iOS 8 - What's Changed?

Apple have been dominating the headlines over the last fortnight and this week has witnessed the new iOS 8 update, just days before the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are to be launched. 

If you have an iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad Mini or iPod touch 5th generation or newer, you can download it today if you don’t already have it. If you have an iPhone 4 or older generation iPads or iPods, you will have to get an upgrade as it is not accessible for you - sorry. 

So, what’s new?

With news of Apple Pay surfacing during the WWDC last week, the new iOS 8 software has changed to allow app developers to get access to the five-digit login tool which could mean we will be saying ‘goodbye’ to pesky passcodes and accessing all sorts of apps with our fingerprints. 

As the iPhone still stands at the most used camera in the world, it’s no surprise that the camera app has improved allowing you to capture extended moments and be able to speed up video with the ‘time-lapse camera mode’.

Text messages and calls will be able to be answered and replied to on Macs and iPads and are not just restricted to the iPhones. iMessage was a great cross-compatible tool for chatting across iOS devices and Macs but now the experience has just got a whole lot more convenient. 

Interactive notifications are another convenience too and will mean users can respond to texts and calendar reminders from the lock screen.  There is no need to unlock your phone to reply to a friend and lie that you’re ‘on your way’ because now you can do it with just a few clicks. 

The keyboard has had an upgrade to, and Apple claim their new iOS 8 keyboard is the ‘smartest ever’. The Quicktype feature adds a highly-requested predictive texting capability and will automatically offer you choices based on the conversation. Simple ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options can appear when a friend asks you a question. 

As well as these useful features, there are a whole host of new apps to make your iPhone, iPad or iPod turn into a usability genius too - too many to mention in fact. But, Apple is confident that this is the best update they have had, so let’s hope they’re right!