iOS 8 is expected to release to the masses on September 9th. In fact iOS 8 has more features and widgets then has been seen in an OS rollout in a long time. iOS 8 is the real deal and you will be delighted to discover the benefits and features waiting for you to get your hands on. Let’s look at the top 10 features of iOS 8 that will make your life easier and more fun. Most of us use our iPhones for work and play and these features are just what you need to get even more use out of your iPhone.
Top 10 Features of iOS 8
1. Predictive Typing
Start typing and predictive words pop up allowing you to tap them and finish a text much faster. This one feature alone can almost double your typing speed and office productivity as the keyboard finishes the phrases for you after it learns about your style of speech.
2. Siri with Shazam Integration
Simply ask Siri, “What song is this?” and then let her listen. It’s that simple.
3. TouchID
Security has been greatly increased and the TouchID feature is just one of the many features that prevents your sensitive data on your iPhone from being compromised. It has a synthetic ruby cover over the fingerprint scanner, which may be seen in the new unbreakable screen facings that will cover future iPhone’s screens, if current rumors hold true. As it is, it provides a secure and clear window from which to sample your biometrics to ensure you are the correct person to access your iPhone.
4. Spotlight
This feature is going to be one of your favorites. Not only will it help find things stored on your iPhone, it will also search outside of your iPhone and use contextual clues to give you the best results. From news, to showtimes to nearby restaurants, you can now use spotlight to find anything.
5. Home Kit
While this is not a pure business feature it is one that helps integrate your business life and home life. This is vital today for those of us on the go. You can check in on the family and make sure everything is shipshape with your home security, turn on lights, and unlock doors when you arrive home late at night or get back from a business trip. Many home appliances are becoming iPhone aware and in the future the home may be totally controllable from your iPhone.
6. Health Kit
In a similar vein this will keep track of your physical well-being as well. Exactly which features will be incorporated haven’t been released yet. Health is a number one issue today with poor eating habits and lack of proper rest and exercise affecting us all.
7. Family Sharing
This allows the sharing of everything between the iPhones of a family. This simplifies the planning of everything from family events, finding a lost device and even get real-time approvals for an in-app purchase your child wants to make. You can also of course, share music, photos and the family credit card without having to be logged in through the same Apple ID. This is huge.
8. Continuity features
This feature lets you start working on something on your iPad and then share it over WIFI to another device. Bluetooth is another medium you can use transfer to your iPhone as you leave to go to visit a customer and you can work on in it route, then finally to be delivered at the customers office from your iPhone. There are numerous other sub-features listed under this heading, which are listed below.
9. Handoff
Handoff is a sub-feature of Continuity that switches a project from one iOS 8 device to another and does so in a seamless manner. Apple’s boast is that “You start work on one iOS 8 device and will be finishing it on another.” This is a key feature of Apple’s plans to integrate all platforms and make them seamlessly compatible. It also interfaces with the iCloud drive feature to let you move information up to the cloud on one machine and retrieve it on another in a different location.
10. New Emoji!!!
Apple has indicated that there will be many new Emoji in iOS 8. The beta versions for mobile development companies does not show any new emoji this far. I’ll bet they won’t show the new emoji until the final version is released on September 9th.
The most popular requested emoji are: more ethnic diverse people, the middle finger, a volleyball and hockey sticks.
What feature are you most looking forward to?
