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Best iOS8 features to use with your new iPhone [Mobile 88 Online (Malaysia)]
[September 21, 2014]

Best iOS8 features to use with your new iPhone [Mobile 88 Online (Malaysia)]


(Mobile 88 Online (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Planning on getting that sweet, sweet iPhone 6. With iOS 8 now available to end users, here are some of the best features that you will be able to use right away once you get your hands on Apple’s latest flagship device.



App bundles App Store Bundles lets developers make special software sets by putting in up to 10 of their apps into a pack for a single tap purchase; they usually cost less overall too, making it useful for promotions. You can choose "Complete my Bundle" to buy whatever else you're missing out in a certain pack. Other App Store improvements include Apple's TestFlight for beta apps, video previews beside screenshots, improved search with suggestions and continuous result scrolls, Trending searches, the new Explore tab and Editor's Choice for highlighted apps.

Battery usage by app iOS8 now makes it easier to recognize what apps eat your battery with the new Battery Usage section. It can show you by app how much each take in the "last 24 hours" or "last 7 days" when the device is not charging. As there's support for third-party keyboards and other app extensions, there could be more ways apps can suck that battery.


Custom actions iOS8 now enables third-party custom actions in Share sheets and Safari actions that can use JavaScript; these actions can only be bundled with their apps. Installing one can give it custom actions, then have those available through a Share sheet. They can also be reordered to give quick access to the most commonly used actions.

Extensibility and app extensions What could be the biggest change to iOS8, Extensibility lets your apps interact with each other as how Android had before, allowing for extra features or share sheets with more options to share things or access to other services. Have custom keyboards, custom extensions and so forth. The extensions are in built into the apps, so they're automatically available on download.

Family sharing Family sharing lets you share iOS8 and Yosemite apps and iTunes media up to 6 devices without needing to use the same Apple ID. Define a master device in the iCloud settings that will have control over purchases and downloads. It can also automatically share other media, calendars, reminders or even track devices. Apps will have additional informations stating if the app can be shared or not.

Handoff Handoff is the central part of Apple's Continuity that allows for smooth transitions between iOS devices and Macs. Tasks can be completed through the same authorized account, done through Bluetooth connectivity. Not all apps will support this however, as it depends on the developer to include it or not.

Health app Touted as one of the main features, the Health app is meant to store your health related data and also track your apps and other devices and keep the data. You can permit your health data to be automatically shared with your doctor or have it presented to you in a neat and simple format for when you want to check on your progress.

Hey, Siri Siri in iOS8 now has an always-listening mode that works only if the device is plugged in. Say "Hey, Siri" to activate it; though Apple may seem reluctant to have it work without it plugged in, the command should be very useful if you just want to know something quick. You can immediately purchase a song Siri recognizes. There's also new language support and streaming voice recognition.

iCloud Drive The free iCloud storage – currently at 5GB per device – can finally be used, allowing for easy uploads, access and quick editing to files. Any app using the iCloud document picker is automatically recognized so you could just throw your files anywhere, that you can also open up if you're currently not in its folder. Then there's the iCloud Photo Library for your shoots that can sync between iOS8 devices and soon OS X. Allowing optimization will resize the photos to your phone resolution.

Improved message group conversations There's been immense improvement in this department, allowing for muting, support for quick exchanges of media, location sharing and much more.

Instant hotspot You don't have to go through multiple steps to set up a personal hotspot now, simply move your phone close to the device and the network will be automatically be in the list of networks available. If you're not using the network, it'll also be automatically disconnected.

Interactive notification You can, among others, swipe stock apps for additional options, dismiss messages with a swipe and Accept Reject for the calendar.

Mail gestures Mail in iOS8 now allows for newer gestures for sorting, read or flag, or deleting. It also recognizes things like appointments, reservations and such and gives you the option to add it to your calendar. Have multiple drafts open if you so wish, and new notifications for responses to any of your threads.

QuickType The keyboard now has a predictive text entry to speed up your typing by giving suggestions on the go. It also adapts according to who you're chatting with and will of course improve the more you use it. On top of this, there's Quick Reply for easier responses to messages, and options to note events in the Calendar or to easily accept or reject invites. Quick voice messages can be sent too, along with pictures. Improve on the experience with any third-party keyboards that you may like, now that iOS8 supports them.

Spotlight enhancements There's new, more powerful search functions now; look for a movie and there'll be theaters given, showtimes, ratings, find phrases in apps you use, get information from the net at your fingertips. You can do this both through Spotlight and Safari.

TouchID favourite apps iOS8's fingerprint scanning is opened up to developers, to potential interesting uses. You could just tap a single button to access things that previously needed a password. Keeping the fingerprint encrypted means even iOS cannot gain access to it.

Time lapse videos Apart from obvious improvements to the camera, there's a new feature that allows for time-lapse mode; simply set it up somewhere, select the option and the phone will take the shots at predetermined intervals.

Widgets in notification center Widgets now appear in the notification center to give you quick information at a glance with a few built in apps for other uses. Mark to-dos as completed from the center than needing to go to the app itself. Edit those to your desire as well, to enable or disable them or just sorting them out.

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