The iOS 8 for Apple devices will mark another game-changing upgrade to the software of the Cupertino-based company products. So how is it different from its very successful predecessor called the iOS 7?
According to Design & Trend, iOS 8 is very similar to iOS 7 in terms of visual appearance. Hence, fans cannot expect another major transformation on the icons, transitions and whatnot of the display area. Apple's iOS 8 is said to be focused more on ensuring top-quality functionality with some favorable tweaks on the side.
Conspicuous alterations are only minimal but are intended to give a whole new experience to users, who have been deprived of certain feats Android users have been enjoying from the get-go.
For example, the latest Apple software update will come with a keyboard feature called QuickType. What it does is suggest words just like how it is using SwiftKey.
Furthermore, it seems that Apple is slowly becoming more open to allowing third-party developers to get major parts of their devices. The iOS 8 will give users that privilege of switching keyboards using third-party ones.
While the default keyboard may have gotten a major boost through QuickType, Apple has decided that their users can still switch to keyboards of their liking to suit their needs. Developers of SwiftKey, Swype, Flesky, and Minuum have already agreed to work on keyboards that are iOS 8-compatible.
Another thing that Apple fans can expect from the new operating system update is the new set of system widgets for the pull-down notification and the lockscreen all the same.
Apple may be trying to catch up with the race between Windows Phone Live Tiles and Android widgets systems that's why it will be incorporating more widgets to its software.
The iOS 7 simply had very basic widgets for Weather and Stocks, so it's quite interesting to note that more widgets will be coming to Apple devices. However, Pocket-Lint says consumers shouldn't really expect much too much from this area as the new widgets will not be interactive and will not even sport constantly-updating elements.
Family Sharing is another addition to the new features the iOS 8 takes pride on. This feature allows the sharing of purchased iTunes content between family members.
From books, movies, music, and select apps, users can share any content to up to six family members. And quite noteworthy of this feature is the fact that adults will get notifications whenever the younger family members are trying to access adult content or purchase much too much on in-game money or upgrades.
Just like Android devices, the iOS 8 will also enable users to connect to other third-party devices through its new feature called HomeKit. The said feature allows Apple devices to establish connections to a wide variety of devices for distant manipulation purposes.
Last but certainly not the least is HealthKit - the latest technological innovation from the giant company which was already presented at the WWDC in June. HealthKit like what its name suggests is a health and fitness application that generates pertinent data from fitness devices like Nike Fuelband and iWatch. This will collect consumers' health status regularly so that they can easily show it to physicians whenever they pay a visit for a check-up or for health monitoring reasons.
With all these new features, surely Apple users will enjoy using their devices even more. While the release date of iOS 8 is still under wraps, analysts and tech reviewers hint that it is expected to start rolling in late September.
