LOS ANGELES – Apple iPhone and iPad tech junkies, rejoice—the latest operating system, iOS 8, is available for download Wednesday.
The brighter, faster OS will work for the iPhones 4S or newer, the iPad 2 or newer, the iPad Air, the Mini, and the iPod Touch 5.
With the release of state-of-the-art gadgets like the iPhone 6 and 6S, both of which are available for pre-order, and the new Apple Watch coming in 2015, the company has been launching newly designed products left and right, stirring the pot in the business world, agitating the iPhone-crazed generation.
Apple’s newest phone software, the iOS 8, will not have a complete makeover look-wise, but is certainly expected to deliver creatively and efficiently.
The new download will include a on-screen keyboard, which displays a row of suggested words as people type (similar to the keyboard in the Android operating system), a new microphone icon and voice message option for the Messages app, and improved video and group messaging.
Sorting photographs will also be easier, because the Photos app will automatically create new albums in a Facebook-esque way. The app will also integrate new advanced editing tools, including a built-in time-lapse creator much like the one Instagram just launched.
Other iOS 8 features include interactive notifications without leaving apps, and the new home button function; click twice to quickly access favorite and recent contacts. The Family Sharing tool allows up to six people to share their photos, calendars, locations, iTunes, iBooks and App Store purchases, with the ability for children to electronically ask their parents for permission to download an app.
Finally, the built-in Spotlight search feature now includes search result links to Wikipedia entries, news articles, iTunes content, and even movie showtimes, making a Google search—and Apple’s longtime rival—not quite as necessary. All you have to do is slide a finger downward on the home screen.
More features to better connect iPhone devices to Mac laptops and desktops will also be released this fall with another OS update.
(With reports from LA Times)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek September 17-19, 2014 Sec. B pg.4)
