Apple is releasing iOS 8 today, September 17th, two days before the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale. Users of Apple iPhones and iPads should be able to download the new iOS anytime from 1pm ET if Apple sticks to their usual release times. You can download iOS 8 by going to Settings > General > Software Update or by connecting your device to your computer and using iTunes. Apple requires an iPhone 4S or newer and iPad 2 or newer to update to the latest software.
Unlike iOS 7, this new OS doesn’t contain any major changes to its visual design. Last year’s big change to flat icons remains but even so Apple says iOS 8 is its biggest ever. In looking at some of the stuff Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about last week a few new features stuck out for me. I’m only going to deal with a few of the new features I found particularly interesting as there are far too many for one blog.
Tap and Talk is a major update to Messaging in iOS 8
Paulette and I aren’t much good at typing with our thumbs the way the kids do. With our Apple iPhones, we’ve pretty much relied on using the microphone feature to speak our messages then wait a few seconds to have them translated into text and then send them off. Even with having to make the odd change it’s still a lot faster for us than 2-thumb typing. The new iOS 8 is going to make it even easier for all of us with its new Tap and Talk.
The new Messaging allows for instant embedding of videos and images
Messages in iOS 8 makes it easy to capture any sound — your voice, a song, or a big laugh — and make it part of the conversation. Simply touch and hold the new microphone button to record your message. Then swipe to send it. To hear a message, simply hold iPhone to your ear and listen like it’s a phone call or just tap the Play button. It’s almost like using a phone. Tap to Talk allows you to listen to incoming audio messages from the lock screen as well.
Apple says the new keyboard is their smartest ever
iOS 8 brings the biggest changes to the keyboard since the very first iPhone. It will be able to predict what you’ll likely say next no matter whom you’re saying it to. Apple’s predictive text adjusts based on the person you’re communicating with because your choice of words is likely more laid back with your spouse than with a friend. Your conversation data is kept only on your device, so it’s always private. iOS 8 will learn and adapt to your writing style as you use it.
A brand new Health and Fitness App
The new Health app puts your health data in one place, accessible with a tap, giving you a clear and current overview of your health. You can also create an emergency card with important health information — for example, your blood type or allergies — that’s available right from your Lock screen.
iPad and Macs can now answer phone calls
Instant Hotspot automatically sets up a Personal Hotspot when out of WiFi
I like this new feature! iPhones and iPads have long had a feature called Personal Hotspot for tethering your cellular data connection over Wi-Fi. To setup the personal hotspot, users had to navigate to settings and toggle on the feature. Then, the device would appear as a Wi-Fi network. It was kind of clumsy even though it worked. In iOS 8, with Instant Hotspot, iPads and Macs intelligently discover when an iPhone is nearby and automatically list the device under Wi-Fi networks in Settings.
When an iPad is no longer using your iPhone’s cellular network, it intelligently disconnects to save battery life. When enabled, a blue bar appears at the top of the Home screen like normal. It even provides you with signal strength and battery life indicators directly next to the iPhone’s name under Wi-Fi networks, both of which are important details when using a personal hotspot.
The new Camera app has all kinds of new features
In addition to the above new features, Apple has also added a lot of neat new stuff in its Camera and Photos App including an interesting new Time-Lapse Photo feature. The new photo features would take an entire blog to detail so I’ll leave that for another day. I can’t wait to download iOS 8 and try these new features!
Here’s a list of some additional new features in iOS 8:
- Auto night mode in iBooks
- Panoramic photos on iPad
- Battery usage by app
- Travel time notifications
- 24 new dictation languages
- Camera timer
- Instant burst mode
- Separate focus and exposure in Camera
- RSS feeds in Shared Links
- Improved zoom for accesibility
- In Case of Emergency card
- Purchase iTunes content with Siri
- Rich text editing in Notes
- Touch ID to exit from Guided Access
- Indian, Tagalog, Irish Gaelic, and Slovenian keyboards
- Private browsing per tab in Safari
- See your books as a series in iBooks
- DuckDuckGo support in Safari
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