Here are a few lesser-known new features in iOS 8

Widgets! Quicktype keyboard! Hey, Siri! Interactive notifications! Like most new versions of Apple’s mobile OS, iOS 8 comes with its fair share of features that, in theory, will help improve the experience from the previous version. Our list of new features covers nearly every highlight from Apple SVP Craig Federighi’s presentation, but every year there’s always one slide filled with additional enhancements they don’t have enough time to call out individually on stage, and every year that slide disappears within a few seconds. So, what else will iOS 8 offer that wasn’t specifically called out by Hair Force One?

Admittedly, there’s a reason why the majority of these features only get a few seconds of precious keynote time: A lot of them simply aren’t that interesting to the average end user. New languages and refined dictionaries, for instance. There are, however, quite a few gems that are worth paying a little more attention to, and even a few that may not be fully explained until consumers get their hands on the OS for themselves.

First, we already wrote about support for WiFi calling, a feature T-Mobile currently touts on most of the Android devices and Windows Phones it carries. This service, which gives you the ability to use WiFi networks to make calls, is extremely handy when you’re in an area with spotty cellular coverage but more than capable WiFi signal.

If you’ve used an iPhone in the past, you likely have found yourself frustrated by unexplained battery drain. Is a rogue app sucking your battery dry? Who knows! Fortunately, Apple appears to have heard your cries of annoyance, as it’s introduced battery usage by app; now you can go into the settings menu and find out which apps are utilizing significant portions of your storage space.

Privacy fans will like this one: iOS 8 will list DuckDuckGo as a default search option in Safari, in addition to Google, Bing and Yahoo. We won’t blame you if you haven’t heard of the search engine before — essentially, its whole reason for being is to not track your searches. You won’t have to worry about your interests or other information getting sent to advertisers, for instance.

iOS 8 will also offer a few new enhancements to the camera app: Separate focus and exposure controls, as well as instant burst mode and a camera timer. Apple’s preferred to keep its camera app as simple as possible, so this is certainly adding a layer of complexity that wasn’t there before.

And here’s one for the iPad users: Panoramic mode. Its absence in iOS 7 was a bit of a head-scratcher, but Apple has finally determined that there are plenty of people out there who actually do use their tablets to take photos. Why not make the best of the experience by adding in the ability to take panoramic shots?

Also on the list of iOS 8 features is FaceTime call waiting. It’s a nice enhancement if you use the video chat service on a regular basis, since there’s always a possibility that someone else wants to set up a FaceTime call with you at the same time.

Finally, given the huge push Apple’s making in China — it landed a deal with China Mobile, the largest carrier in the country, earlier this year — it makes sense to offer more local support. Namely, iOS 8 adds lunar calendar, navigation and vector map support for Chinese users.

Naturally, this isn’t the full list: iOS 8 users will also enjoy things like multi-device support for made-for-iPhone hearing aids, the ability to purchase iTunes content using Siri, travel time notifications, rich text editing in the Notes app, flyover city tours, built-in iBooks support and Braille keyboard for direct six-dot input. Of course, there may be other stuff added in between now and the final public release, but we’ll have to wait for the Fall to know what else will make the cut.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple

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Apple App Store getting developer bundles and video previews

As Tim Cook embarked on the developer section of the keynote at WWDC, it might be easy for end users to disconnect. But, if you did, you’d have missed out on two fairly solid updates: developer app bundles and (finally) video previews. Now, developers can combo their apps and sell the for a discounted price should they choose. Likewise, previews allow developers to give us a better taste before we buy. If you happen to dabble in developing yourself, then you might also be relieved to hear that TestFlight is now officially part of Apple’s developer set-up, too.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple

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iOS 8 apps can share data, features with each other

Apple’s annual developer conference is well underway, and it just revealed what could be a seismic shift in the iOS world: third party apps will soon be able talk to each other. Historically, applications on iOS have lived in their own silos, without being able to share data and features, but that’s set to change in iOS 8. Apple has given developers “Extensibility” tools — a suite of APIs, if you want to get technical — that they can wield to let their apps share everything from documents to translation services. A demo onstage showed a Bing extension for Safari doing inline translation of a Japanese website, and using Pinterest to share a photo from a website in just a few taps.

Of course, info sharing is bound to be a boon for third-party Twitter apps and other social networking services. This kind of interaction between apps has existed on other platforms like Android, and of course the best examples are support for third-party keyboards and widgets in notifications. Both features will be in the new iOS, but the implementation goes deeper. Apps can also select a default storage location that’s accessible by other apps — it’s not exactly a traditional file browser but it sounds close. As a security measure, iOS 8 will act as a middleman when it comes to sending data between apps, rather than letting applications chat directly with each other.

Picture-taking apps can also embed their filters and photo editing tools directly into the new Photos app, letting users make adjustments without bringing the images to yet another app. Finally, devs can create custom buttons for the action sheet (the popup menu that looks the same in every iOS app and lets you choose what to do next, shown above from iOS 7) so users can add watermarks, translate documents, or do anything else. We’ll have to wait and see how developers make use of the new tools, but there should be a mix of existing services and features ported over from Android, plus some entirely new takes on sharing.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Apple iOS 8 Developer site

Apple’s WWDC 2014 in numbers: 40 million on Mavericks, 800 million iOS devices and more

Charts, graphs and stats: these are the things Apple keynotes are mad of, and today’s WWDC 2014 kickoff was no different. CEO Tim Cook took to the stage this morning at the Moscone center in San Francisco armed with enough numerical ammunition to put your best boardroom PowerPoint Keynote to shame. Cook kicked things off boasting over 40 million copies of OS X Mavericks installed and more than 50 percent of the install base working on its latest OS. He went on to point out that while PC sales continued to slip (down 5 percent, according to Cook), Apple’s computer sales are growing.

Developing …

However, according to Gartner’s Q1 2014 shipment estimates, Apple failed to crack the top five in worldwide shipments, coming in at number three in the US with 10.8 percent of the market.

In the OS wars, Apple may have strong adoption for its latest, but OS X still trails Windows by a large margin. Microsoft’s Windows 8 (released in late 2012) reached 200 million licenses by February of this year. While we don’t have internal numbers on its latest update, Windows 8.1 (released in October 2013) surpassed both Apple’s OS X 10.9 Mavericks and Microsoft’s own Windows 8 with 6.35 percent of the market according to May 2014 stats from Net Applications. Meanwhile, that same report pegs Windows 7 at 50 percent of the OS market. Regardless of its growth and reach, Apple is still a distant second in the race for desktop dominance.

In the smartphone market, iOS is still second to Android. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple’s mobile OS reached 15.5 percent of the market in 2013, down from 19.4 percent the year before, with Android hitting 78.9 percent, up from 68.8 percent in 2012. Despite those numbers, Cook mocked the competing operating system’s fragmentation issues, saying 98 percent of iOS users are now on iOS 7, while only nine percent of Android users are now on its latest OS, KitKat.

According to Cook, a 97 percent customer satisfaction rating shows why its had 130 million new iOS users in the last year and half of its Chinese customers switching from Android to iPhone in the last six months. To be fair, the iPhone just reached that country’s largest carrier, China Mobile, in January. As Cook not-so-lightly put it:

“They bought an Android phone, by mistake, then sought a better experience, and life …”

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, Cook boasted a total of 800 million iOS devices shipped. Back in June of last year, that number was 600 million, up from 500 million in January, 2013. The iPhone, which launched in 2007, has since reached 500 million units shipped. Samsung, Apple’s biggest mobile rival, meanwhile, announced it sold 200 million Galaxy S smartphones (launched in 2010) as of February. So where does the rest of that 800 million come from? Apparently, Apple’s shipped 100 million total iPod Touches and 200 million iPads.

At this rate, we wouldn’t be shocked to hear Cook boasting iOS billions some time next year. In the mean time, Apple has more than just billions in profits to gloat about. As of today, users have downloaded 75 billion apps from the App Store, with 1.2 million apps to choose from and 300 million visits to the digital storefront every week.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Software

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OS X Yosemite: Apple’s latest desktop operating system is free this fall

Apple’s just unveiled the latest update to its desktop operating system for Macs and it’s called Yosemite. While last year’s Mavericks brought the inevitable reality of iOS/OS X integration even further with the introduction of familiar apps, like Maps and iBooks, this time around Apple’s Tim Cook promises both systems are now “engineered to work seamlessly together.”

Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering at Apple, explained that Apple’s focus for OS X Yosemite was on clarity, continuity and clear font type throughout the operating system. Finder window menus are now translucent, matching up with the image backgrounds on your desktop to dynamically shift for personality and color temperature. This effect has been translated to the refreshed dock which, itself, has also gotten a slight makeover with newer, flatter-looking icons and even a new trash can; something Federighi referred to as “fundamentally still Mac.” There’s even a new “dark mode,” giving users the option to eschew translucency for dark grey toolbars.

As Cook mentioned at the start of today’s WWDC kick-off, the prevailing theme of this OS X update is one of uniformity and the enhancements made to Yosemite reflect that direction. The OS now sports changes to menu navigation for Apple’s suite of desktop applications that see the nav bar moved to the left rail across all programs, like Messages or FaceTime.

Federighi went on to highlight changes to Notification Center in Yosemite, saying that users can expect to now see a full day’s worth of their schedule lumped in with regular notifications from other apps. To swap between the two, Apple’s added in tabs at the top to let users minimize the information (i.e., calender, reminders, news updates) shown at a glance. Widgets for weather, stocks and calculator have also been tossed into this new Notification Center for easy access.

One of the more glaring changes to OS Yosemite, is the addition of Spotlight search as a front and center service throughout the system. A search bar, akin to Google’s search bar across Android devices, will appear in the midst of the desktop so users can quickly index and surface apps, docs and other items of interest without having to go all the way to the icon on the upper right of the menu bar. This new Spotlight can even be used to bring up full contacts info and any related information — be it a shared document or scheduled appointment — attached to a specific contact search.

The change to Spotlight here, as we mentioned previously, really seems to be going after the preemptive search of Google Now. Federighi showed off how the feature can now make recommendations for movie times, nearby restaurants and even offer measurement conversions. Apple’s even worked Spotlight into the address bar of the revamped Safari browser, again, to give users a one-stop shop for search across the web and local files.

As for Safari, that browser has predictably been updated for continuity, Federighi’s favorite buzz term for this WWDC. The browser’s window carries over the translucency seen in other areas of the operating system, but also sports changes to some familiar functions. Favorites are now hidden by default, but users can access these by clicking on the address bar. Sharing out links to social networks has been simplified with a one-click process and RSS feeds will populate in the browser’s sidebar.

AirDrop in Yosemite now works with iOS, so iPhone owners can easily transfer files to the Mac and back. Another example of “continuity” is Hand-off, OS X Yosemite’s ability to recognize work being done on iOS that a user might want to continue on the desktop. The feature works very simply: Once an action is detected on iOS, Yosemite will create an icon on the desktop to remind the user to complete the task. This sensing ability also extends to creating a tethered connection, as a user’s iPhone will now appear as a connection option in the WiFi dropdown.

Gmail users have long enjoyed the ability to make and receive calls from their laptop and now Apple’s giving users of its ecosystem that same perk. Once connected to your iPhone, Yosemite will prompt users with notifications to answer or ignore incoming calls (both audio and video); a feature Federighi demoed by ignoring his Mother’s call and then calling new Apple employee, Dr. Dre. The OS will even allow users to click on a number within a website (say from a restaurant page) to dial it directly.

Since WWDC is a developer-focused conference, Apple is making OS X Yosemite available to them to download beginning today, with a non-dev beta to be released this summer. But, as it was with OS X Mavericks, today’s Yosemite reveal is only a teaser for the Apple user public-at-large and that full retail release won’t be available until sometime this Fall. Though, when Apple does unleash OS Yosemite later this year, users will be able to download it for free.

Filed under: Desktops, Software, Apple

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Apple’s Health app for iOS 8 collects your vitals from Nike and more

Apple’s iPhone is going from part-time health stat monitor to full-time mobile monitoring unit. HealthKit is a new service coming to the iPhone that tracks, records and analyzes your fitness level across a variety of metrics (sleep, movement, etc.). The way you use it on iOS 8 is through a new app called, simply, “Health.” The initiative works with companies like Nike to bring all your health information into one place, under the Health app in the next update to iOS. It looks a lot like Passbook, using cards to identify various stats. Thusly, it enables customization of the stats you want tracked and how you want it presented.

Apple says Health will work with more than just Nike, though other big players weren’t given the same shoutout. Beyond exercise applications, HealthKit is working with healthcare providers to provide up-to-date information on patient vitals in real-time.

The Mayo Clinic, a Minnesota non-profit, is already working with Apple on making the software work best for both doctors and patients. In the examples shown today at Apple’s WWDC event in San Francisco, Health advised patients of wellness plans set by their doctors and enabled a futuristic approach to healthcare.

Health assuredly works with Apple’s M7 chip, first introduced in the iPhone 5S, which tracks motion stats and enables collection of much of the metrics HealthKit aims to collect. It also sounds like the software bedrock for the long-rumored iWatch concept — a smartwatch/wearable of some form directly from Apple — though we’re yet to hear anything official on that.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Household, Software, Apple

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