lour the headphone and the message is sent .
Mute conversation : you’re able to easily apply iOS ’s Do Not Disturb mode to a message train of thought so that you do n’t get apprisal about new posts ( but still get notification about other incoming substance ) . We ’ve all been in situations that would benefit from this feature article : a radical message thread has receive out of hand and your equipment keeps buzz with notifications of new substance .
Other mathematical group substance changes : Group messages are prepare more handily in a duet of other ways .
If thing get really out of handwriting in the above scenario , you could leave the group message ribbon entirely , at any stage . If lots of multitude in the train of thought have been posting figure or videos , you do n’t need to worry about keep on track of them all , because Messages organise all the attachment in a Messages thread at the bottom of the thread . Finally , you could share your location with other members of a yarn indefinitely or for various circumscribed periods of time .
Above : you’re able to ‘ Leave this Conversation ’ ( the red option ) if you do n’t wish to incur further content , or ( more diplomatically ) simpy mute further notifications by spark off thread - specific Do Not Disturb . The various attachments that masses in the thread have sent are gathered at the bottom right , and the novel location option are puritanic .
iOS 8’s new features: Mail
The Mail app has been updated with gesture accompaniment and a all-encompassing mountain chain of diminished but commodious pinch and young lineament .
you could use gestures to blue-pencil , flag or ‘ unread ’ messages , swiping across a message to execute the opt action : it ’s a single swipe to mark off as unread , flick across and tap to flag , or drag all the means across to edit . We ’ve seen gesture support like this in third - party apps but it ’s nice to see Apple taking development on board .
you may swipe across an electronic mail to flag or delete it
At the launch event , Apple ’s Craig Federighi also showcased the power of Mail to recognise an invitation in a marketing email as an event , and offer to add it to Calendar .
iOS 8 ’s Mail is able to greet event in electronic mail and offers to add them to the Calendar
Last of all , a raw feature of speech called MailDrop admit emailed attachments to be stored in the cloud rather than mail directly with the subject matter , so that the receiver can translate the ease of the substance ( and download the attachment separately ) even if a full waiter would previously have cause a bounceback .
iOS 8’s new features: Interactive notifications
iOS 8 lets you accomplish far more without leaving the app you ’re in , thanks to more interactive telling .
Facebook , Messages or Twitter notifications pop down into your projection screen and can be respond to there and then – you get the option to reply or Like , take or decline Calendar invitation and so on , all from the lock screen or Notification Centre . Alternatively , notifications can be riffle aside .
Read : Is it potential to get a complimentary iPhone ? The truth about free iPhone scams
Previously , swiping across a notification would take you to the app it represented – which was fairly commodious . Now you could just pull down and a keyboard appears , letting you reply there and then
iOS 8’s new features: Continuity
This could be the biggest attention - grabber of all , and affects Mac OS tenner Yosemite as well . It ’s a very coolheaded concept .
persistence is the name Apple is yield to enhanced compatibility between its raw background and roving platforms , enabling you to for instance answer iPhone calls on your Mac ( a apprisal will appear even if your iPhone is downstairs bill ) , or uphold a content begin on iPad on Mac or vice versa . If you ’re composing an e-mail on your phone and walk up to your Mac , Mail on the Dock in Mac OS X will instigate you that you ’re pen a subject matter ; you could sink in it to carry on writing the email on your Mac .
Finally – and much requested – iOS 8 ’s persistence allows you to AirDrop between your nomadic gadget and the Mac .
Thanks to the persistence feature of iOS 8 ( and OS X Yosemite ) , an incoming call appears on all three gimmick , just like a FaceTime call
iOS 8’s new features: QuickType predictive typing
iOS 8 offer a major step forward on the keyboards front .
We ’ll return to typecast in the developer section ( wondrous , Io 8 allows the installation of third - party keyboard ) , but by nonremittal iOS 8 supports QuickType , a form of prognostic typing that is far more challenging than the modest car - right - level prevision in previous variant . We ’re not just talking about discharge words you ’ve intimately polish off type – in Messages , Mail and like context of use , iOS 8 offers entire parole that it distrust you may wish to use based on circumstance , in a little palette above the keyboard .
For example , if you typecast a message to a supporter propose dinner party , predictive typing might add “ and a movie ” . Eerie , no ?
Our testing suggest that QuickType is a potential timesaver that will improve as both the service and the drug user learn more about the other . On occasion we see ourselves able-bodied to type out an entire sentence with single clicks because QuickType was in a particularly astute mood , but in others it was effectively auto - complete with salutary PR .
QuickType has recognised the dim-witted two - option dubiousness being inquire , so automatically indicate response that make sense . Will it be able-bodied to cope with more complex context ? clock time will enjoin
Furthermore , Apple says iOS 8 will be able to learn the words you typically apply and understand the context in which you ’re typing , such as a business or personal communication – content it sense are intended for business organisation use would see more courtly trace .
This voice amazing , but we did n’t acknowledge a especially nuanced grasp of context – although this may be something else that improves with time . The best we could say is that QuickType appeared to feel differences in tone on a per - app basis : in other word , it tended to offer more passing give-and-take in Messages , and was more formal in Mail .
We ’d fuck off the impression from the keynote that it would be more elusive than this ( detect lexical tendencies relating to specific people and specific conversations , for instance ) , but we ’re not yet convinced it’sthatclever .
And it seems to have some annoying inclination , such as have itself into loops , obsessing over exceptional concept ( we ’ve misplace reckoning of the act of time QuickType has suggest words to do with haircare , for some reasonableness ) and frequently run off one of the three trace box to pop the question the letters you ’ve already typed with inverted commas around them . Typing the letters “ chr ” into an email , for object lesson , go QuickType to suggest , from rightfield to left , Christmas , Chris and “ Chr ” – would n’t Christ or christian or , well , anything be better than “ Chr ” , which I ’ve already typed and could just leave as it is ?
setting tender : Exactly the same sentence is being typed in each message , but because one feel like ‘ business ’ , QuickType advise formal adjective . The more friendly message on the right develop vernacular words like ‘ epical ’ rather
for safeguard seclusion , all the info QuickType acquires about your committal to writing style will stay on the twist , Federighi importune .
Despite those minor matter , this stay a really exciting and ambitious feature .
iOS 8’s new features: Safari
Here ’s a diminished but attractive modification to the Safari interface : on iPad , you may get a ‘ bird ’s heart view ’ of all the tabs you ’ve got open . ( You spark this with a two - fingerbreadth ‘ nipper ’ motion . ) And the sidebar from Mavericks is now present in Safari on iOS .
iPad Safari ’s fresh raspberry ’s eye sight of open tabs
Safari ’s sidebar in iOS 8
Safari exploiter can now useDuckDuckGo – a highly concealment - focused search railway locomotive – as the default search . This was one of several subtle shots in the keynote event at Google , whose line mannikin is built around collect gravid book of exploiter data .
In a further nod to privacy fans , Safari on iOS 8 will enable Private Browsing on a per - tablet basis .
The main change in the elbow room you utilize Safari , however , are likely to be seen in the developer changes we ’ll hash out after – the power for third - party apps to share data point with Safari and be add together to the sharing pane , for instance . ( The examples given were a Pinterest ‘ pinning ’ feature and an in - Safari interpreter by Bing . Neither of these are inborn to Safari , but third - company apps will be capable to produce new optional features that you may spell . )
iOS 8’s new features: Camera
Apple did n’t discourse this on stage , but there are some overnice updates for the Camera app .
If you tap the screen to focus on a point in the frame , a slider appears underneath that appropriate you to line up the exposure compensation on the fly ball . The implementation is a bit odd – it seems more good to swipe across the full screen , when the intuitive thing would be to move the luger itself – but it ’s a handy extra feature film .
Here are some of the other updates in the Camera app in iOS 8 :
Time - oversight video : likely the most resourcefulness - catching of the Camera update ; it ’s a surprise this did n’t get a mention on stage . iOS 8 introduces a new Time - lapse TV mode , whereby the Camera app will take photos at dynamic intervals to create a , well , time - reverting television .
Camera timer : Odd this has n’t been admit before , really . iOS 8 will have a camera timer .
Burst and Panorama modes get more inclusive : In iOS 8 , graphics optimisations will give users of older iPhones admission to the quicker outburst fashion previously only available to the iPhone 5s ( other phone used to get a tedious interpretation of this , which only snapped images once every half - second or so ) . And the iPad gets access to Panorama photo .
Separate focal point and vulnerability restraint : You will soon be able to independently master the focus and picture of a setting in iOS 8 . There are several ways the Camera app could apply this , including tap - to - focus with an picture skidder or two disjoined tap - to - focusing reticles .
iOS 8 ’s new features : iCloud Drive
iCloud Drive is a sort of Dropbox - esque cloud storage service with seemingly wide bad-tempered - platform , cross - app compatibility ( although we ’ll need to test this all out ) .
If you ’re in an app like Sketchbook , for instance , you could take up the iCloud Drive Zen , and reach the files there . Any edits you make are saved back to the original location . You ’ll have admission to all of those papers on your Mac and Windows as well . There are implications for the Photos apps too , which we ’ll come to in a bit .
iOS 8’s new features: Health
Health is a new app that brings together a variety of health and fitness - connect system of measurement – collated from physical fitness band and various third - party devices – that you may monitor easy in a exclusive interface .
Some analyst expected new computer hardware to accompany Apple ’s wellness - related software update , and indeed the newApple Watchhas health - monitoring elements build in . But – handily , since the Apple Watch wo n’t launch until some time in 2015 – these feature also work with a range of third - political party fitness bands and wellness appurtenance .
have-to doe with to this , Apple also declare HealthKit , which will enable third party to build their own compatible software . founder the many dispute between the health care systems in Britain and the US ( not least the embodied spending power it commands in America ) , it ’s arguable how much we ’ll see the examples shown in the announcement event – a healthcare monitoring system of rules from a private house called Mayo Clinic – replicate over here , but it all looks well designed .
regrettably , thanks to a last - minute bug , the HealthKit apps have been delayed , and Health is at present a rather modified offer . “ We ’re working quickly to have the hemipteron fix in a software program update and have HealthKit apps available by the end of the month , ” state an Apple representative .
For more on HealthKit , seehow to use Apple ’s Health app to get primed and healthy
iOS 8’s new features: Family Sharing
Family Sharing is a adorable approximation , that sound like it will be both safe and convenient . You set up as a phratry ( informing iOS of the various member of your household and their devices ) and it will mechanically configure pic share-out , locating trailing and the free sharing of digital medium across up to six family members ( they call for to divvy up a reference card ) . It looks simple , although of course of instruction we ’ll have to reserve judgement until we ’ve wrestled with the feature ourselves .
In a nice response to some controversies with high - spending toddlers lately , Family Sharing includes a maternal ringlet feature article for app downloads : when your kids seek to corrupt an app , they have to get permit ( and a license postulation mechanically appears on your equipment ) . Federighi did n’t specify whether this would use to in - app purchases , but we would assume so , since that tended to be the cause of the worst disbursement sprees .
iOS 8’s new features: Photos
photograph is where iCloud Drive comes into its own . photograph fritter on any iOS equipment are mechanically carry through in the swarm and accessible on all of your other iOS devices .
To cope with the enormous volumes of photos this is likely to make on each of your devices , Apple is verbalise up the enhanced sassy search characteristic in Io 8 exposure . Search terms are render as location , clock time and album public figure .
you may edit picture within the app ( using motorcar straightening and cropping , for instance , and smart redaction based on ‘ intelligent epitome analysis ’ ) and the edits are transferred across to other iOS devices , jolly much instantly .
All of this worked seamlessly in the demo , needless to say . Will our fuel consumption rate alter ? We ’re also a small concerned about the free allocation of space provided with iCloud , which may get used up rapidly . Whether users will be unforced to pay for more depot is disputable – although the pricing scheme announced tonight do seem quite sane .
iOS 8’s new features: Siri
Another novel feature we expected was Shazam , and sure enough , it ’s integrated into Siri : Siri can recognise songs that are playing nearby , and then lets you buy them from iTunes . But that ’s not the only upgrade for Siri in iOS 8 .
Apparently car - bound Siri user can now fire it up by say “ Hey Siri ! ” No need to tap the controls . ( Presumably this means the equipment is always mind out for command ? Will this impact battery life ? ) And there ’s ‘ well out voice recognition ’ , which simply means Siri display what you ’re articulate ( or what it thinks you ’re saying ) while you ’re say it . If nothing else , this will be a godsend for those moments where you say a long head and then see Siri had dead no idea what you were saying .
Last of all , there are 22 unexampled languages accepted for Siri voice recognition , and 24 raw command languages .
For more on Siri , take a look at our consummate guide : How to use Siri : ‘ Hey Siri ! ’ and all the other Siri features
iOS 8’s new features: Weather
One last – and relatively venial – change relates to the Weather app . Apple ’s conditions information was formerly proved by Yahoo ; now , it ’s from The Weather Channel . We looked at the two forecast on iOS 7 and iOS 8 at the same moment , and it was pretty much the same – just the odd level in a few years ’ fourth dimension , and a difference of a minute on that mean solar day ’s sundown .
iOS 8 review: New features for developers
This might not seem relevant to the average iPhone or iPad user , but the developer - centric updates in iOS 8 are potential to ensue in some very interesting new apps and app features . Its new willingness to admit app developer more freedom in modifying the drug user experience and ( with license ) affecting the behaviour of other apps is a totally new direction for Apple .
Apple ’s iOS 8 pressure expiration said : “ With more than 4,000 new APIs , Io 8 appropriate developer to further customize the substance abuser experience with major extensibility characteristic and robust frameworks such as HealthKit and HomeKit .
“ iOS 8 … creates an extraordinary surroundings for developers , provide them the power to create amazing new apps like never before . ”
A lot of the most challenging stuff in iOS 8 , then , is n’t about the features Apple itself is allow , but about the opportunity it ’s creating for third - party app developers . convenience , Extensibility , Touch ID API , keyboards , home - mechanization APIs – we ’ll only grok the import of all this once the developer community of interests has got its hook decently into the raw outfit .
Here are some of the most likable young dev features .
iOS 8’s new developer features: App Store improvements
First up , Apple announced some changes that will make it easier for developer to sell their ware on its store . App bundles are now give up : if developers and publishers reserve it , you ’ll be able to bundle of multiple apps with a single click ( and presumably a push aside price ) .
As well as screenshots , devs will be capable to post preview videos on the App Store . And the apps should be easier to find : Apple read its new Explore search facility is far adept at showing the apps you require . ( Spotlight also now suggests purchasable apps that fit your search criteria when you search within Io itself , which may head to a few redundant sales . For that matter , Spotlight is broadly more all - encompassing in its search criterion , turning up Wikipedia entries , nearby place and news article , Apple says , when you ladder a search on your iOS gimmick . )
at last , you ’ll be capable to join beta test of new apps using Apple ’s TestFlight beta examination overhaul .
Apple reveals the future of apps : App Store improvements , SDK modify , Touch ID API , HomeKit & more
iOS 8’s new developer features: Extensibility and widgets
Apps can now ‘ talk to each other ’ , apportion data and qualify each other ’s behaviour in small ways , although Apple was keen to stress the security measures design to safeguard this process – any data transferred will move via Io ’s own security .
This means , for instance , that Pinterest can share its data with Safari and give up the user to add up a Pinterest entry to the Safari divvy up pane . Or Safari could attain a Bing translate feature , as discover below . ( Interesting for Apple to be press Bing , is n’t it ? One in the eye for Google . )
But does n’t that sound a fleck like … widgets ? Yes ! Io 8 finally get widgets .
Read more : The 19 best Notification Centre gismo for iPhone & iPad
Craig Federighi demonstrate a SportsCenter appliance that he ’s added to the Notification Centre
you may download gimmick from apps and custom-make their posture on the Notifications screen . The example Craig Federighi gave was a ( rather brilliant ) eBay widget that let you observe the progress of your auctions , and make a bid from the Notifications Centre itself . ( In worldwide , the Notification Centre has been authorise to make far more actions without recur to the individual apps ’ own interfaces . )
iOS 8’s new developer features: Third-party keyboards
On a related to theme , but worth its own entry because of its significance , Io 8 is undefendable to system - wide third - party keyboards . This is huge , and tackles one of the big complaints we had about iOS in the past tense – its inflexible and back - looking keyboard .
With this change , you ’ll be able to download a Swype - style swiping keyboard ( an genuine Swype keyboard upgrade was picture in the demo – see below ) and practice it throughout Io 8 . This small , simple feature – Swype lets you typewrite by incite your finger swimmingly across the letters you want without leaving the silver screen – is the single element in Android that weused to bemost envious of .
Between this and QuickType , iOS 8 now has state - of - the - nontextual matter typing options . Assuming QuickType is as good as it look , typing will be great out of the box , with a range of system - all-embracing upgrades available for king users .
iOS 8’s new developer features: Third-party Touch ID
Touch ID , the fingerprint image scanner offered on theiPhone 5s(and presumably on further iOS devices yet to be launched ) is now being open up to third parties too . So or else of being confined to unlocking your equipment and a few central preinstalled apps , you’re able to apply your fingermark to lumber into banking apps , make strong payment and so on .
As with most of these new developer cock , it remains to be seen how this will really feign the user . But we ’d be surprised if we do n’t see extensive use of the Touch ID API in third - company apps , because of its keen security and convenience .
Touch ID being used to log into the Mint personal finance app
iOS 8’s new developer features: Home automation & HomeKit API
The last of the features we betoken , under the speculative bearing of ‘ iHome ‘ . Instead it ’s be intimate as the HomeKit API , which will let devs build up habitation - mechanisation apps to work with iOS .
One object lesson given was the power to say “ Get quick for seam ! ” to Siri , causing the organization to check that all doorway are mesh and light are dimmed , but the possibility are interminable .
iOS 8’s new developer features: BitCoin and other virtual currencies
A small one , this , but a change to the App Store guidelines may allow virtual currencies to be transferred and accepted .
The relevant clause in the “ Purchasing and Currencies ” part understand as follows : “ Apps may alleviate transmission of approved practical currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and Union law for the territories in which the app functions . ”
iOS 8’s new developer features: Metal graphics system
We ’re really getting into developer technical school now , but the nutshell summary of the raw Metal graphics organisation is quite appealing : more efficient rendition of detailed 3D graphic . Obviously we expect ahead to prove the fruits of Metal good and see for ourselves how effective it is .
Tim Sweeney , the boss of Infinity Blade developer Epic Games , was bring on degree to establish a young Zen Garden game built with the Metal technology . He described the new possibility as “ an order of order of magnitude increment of item ” – with 10,000 petal at one power point being assume , and 3,500 severally reanimate butterflies .
You ’ll soon be able to see for yourselves how impressive this all is , because the Zen Garden demo app will be made available for detached on the App Store in due course . But the real test of the engineering will come in the caliber of commercial-grade gaming apps set up in the next few age .
iOS 8’s new developer features: Swift programming language
Last of all ( and excite the developer in the consultation very much ) , Apple announced a new programming language for both iOS and Mac software system , called Swift . After reporting Apple ’s ( by this point quite openly technological ) announcement that Swift features “ closures , generic , namespaces , multiple return type and case inference ” , our US colleague Dan Moren level out that “ the biggest cheerfulness at this event , you heard it , came at ‘ namespaces ’ . ”
Sceloporus occidentalis is something we ’ll be hear a passel more about in the future .
iOS 8 review: Will I be able to downgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 7 (or iOS 6)?
If you do so in the next few 24-hour interval , it ’s relatively straightforward – seeHow to downgrade from iOS 8 to iOS 7 .
Beyond that , the window during which Apple signs older versions of iOS conclusion , and it will get a lot more unmanageable .
