Last week Apple released the latest version of its operating system the new iOS 8. Between then and now everyone with a compatible device has been downloading the OS, an awesome perk of being in the ecosystem that has justifiably given Apple users something to smile at every September.
There are a lot of changes that every Apple fan has been going on about,( “Siri’s smarter, she can Shazam “) something that everyone who is using an Android device is tired of hearing. Without doing a thorough review we decided to take a quick look at some of the features that have been included in the new iOS 8.
The Keyboard
iOS 8 has a new “smart keyboard ” that comes with user specific customised predictive text options and message style options (formal and informal)
Improved Photo Experience
Searching for images has been made simpler through options that include album title and date as well as a “Smart Suggestions” feature that helps access photos taken in nearby locations and taken on similar dates.
Image editing has also been improved, although anyone used to Instagram won’t be so quick to offer high praise for functions that are part of their de facto app for photo editing.
Messaging
There are couple of iOS 8 features that Apple also “borrowed” from your friendly neighbourhood IM, WhatsApp. These include
- A group messaging feature
- Sending voice clips to contacts
- Sending videos
- Sharing locations
The “Apple approach” is obviously meant to offer an operating system with better performance thanks to the seamless integration with hardware. Apple has definitely nailed it there.
However from the new set of features on this OS I’d say this looks like a shot at providing services that third party applications have been providing for a while.
With their single OS Apple has given its users every reason to enjoy a one stop shop for Instagram, WhatsApp and Shazam. This is one of the reasons why die hard Android fans aren’t blown away by Apple users’ insistence that their stable has the best to offer every year. It all sounds like something they have been using for ages.
It makes sense to have everything under one roof, and it definitely didn’t cost Apple $19 billion to have something that resembles WhatsApp under the hood of its OS.
Apple is doing its best to carry on the “reinvention” legacy that was the hallmark of the Jobs era. The company is great at taking what has been in the market, improving it and turning it into a must have.
What are your thoughts on iOS 8? Is it the greatest OS delivery from Apple to date or Android KitKat is just as good a system?
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10 comments
Kitkat isn’t Android’s latest release.
Android L is.
Other than that, any improvements in user experience on any platform would be welcomed for the sake of every user.
I would add there are a number of other additions although they require you to be in the Apple ecosystem to take advantage of for example Homekit will allow you to control home automation feature from Siri for example you will be able to say turn on my light, unlock my door, change the channel if you have supported equipment. Healthkit will work with a lot of fitness peripherals, what people are calling the quantified self experience. Another big feature is Handoff which will allow you to begin composing an email on your iPhone and iPad then “Handoff” to your mac and pich up right where you left off. The same applies to iMessages and you can even answer normal calls and facetime calls as well. There are also several incremental improvements in a number of the built-in apps.
Fun little iOS 8 feature require a whopping 5.7 GB of free space on your iPhone or iPad, it’s completely absurd as the past software updates require around 1 GB of free space…
We hope to read an Android or Samsung/HTC/LG/Nokia article soon. Apple is just a load of squat! a ton of features that are not even optimised for this market called africa. Siri hardly understands 97% of our people. iOS is going LTE, you can no longer lock onto 2G because in their countries 3G is the base network. soon, iOS wont support GSM at all. Busy wasting blog space on “new features” that are long used on other OSs, there is absolutely nothing ‘innocative and invented’ by Apple lately, simply make a lot of marketing noise about it. sadly its users just grab whatever is thrown at them and run to their blogs. Cant even handle a livestream for pit’s sake. Hapana kana chinoshamisira pa iPhone maface angu, your heads are just wrapped up in this huge marketing ploy that makes you think, oh gosh this is the greatest OS/Phone ever when in actual fact everything there is about the recent releases is quite 2012 for the rest of the mobile community. wake up and be objective mhani.
tell these stupid ifanboys.
on my xperia, there is an app called TrackID, which ‘Shazams’ music already. in fact on my old Sony Ericsson k910i (a pre 2007 phone) i could identify playing music already.
LG has already released the Flex, Samsung has the Note Edge and waiting for others to innovate and then you try and make a better copy is what Apple has been whinging about for years about other companies. If the shoe was on the other foot, Apple lawyers would be working overtime to sue Whatsapp.
why asking ios users about kitkat
ask use about ios 8 vs ios7
all you do is write about features that havr been there on other platforms years back like its something new. yet while the internet has a buzz about bendgate “new iphone bending in your pocket” or icloud being hacked but there isnt a mention of all that on this website. makes me wonder if you are on Apple’s payroll. but then again, its a Zimbabwean newspaper ryt? always years behind
Stop Apple…they’ve been @ it since way back! They come up with an mp3/mp4 player and they call it an iPod,they come up with a computer (that doesn’t really have anythang new or revolutionary about it)and they call it an iMac(sounds cool doesn’t it?)But they didn’t end there,they went on to introduce a touchscreen phone in ‘ 07 and called it THE iPhone and yet it didn’t even have 3G @ a time when it was a basic feature on even the ‘lowend’ models by SonyEricsson but still people fell for the marketing department @ Apple’s tricks and then they even went on to introduce a tablet and called it an iPad as if there was really somn new about it when in actual fact (specially on this side of the planet)its an inconvenience to use iOS on any device,with an android or even a Blackberry,standard practice is u plug in ur usb cable connect to ur phone,open the location of your music in your computer,right click then send but no,not on the iPhone,u need to find some software(iTunes and make sure the version is compatible with the iOS version in ur device)+ a whole process before u can send ur music,u only have to hope ZESA doesn’t cut u out before u finish,I can go on about the reasons why its a bad idea to use iOS here but all I can say is if u want innovation when its still fresh,don’t go to Apple