The other major announcement from Apple’s WWDC was of course
the company’s mobile operating system – iOS 8. In contrast to last year’s
release which featured significant cosmetic changes, iOS 8 focuses on improving
the platforms functionality and features.
To kick things off, iOS 8 now uses the power of the cloud in
order to help users save some space on their devices without compromising on
image quality and format. With the iCloud Photo Library, users will be able to
get 5GB worth of storage for their photos and allows them to search and view
the images from other devices.
The camera has also been improved with built-in editing
features for adjusting exposure, brightness and contrast. Apple has also added
built-in photo filters on the camera app and has allowed app developers to make
their own filters for the photos app. The camera app can now capture time-lapse
videos.
Interactive notification is also a good addition into the
mobile operating system. With this feature, users will be able to act on a
notification without leaving the current app they are using. For instance, a user can easily reply to an
SMS from within another app by simply swipe down on the notification to and
type the reply. Moreover, users can now send videos and voice messages as an attachment
to their messages.
Apple has also focused on providing more features to address
issues faced by families when using iOS. With the Family Sharing feature,
members of a family can share, contribute and view the family’s content
including music, movies, TV shows, books and apps. Parental controls have also
been improved with added safe guards for in-app purchases using the “Ask to Buy”
feature for children.
The new iOS 8 also has a new feature called iCloud Drive
which acts similar to Dropbox and other cloud-based storage solutions that give
consumers the power to access their files and content anywhere where there is
internet connection.
Apple is also investing on the inclusion of health-related
apps by incorporating some fitness tracking features into iOS 8. The health
section of iOS 8 will utilize information gathered by fitness devices including
smart bands and pedometers and collate them in one place to give users an
overview of their current health.
Another nifty feature of the OS is Handoff, which
synchronizes a user’s devices so that work done on one device is reflected in
the other which makes the transition from one device to another as seamless and
smooth as possible. This feature is applicable to a number of existing
processes on iOS and Mac including sending text messages or answering a call to
an iPhone from a Mac.
iOS 8 also offers consumers with improved Spotlight search
(just like in Mac OS X Yosemite) as well as the ability to use third party keyboard
for their device. There’s also a new graphics system called Metal that provides
console-quality gaming on iOS products.
Last but certainly not the least, Apple has provided
developers with deeper access to the OS in order for them to easily build apps
on the platform. Specifically, the APIs for the TouchID fingerprint sensor as
well as services for the health- and cloud-related features mentioned above.
Just like Mac OS X Yosemite, iOS 8 is now available for
download to developers while consumer roll-out should start by Q3 2014. The OS will be compatible to devices that came later than the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2 above and the two iPad Minis.
