In iOS 7, apps like the official Starbucks app could put\r\nnotifications on the lock screen to prompt user activity. In Starbucks’ case,\r\nwhen users were located near a Starbucks, they could get single-swipe access to\r\nthe coffee chain’s digital payment system. Now, instead of a large notification,\r\niOS 8 puts a small logo in the bottom left corner that can be swiped upwards to\r\naccess certain features.
In this image, the Starbucks and Apple Store apps can\r\nbe accessed right from the lock screen when users are in those establishments.
In iOS 8, when users receive a notification that could require\r\nsome action, such as a text message or a comment on Facebook, users can respond\r\ndirectly from the notification without leaving the app they were in.
In the\r\nimage above, the user can respond to a text message with Siri or via a typed\r\nmessage. In the WWDC 2014 keynote, Apple executives showed how Facebook could add a\r\n\u201cLike\u201d button to a notification.
Keeping an eye on battery status is a fact of life for mobile\r\ndevice owners. In the past, it would sometimes be difficult to determine when\r\nan app was misbehaving and taking more battery life than it should. Now, with\r\niOS 8, users can see what apps are using the most power and make adjustments\r\naccordingly.
A useful new feature for families is Apple’s Family Share.\r\nWith it, families can share music, movie, book, and app purchases across as many\r\nas six individual accounts with one credit card. Family Share even allows\r\nchildren to request permission to purchase apps, with a notification sent to\r\nparents to approve or deny.
Users can now send brief audio messages within iMessage,\r\n\u201cborrowing\u201d a feature from other popular chat programs like WhatsApp. Users can\r\npress and hold the microphone button to record a message, then swipe up to\r\nsend it. The recordings will automatically delete themselves to avoid filling\r\nup a device with unneeded messages, though users can manually decide which\r\nmessages to keep.
Apple’s new Health app was the topic of a lot of discussion\r\nahead of the keynote. In the end, Apple didn’t seem to spend much time on the\r\napp, but it certainly holds a lot of potential.
At the moment, the Health app acts as a\r\nrepository for health data sent by other apps, including calories burned, hours\r\nof sleep, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and more. It acts as a unifying force for health-related data that was previously spread across a multitude of different apps.
Many analysts expect the\r\napp’s functionality to be expanded with the release of the rumored iWatch this\r\nfall.
Apple has made improvements to Siri as well. She\r\ncan now listen to songs and tell you what’s playing via new integration with\r\nShazam, and when the phone or iPad is plugged into a power source (say, in the car),\r\nyou can say \u201cHey, Siri\u201d and then begin dictating normally.
This is truly hands-free,\r\neven if it also was \u201cborrowed\u201d from Android.
Jordan Golson has written about Apple, transportation and technology for more than a decade and has contributed to dozens of major publications including WIRED, The Verge, MacRumors, Popular Mechanics, Bild and many more.
