All the news about iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch 8

The conference WWDC14 was held yesterday in San Francisco and, as has become usual, was the venue chosen by Apple to introduce all new software for their products. Besides Yosemite MacOS X for PCs, the company also revealed anything new for its range of mobile devices, which will soon be upgraded to iOS August. New version for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch comes loaded with new features, but some of the more interesting are those that are aimed at developers and, in the future, will mean a radical change in the mobile platform from Apple.

Yesterday we told you the main points discussed at the conference. Today which will be discussed in depth updates to iOS August. Recall that this release can be downloaded from next autumn to coincide with the launch of the iPhone in June and will be compatible with iPhone 4S on, fifth-generation iPod Touch and iPad 2 onwards.

Interactive Notifications

Apple introduced the Notification Center in iOS 5, which is nothing more than a drop where all alerts received from the various installed applications are grouped. This is a handy feature to have everything in one place, but it still had enough to be really practical. Finally, they have realized that their notification system was very sluggish and will finally allow interactive notifications. This means that if we can answer it received a message directly from the notification, and accepts the same for calendar events, put me Like it on Facebook, send an email to the trash or mark as completed a reminder.

Contacts in the multitasking panel

The panel multitasking was one of the innovations that debuted with iOS 7 and now extends its capabilities. Besides the preview open applications, will also have a direct access to the contacts we spoke more often. Without leaving this panel we will call them, send a message or start a video call with FaceTime.

Spotlight Search

Spotlight is the search engine of Apple devices iOS also changed in 7. Prior was in a separate panel to the left of the home screen but the company integrated into the home screen. With iOS 8 have kept the same design and the activation method (sliding down on the home screen) but have considerably expanded their functions. While we can now only search for content within the device, the new Spotlight also display news results, inputs Wikipedia, nearby places of interest that are contained in the Apple stores (iTunes, App Store and iBooks), websites and movies. In short, it offers almost the same options as Siri but we use our voice. Spotlight will also be integrated into Safari.

Keyboard QuickType

The Cupertino has kept almost unchanged since the first version of iOS was playing keyboard and an update that will place the level of competition. 8 premiere QuickType iOS, a new keyboard with a set of advanced suggestions. What it does is exactly the same as what we find in other platforms such as Android, which is nothing more than go suggesting words as you type so that we can go much faster. However, it has very interesting features like automatic replies when we ask a question or even learn the kind of language we use with each contact. Whether we are talking to a friend we will offer more colloquial words, while if it is a message of working it opts for more formal options. The predictive text iOS 8 has been released in fourteen languages.

Best of iOS keyboard 8 is not the keyboard itself, but from now install other keyboards may not be obligated to use that comes standard in the system. Developers may offer other options, so we’ll have the option to install a keyboard Swype Android like and work around the system.

Continuity

The concept of continuity refers to the integration of Apple products, which has been enhanced with the new iOS 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite. However keep in mind that although the company works fine integration of its products, is betting on a closed ecosystem and we can not do the same with other brand devices as a Windows computer or Android phone.

As its name suggests, Continuity allows us to continue the work we were doing when we passed a device to another. This function is called Handoff and allows us to continue working on the document or web page that had opened in the iPad from the computer. You can also answer calls from the iPad or computer and they are acting like the speaker. The messages also work from any device and to create WiFi areas with mobile connection if the iPad loses connection with the option Instant Hotspot.

iMessage and Mail

The messaging application iMessage feature innovations that make it very similar to Whatsapp (creator while the second has hinted that have plagiarized). For example it can send sound clips, videos and our location. It also allows the creation of group conversations and views all attachments of a conversation from the same place. In the case of the application Mail have included some features to save time, such as moving a message from the inbox to copy text or perform various actions only slide on a message.

iCloud Drive

iCloud Drive is the version of Dropbox for Apple devices. It consists of a virtual hard disk where you can store all of our documents and access them from any device. The window can organize folders and always retains the most current version of each document and when it will open up as you left it last time. Again it is not something that has happened to Apple, and indeed there are other options that are also compatible with more platforms like the aforementioned Dropbox or Google Drive.

Health

This is one of the features for which it had been rumored before the release of iOS 8. Health is a new application that is responsible for collecting all kinds of information about our health and physical activity. Among the data collected is the heart rate, calories consumed, blood sugar, cholesterol, diseases, allergies or our blood type. At the moment they have not confirmed, but there are suspicions that this function will have much to do with the rumored smart watch iWatch. The developers will be available HealthKit a platform for them to create applications that leverage the capabilities of Health to the maximum.

Family

iOS 8 will enlist several members of a family, to a maximum of six, so they can download content using the same credit card, share photos, one set schedule and to locate the rest on the map. An interesting feature is that the smaller need the approval of parents to buy apps, so there will be no shocks on the bill.

Photos

iOS eight premieres new iCloud Image Library, one evolving photo streaming storing all our photos and videos and shows in all our devices as a single library. What it does is store the full resolution version iCloud while retaining smaller previews adapted to each device. The trouble is that there is only 5GB free iCloud, if we have to pay more. Also new is the image editor, which offers new options such as brightness, color, more filters, or smart cut levels. Also if you edit a photo on the iPad, we will see the change automatically on our Mac or iPhone. The developers can also take part in this point, adding new filters to give a different touch to images.

Siri and Shazam

An update of the system would not be the same if the assistant Siri does not receive new features. This time Apple confirms the rumored integration with Shazam, the popular song recognition application. Also ask what song is playing new languages also recognizes and allows you to buy content from iTunes.

Features for Developers

Last but not least, Apple will offer new opportunities for application developers that will mean a radical change in the system. The new SDK will allow them to make applications work with other applications or integrated into the system. For example, it may makes its application appear in the Share menu, put more filters in the Photos application, perform preset actions, create widgets for Notification Center or offer new keyboards. Now its creations can be integrated into the same system happens in Android or Windows Phone, allowing more dynamic handling.

Apple has also opened other functions such as sensor TouchID, the camera, the option HealthKit or HomeKit for appliance. News of iOS 8 are interesting, but do not lose sight of everything that developers can do with these new tools.