![]() Initial partners include thermostat-maker Honeywall and smart lock-maker August, though there's no word on whether or not Apple will be extending that to include former iPod chief Tony Fadell's company Nest, which is now owned by Google. HomeKit, on the other hand, is not an app, but rather a development platform for smart device makers to loop the iPhone and iPad into controlling things like garage doors, smart locks, lighting, and temperature. HealthKit is an iOS 8 app for fitness tracking that takes full advantage of the iPhone 5S' M7 motion processor, allowing for much of the basic metric collection users get out of a wristband like the Fitbit Flex and Jawbone Up. Rounding out the rather exhaustive feature list is HealthKit and HomeKit. In a move many will interpret as an advance against the explosive growth of messaging platform Snapchat, messages sent via iOS' Messages app can become ephemeral - self-destructing after a given time limit users can designate. Sending audio - in a dose of Apple's behind-the-scenes design - can be done automatically by lifting the phone to your ear, with the file being sent on its way when you lower the device again.Īdditionally, all media shared in a text thread is now grouped together in a single attachments section of the chat, and multiple files can be sent at once. To that end, Messages now contains a feature called QuickType, which is a predictive keyboard software enhancement that will learn how you talk with different people to allow for quicker auto-correct and fill-out suggestions.īeyond QuickType, the SMS tweaks include the capability to leave or mute specific message threads like group messages with a single button, as well as share location to users within the thread on top of audio and video using a single swipe. It's clearly an imperative focus for Apple, as iMessage increasingly must contend with the rise of message app upstarts like WhatsApp, now owned by Facebook, and the slew of international rivals, like KakaoTalk, WeChat, and Line, that are chipping away at Apple's grip on SMS. Software head Craig Federighi said onstage that Messages is the most used app on iOS. Some of the biggest additions with iOS 8, however, are Apple's Messages app. Spotlight now gives you a wider contextual range for your query that goes beyond the files on your device to include yet-be-downloaded music and video content from iTunes, and film showtimes at nearby theaters and other Maps information.Īnd in a direct challenge to Google's powerful hands-free features for its virtual assistant, Google Now, Siri in iOS 8 will be addressable with a voice command - "Hey, Siri." The software also has been beefed up in the general voice-recognition department for reliability, will now tag songs you're hearing in the background using the popular Shazam app, and can access smart home features using Apple's new HomeKit developer platform. Additionally, widgets from independent developers will be available for download from the App Store and will function within the Notification Center.Īpple has powered up its Spotlight search functionality, as well as its Siri virtual assistant. Users can now install third-party keyboards, and TouchID fingerprint scanning - which accounts for 83 percent of purchases in Apple's App Store - will now work with third-party apps. Thanks to Handoff, which lets Macs and iOS devices know when they're near one another, the file-sharing feature AirDrop is no longer restricted to Mac-to-Mac and iOS-to-iOS file-sharing, and inter-device file-sharing will let you avoid emailing or texting yourself photos.Īpple also is purposefully cracking the veneer of its closed-garden philosophy. This will also work on iPad with productivity apps like the iWork suite. Features like Handoff will let users start text messages and emails on their iOS devices and see the drafts immediately transition to desktop. ![]() ![]() All photos and videos also sync automatically with your iCloud account - similar to Dropbox's recently released Carousel app - and the upgraded Photos app allows editing across all devices.Ĭombined with its next desktop operating system, OS X Yosemite, Apple's cross-platform communication is now more seamless. iOS 8 will bring a Finder-like file repository to all devices, allowing users to access iCloud Drive files. Now, Apple is looping in iOS more than ever before. With iCloud Drive, Apple is attempting to create a device-agnostic way for users to store files similar to Google's Drive offering and software maker Dropbox. Apple's Handoff brings proximity awareness to your devices. ![]()
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