Say Hello to iOS 8

Say hello to iOS 8! The new mobile operating system has been announced today by Apple at WWDC. Although it isn’t a dramatic change like iOS 7, it does come with a bundle of new, interesting features.

What’s new in iOS 8?

Interactive Notifications

When users receive a drop-down notification, you can simply swipe down to quickly reply or respond to it without leaving the app that you are currently in. You can also swipe on notifications on the lock screen to access options based on the notifications, such as accepting or declining a calendar event.

Notification Center Widgets

iOS 8 offers widgets, but not like the ones on Android. These widgets can only be placed in the “Today” view in notification center, unlike Android’s home screen widgets. You can add and remove widgets such as Apple’s own calendar and stocks, but also third-party widgets such as ESPN.

iCloud Drive

With iCloud Drive, you can store all your documents in the cloud. Before, Apple only allowed certain apps to use the cloud such as Keynote, Pages, Photos, etc. With iCloud Drive, you will be able to
store any file and it will automatically sync those files with your iPad, iPhone, Mac and even PC.

Better Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search can now search for more than just what’s on your phone. You will be able to find movie times, content from your iTunes account such as movies and songs.

Hey, Siri!

Now in iOS 8, you can say “Hey, Siri” to launch Siri. Siri has also received better voice recognition and is more reliable. Siri can now search up songs playing in the background through the popular Shazam app that is not integrated.

Message App

The messaging app seems to be a larger focus in iOS 8 than previous iOS builds. The most used app on the iPhone now has been improved in numerous ways. A new feature called “Quick Type” now pops up above the keyboard. Quick Type is a predictive keyboard that predicts what you are going to type next. It learns the way you talk to different people and suggests words accordingly.

Another feature involves group chats. Ever had those annoying group chats that bothers you? Well in iOS 8, you can choose to mute (Do Not Disturb) or leave message threads. Also, you can send voice recordings and videos through iMessage. All media shared through iMessage is grouped into a single section of the chat so you can then view everything that you have sent to that contact.

Health

Health is a new app that organizes all your fitness and health information into one central app. It takes the information from separate health apps such as Nike Plus and uses it to record and monitor your sleep, running, and walking patterns. You can also control which apps has access to certain parts of the Health app.

A beta of iOS 8 is currently available only for developers and it will be released to the public this fall. As usual, the update will be free to all compatible iOS devices. This includes the iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, iPod 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina Display, iPad mini, and the iPad Mini with Retina display.

Source - Apple

Other iOS 8 screenshots