iOS 8

iOS 8 is the eighth major release of the iOS mobile operating systemdesigned by Apple Inc. as the successor to iOS 7. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2014 on June 2, 2014, and was released on September 17, 2014. A new app namedHealth and a corresponding framework named HealthKit became available with the release. Upon the release, Siri was updated to support hands-free activation and music identification using Shazam. Voice and video messages are automatically deleted unless the user saves them for future reference. Interactive notifications let the user respond to texts without leaving the app they are currently using. Five days after release, iOS 8 had been installed on 46% of compatible Apple devices.

New features

Photos and Camera

The Photos app contains more options to edit photos. The cropping feature now enables rotating images both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Furthermore, users can set the desired brightness and colors for photos. The Camera app now features a shot timer, which can be set to 3 or 10 seconds.

Notification Center

Notification Center is much improved in comparison to iOS 7 and 7.1. Users can now add and remove widgets in Notification Center with the "Edit" button. This also allows the rearrangement of notification widgets. From iOS 8 beta 3 onwards the "clear" button, used to clear notifications, is more visible. Users are now able to reply to text messages directly from the notification center.

Messages

In the Messages app, users can send audio and video messages by holding down the record button. In group conversations, users can add or remove someone from a thread, name a thread, share their location in a thread, view all attachments, and turn on Do Not Disturb to not receive notifications from a specific thread. Users can also set messages to auto delete after 30 days or a year.

Design

iOS 8 has the same design as iOS 7, however, transparency and other effects have been added. The multitasking screen now shows a list of recently called and favorited contacts.

Keyboards

iOS 8 includes a new predictive typing feature called QuickType. It displays word selections above the keyboard as one types. The feature can be turned off in Settings, or hidden using a swipe gesture. Additionally, iOS 8 will allow users to install third-party keyboards. Many developers stated they would port their keyboards to iOS, including Minuum, Swype, SwiftKey, Fleksy and Adaptxt.

Family Sharing

New to iOS 8, a user can add five others as family members. Family members can share purchased apps, music, and books using the same credit card. iOS 8 can also automatically set up photo streams for all family members. Calendars may be synced between all members. You can send iTunes download requests to another accounts for approval through Ask to Buy as long as you are signed up as a child.

iCloud Drive

Main article: iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is Apple's file hosting service for devices running iOS 8 or OS X Yosemite. This feature allows users to save photos, videos, documents (Keynote, Pages, and Numbers), and music, and other apps' data to iCloud. Users can start their work on one device and continue on another device. By default, users will get 5 gigabytes of storage for free, but this space will be expandable via subscription.

HealthKit

Main article: Health (application)

HealthKit is a service that allows developers to make software that integrates with the new Health application. This application allows users to track their steps, oxygen, sleep levels, and other health related data. Additionally, users can enter their medical history, so that the application can help serve them better. In a commercial for the iPhone 5S, the exercise song Chicken Fat is used to promote the new service.

HomeKit

HomeKit is a framework that allows developers to make software that discovers, configures, communicates with and controls devices for home automation. Actions can be grouped together and can be initiated using Siri.

Handoff

This feature is supported only by compatible Macs with Bluetooth LE running OS X Yosemite, and by compatible devices running iOS 8. The following devices running iOS 8 will be supported: iPhone 5 or later, iPad (4th generation), iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad mini with Retina display, and iPod touch (5th generation).Handoff allows users to share documents, e-mails, and websites over Wi-Fi or personal hotspot between iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite devices. For example, when working on an email, Pages document, Keynote presentation, Numbers spreadsheet, viewing a location in Maps or browsing Safari on the Mac, on the lock screen of the iOS device it shows what app users are currently using on their Mac and will allow them to pick up where they left off in the app they were using on the Mac. This also works in the other direction. Users working reading email on their Mac running OS X Yosemite can then pick up their iPhone or iPad and see the application for mail in the bottom left corner and slide up from the app and their iOS device will open up the app right where they were on their Mac. Handoff also allows all text messages (not just iMessages as before) to be read and replied on their Mac and iPad. This also is extended to the uses of the voice function to make and receive call on their Mac and iPad if their iPhone is connected with iCloud.

Spotlight

In iOS 8, Spotlight is integrated with a number of web services so that users can search using Wikipedia, Bing, or Google. Other services include: news, nearby places, suggested websites, movie showtimes, and content that is not already on the device from the iTunes Store. Moreover, the enhanced spotlight search is also available in safari browser, so you can have now your own search engine that will find your desired stuff on services linked to spotlight search.

Wi-Fi Calling

In iOS 8, Apple integrated Wi-Fi calling. This service allows mobile phone calls over Wi-Fi. It is planned to be available for customers of EE in the UK. AT&T and Verizon are going to launch Wi-Fi calling in 2015. According to Computerworld, Vodafone might also provide this service to its customers in Australia. Since beta 3, Wi-Fi Calling is available to T-Mobile customers in the US.

Siri

Siri now outputs what users say as they speak for more accuracy and has integrated Shazam support. Holding down the home button will activate Siri, and saying "What's playing?" will identify what song is playing (since Beta 4, Apple removed listening by default).^{[citation needed]} Saying "Hey, Siri" whenever the device is plugged into a power source will activate Siri if the feature is turned on. Purchasing content through Siri is now possible, and Siri now has support for 22 new languages.

EU Internet

Since beta 4, Apple added EU Internet in the cellular settings to allow data roaming within the European Union only.