credit Apple
It's almost fall again, and so Apple has released the next
generation of software that powers its mobile lineup: iOS 8. As always, this is
a free update, and it packs new features and enhancements, both obvious and
subtle.
Building on last year's dramatic
interface overhaul, iOS 8, which was released today, marks the second
version of Apple's mobile operating system to feature 64-bit code (last year's
iOS 7 being the first). This allows the iPhone to take full advantage of the
64-bit architecture built around the A7 chip in the iPhone 5S, iPad Air and the
second-generation iPad mini; as well as the upcoming 64-bit A8 chip in the
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Michael de Agonia
You can reply to or dismiss a message notification on the Lock Screen.
(For owners of legacy equipment, iOS 8 can run on the iPhone
4S and later, and the iPad 2 and later. The only iPod Touch that can handle iOS
8 is the fifth-generation model that's been shipping since September 2012.
However, not all features will be available for all devices and countries --
Apple has provided a list of which features are available in which
countries.)
iOS 8 retains the look and feel introduced in iOS 7 with
added refinements throughout the system. The new functionality doesn't feel
bolted on, doesn't slow the OS down or add bloat -- a difficult trick to pull
off.
Be warned, though: I have run into lingering bugs in the
final release of iOS 8 (build 12A365). Some are obscure enough that you may
never run into them, but the usual caveats and warnings apply regarding
installing and running first-release software.
For this review, I tested iOS 8 on an iPhone 5S, an iPad
mini (second generation with Retina display) and a cellular iPad Air. However,
the main focus of this review will be based on how well iOS 8 runs on the
iPhone.
Installation
Before you do anything else, go to Settings: iCloud: Storage
& Backup and tap Backup Now. You will want a full backup of your
data in case of an unforeseen event.
There are several ways to install iOS 8. The easiest: From
an iOS device, navigate to Settings > General > Software Update and run
the update. For this, you will need a Wi-Fi network and at least 50% battery
life, or else the device will have to be plugged in. After the download is
complete, your device will update in place, leaving all of your settings, data,
media and apps intact.
The other way to upgrade your iPhone is to plug it into a PC
or Mac running iTunes. You'll have the option to either Restore or Upgrade the
phone, with the Upgrade option leaving your settings, data, media and apps in
place; the Restore option initially deletes everything on the device before
installing a fresh operating system. If you've been having issues with your
device, or if you've modified (or jailbreaked)
) the OS in ways Apple hasn't sanctioned, then a Restore may be the best bet.
Once the upgrade is complete and the device rebooted, a
multi-language Welcome screen will be displayed. Perform a Slide-to-Unlock
swipe and Apple's Setup Assistant will guide you through the process of connecting
to a Wi-Fi network and enabling Location Services. If you chose to perform a
Restore, this is where you'll see options to set your device up as new or to
restore from a backup via iCloud or iTunes.
A similar interface
Like iOS 7, iOS 8 is designed in layers, with views zooming
you in and out of your content, interface overlays influenced by personalized
backgrounds, and the parallax effect creating the illusion of graphics subtly
residing on separate planes.
Last year, the Lock Screen was revamped for a far cleaner
look and allowed users to swipe anywhere on the screen to call up the Home or
passcode screen. In iOS 8, the Lock Screen gets additional functionality
without added clutter.
One of the highlights is the new Interactive Notifications.
These are notifications with optional action items, allowing you to perform
specific functions without opening the app itself. An interactive notification
can be activated by swiping to the right on the Lock Screen, bringing up
contextually pertinent actions. For instance, an email notification, when
swiped to the right, will allow you to respond to or dismiss the notification;
you can also Mark as Read, Trash or dismiss the notification.
Starting in iOS 8, Apple has created APIs that allow
developers to extend the functionality of some system functions, including --
but not limited to -- these interactive notifications. For example, the recent
Apple keynote showed Facebook notifications with options to Like or respond to
a post from within the notification. But I'll get to more of this in a bit.
I've run into one annoyance with the new interactive
notification, specifically as implemented by the Messages app: Notifications do
not update if you receive another email while you're responding. Nitpicky?
Sure, but it would be nice to see the next message when responding to a
specific thread. Otherwise, this is a useful step in the right direction.
Bottom of Form
Now is a good time to note that the Messages app has
received some welcome new features, including the ability to name group
messages, add and remove people from group threads, and -- best of all -- the
ability to enable Do Not Disturb on a per-chat basis or leave a group chat
altogether.
Michael de Agonia
The Details screen in Messages offers a variety of options, including the ability to mute notifications.
To the upper right of a message, there is a new Details
button that, when tapped, brings you to information about the contact and the
conversation. It also shows you more ways to communicate with your contact
(including phone/audio/FaceTime calls), share your location, mute the
conversation and review the attachments shared in the conversation in one
location.
The Messages app now has some handy shortcuts for sending
pictures, sound bites and videos, but the caveat is that these features are
only enabled when contacting users who have the iMessage service. If your
recipient has a device that only uses SMS, then the Messages interface remains
the same as before, lacking the quick shortcuts for sending audio or video new
in iOS 8. That doesn't mean videos and pictures can't be sent; it just means
that contacts relying on SMS do not show the updated interface.
When you are using the iMessage service, there is a camera
and a microphone icon to the left and right respectively of the Messages text
input area. Holding down the microphone automatically initiates a recording
session, enabling you to give a quick spoken reply. When finished, without
lifting your thumb, you can swipe left with your thumb to delete, or swipe up with
your thumb to send.
The recipient will receive an audio file inline in the text
conversation. This file displays as an audio waveform that can be played by
tapping a play button. The message can also be played from the Lock Screen by
simply raising the phone; the iPhone will sense the gesture and automatically
play the message once you place the phone to your ear. From here, you can
respond, and when you lower your iPhone, your voice response is automatically
sent.
After using it over the summer, I found this to be a truly
neat and welcome way to communicate, with all of the benefits of texting (such
as the ability to pause and think before replying) without the pesky texting
part.
Videos and pictures can be quickly recorded and sent, too.
To send a picture, press and hold the camera icon to the left of the entry
field, point at your subject, and then swipe up with your thumb. With this
motion, the iPhone will take a picture and then automatically send it to your
recipient.
To send a video, tap and hold the camera icon and slide your
thumb to the right; the video will automatically start recording. To send the
video, lift your thumb and tap to stop recording. Tap the up icon to send or
the X button to cancel. As with the audio messages, recipients will receive the
pictures and movies in the conversation text, and they'll have the option to
keep or delete the media.
By default, incoming audio and video messages are set to
self-destruct within two minutes unless the settings have been changed under
Settings: Messages.
One last update to Messages (and this actually applies to
all updated apps): There's a new photo picker featuring a much larger photo
preview. When the photo picker is active, you can scroll through some recent
photos from left to right, allowing you to select and send multiple photos and
videos.
Photos
Speaking of photos, the Photos app also gets welcome
updates.
Located at the top right of the Photo app, just to the left
of the Select button, there is now a Spotlight icon (Spotlight is the iOS search
engine). This allows you to search for photos using location and dates, which
should help you find that specific picture you're looking for. The Photo search
field automatically includes recent results as well as some smart searches of
recent photos. Interestingly, photo results are not available when a Spotlight
search is conducted from the Home screen.
The Photos app has gained some new editing features, too.
When you select the Edit button on the upper right, the button is replaced by a
magic wand icon, which automatically adjusts your photo to what it interprets
as optimal levels. Generally, this auto-enhance feature does a good job
bringing out colors and compensating for common lighting errors.
Near the bottom of the screen, there are buttons to Cancel
the editing mode, Crop, Filters, Manual Adjustments and an option to Revert
back to the original photo. Each button does what you would think; the Manual
Adjustments button lets you tweak light, color and other settings using a
simple drag-to-adjust mechanism that automatically adjusts specific parameters
such as Exposure, Brightness, Shadows, Contrast and more. These settings can
also be manually fine-tuned, if you're inclined to tweak by hand. During
editing, if you wish to see a before and after comparison of the photo, just
press and hold your finger on the picture; the software will display the
original file.
Within the Photos app, just above the Home button, there is
an icon in the shape of a heart. Tapping this heart will automatically make
that photo a Favorite and store that photo in a Favorites album on this device
-- and the Favorites album of every device that your Apple ID is linked to.
Given that the iPhone -- and smartphones like it -- went a
long way to killing the consumer digital camera market, it only makes sense
that Apple engineers would figure out ways to make photo-taking better.
One of the enhancements built into the Camera app is the
option for a self-timer. Previously, this was available in third-party
applications like Gorilla Cam, but it's a welcome feature to have built in. The
icon is located at the top menu to the left of the Camera Flip button. When
tapped, the icon slides out of the way to reveal a 3- or 10-second countdown
option. When either option is selected, the Self-Timer changes to reflect the
change, which is helpful in determining at a glance if the Timer feature is on
or off. Press the shutter to begin the countdown, with the remaining time in
the countdown displaying on screen. Pressing the shutter button while the timer
counts down cancels picture-taking process.
The Camera app now has five modes: Panorama, Square, Photo,
Video and Time-Lapse. If you're on an iPhone 5S or later, you also have a
Slo-Mo option as well.
Personally, the time-lapse option is the one I'm most
interested in. Anyone who follows me on Twitter and/or Vimeo, knows I love time-lapse shots. Before this
feature was added to the iPhone, I used a cumbersome multistep routine with a GoPro camera to capture the
footage, and a third-party application on the Mac called Zeitraffer to
process it into a movie. By adding the Time-Lapse mode, Apple has turned this
cumbersome multistep process into one that can be accomplished with ease: Press
the Record button in the Time-Lapse section to start and press it again to
stop. You can trim the resulting video by dragging a pair of sliders on either
end of the video previews.
Another new feature: The Photo and Square shooting modes now
offer built-in filters to the right of the on-screen shutter. Tapping the
Filters button, represented by a three circle graphic, gives access to nine
real-time previews of the filters. If you like a filter, tapping on it results
in a full-screen preview.
Siri
Apple's voice assistant, Siri, picks up a couple of tricks
in iOS 8. It shows you exactly what you're saying as you're saying it and now
lets you purchase iTunes content without launching the iTunes app.
But by far the most important feature update is the new Hey,
Siri command. Now, when your iOS device is plugged into power, Siri listens for
the command Hey, Siri. This is a feature I longed for years ago, and I'm glad
it's here. I found the Hey, Siri command especially useful in two specific
situations: If you work from home (or in an area where talking out loud to the
phone isn't a big deal) or in the car. In fact, the Hey, Siri hand's free
functionality may tide over some Apple fans who are waiting for their cars to
support Apple's
CarPlay technology.
source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2683989/deep-dive-review-ios-8-packs-some-snappy-new-features.html
by Michael deAgonia
http://www.buyetail.com
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