Apple execs took the stage Monday for the company's 25th annual Worldwide Developers Conference. While many reporters awaited the big iOS 8 annoucement –
Apple pushed “continuity.” Its new desktop operating system, OS X Yosemite now looks like iOS 8. The two also work together in a variety of ways, including the ability to answer calls and texts sent to your phone from your computer.
That said, Tim Cook and company showed off plenty of iOS 8-specific features. The first change you’ll notice happens on the homescreen. (Via Apple)
Say you have a meeting notification, for example, you can swipe and accept it right there. Or when a text pops up, you can respond without switching apps.
And when you go to respond, you’ll notice a new keyboard. iOS 8’s keyboard features a predictive type software Apple is calling QuickType. Apple says it both knows what you’re texting about and how you speak. (Via Apple)
That said, you don’t have to type at all. In iOS 8, Apple’s giving you the chance to send a literal LOL.
Just tap and hold to record an audio response to a message. Or you could just send a selfie, as Apple VP Greg Joswaik so brilliantly showed us.
Say you were sick of the duck-face shots in your group thread though. Well, we’re happy to report that in iOS 8, you can escape group messages.
Say hello to the Do Not Disturb and Leave Conversation features, and say goodbye to annoying group texts. (Via Apple)
Seriously, this is huge, you guys.
The Wire agrees, calling it “the biggest change when it comes to the user experience for many iPhone owners”
For months, blogs have speculated the release of HealthBook, an iOS app that can monitor your health metrics. (Via YouTube / ConceptsiPhone)
Monday, Apple announced Health, which pulls the health stats you might already be tracking with apps like Nike+ into one centralized location.
Apple is also working with the Mayo Clinic and others to allow users to securely share their stats with healthcare providers. President of the Mayo Clinic was quoted in the keynote as saying, “We believe Apple’s HealthKit will revolutionize how the health industry interacts with people.”
Mom and dad, listen up. Apple’s new Family Sharing feature will make it so up to six people – each with their own Apple ID - can share iTunes, iBooks and App Store purchases. But VentureBeat says, there’s a catch. (Via Apple)
“Apple’s Family Sharing feature is restricted to family members who use the same credit card payment details — so no Sprint-like 'framily' deal for pooling apps with your friends.”
And while Apple didn’t announce the much rumored Apple Maps update, it did give the Photos app a decent overhaul with a couple new editing features that are sure to impress any avid Instagrammer.
In iOS 8, when you pull up a photo to edit, you’ll see a light and color meter. Simply drag to change. When you do this, Apple is changing many parameters at once.
But there are a ton of apps that, frankly, already do that.
And really, photo editing isn't the only example in the iOS 8 update. A writer for The New York Times tweeted about this paradox, saying –
“It's cool how at a developer event Apple releases a bunch of features in its own apps that obviate the need for many third-party apps.” (Via Twitter / @fmanjoo)
Still, developers will have first go with iOS 8. It’s available to them on Monday. It will be released to the general public in the fall.
