12 ms·

Apple Introduces iOS 8

322 points by J-H 12y ago

J-H 12y ago
The new texting suggestions in QuickType are awesome (if it works as suggested).
- 27182818284 12y ago
  Swiftkey already learns quite well. For example, I often type "Hey what's going on?" and it has now learned that if I type "Hey" it should suggest "what's" and so on, so in 4 taps I have the whole sentence. What it doesn't have, is the context-aware switching. That is something really neat about the new keyboard. Switching context from a meeting being "postponed" to "boring" is great.
  - maaaats 12y ago
    And the keyboard on Windows Phone is also really great, especially in WP8.1. So Apple needed to improve the keyboard, they were already far behind the competition.
- keehun 12y ago
  It does. It sometimes blocks the main interface from updating (doesn't seem perfectly optimized or parallelized yet). It's also on an iPhone 4S which is the oldest iPhone they support.
gnopgnip 12y ago
The do not disturb sounds great. Does this mean the recipient or the sender sets it?
- ciniglio 12y ago
  Recipient I think
y14 12y ago
The mac integration for calls is great.
- will_work4tears 12y ago
  It does seem to have promise. I didn't catch all of the details, was there a demo? Was it able to say, switch a call over to your mac with the ability to do something like FaceTime?
  - k-mcgrady 12y ago
    They did a demo call with Dr. Dre. They didn't showing switching a call between devices. I did notice a video button on the call on the Mac suggesting you might be able to switch from audio to video (presumably FaceTime).
- the_watcher 12y ago
  Yea, having to awkwardly move around to answer a call when I have my phone charging is one of those little things that I suspect we'll all be surprised by how often this new feature improves our life.
untog 12y ago
Call/SMS integration is great. It's worth noting that Google had absolutely everything they needed to do this years ago, and just... didn't. Hangouts is still inferior to iMessage today. It's a real shame. Edit: this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android, at last. Third party keyboards, too (I've gotten quite attached to the Android swiping stuff). Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure what keeps me on Android. I confidently predict that iOS Active Notification usage will be far higher than on Android, even though Android has had it for years.
- dirkgently 12y ago
  > this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android, at last. I am not sure if you are serious or not.
  - untog 12y ago
    Why? The intends system of Android is amazing, and I use it heavily. It was absolutely a blocker for me switching to iOS.
    - dirkgently 12y ago
      Yes, Android intends are great, and that's why I was surprised when I read "this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android". What I meant to ask was, what do you mean by "enough"? Does this mean that: 1. iphone/ios/Apple suddenly provides better extendibility? 2. Would you be able to, say, open a link to any browser of your choice in iphone? If any of the above answers is "no", then, yes, I am not sure if you were serious or not. Hence my comment. (Edited for clarity)
      - threeseed 12y ago
        It came across as being sarcastic hence the down votes. And yes iOS8 does provide better extensibility than it did before and yes you would be able to open content in alternative browsers. Not sure about apps like Mail however.
sz4kerto 12y ago
There are two big things here: Health: it's stepping on the toes of many partners, but might be groundbreaking. It's extremely hard to crack healtcare, it's very closed, defensive system of people and bureaucracy, Apple might just have the power to do it. Extensibility: intents are basically _the_ reason Android can work so much better in many cases than iOS. I hope MS will bring it to WP very soon.
- daigoba66 12y ago
  Per Microsoft: "App contracts and extensions" have existed since day one: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh464906.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh46490... Per Healthcare: that is a really exciting new feature and there is a LOT of potential here. But I wonder how successful it can actually be in the grand scheme of things. I.e. not everyone can have or wants an iPhone. Edit, expanding a bit: On the flip side, I am huge advocate for personal health records (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record), but no one really knows about them and no really uses them because they don't work with your doctor. I don't think Apple has even remotely come close to solving the overall problem of integration and usefulness, but maybe it will get more people interested and thinking about the concept of a personal health record.
  - sz4kerto 12y ago
    You're right, app contracts have been there since ages, just not really used as much as they are on Android. Re. Health: it can fly in the US, and if it does, then they've got the momentum to port the stuff to other mobile OSes. Health itself is such a big industry that they might not want/need to use it just as a promoter for their devices.
  - threeseed 12y ago
    Expect health devices to be the new hot space for the next few years. Yes Apple will have an iWatch but they would be more than happy having hundreds of dirt cheap equivalents that integrate seamlessly with the iPhone.
sigzero 12y ago
You can finally leave group MMS! That is awesome.
- RandallBrown 12y ago
  Can you leave group MMS or just group iMessages?
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - keehun 12y ago
    I think all those features mentioned like attachments and sharing location and leaving/adding people to a conversation is a strictly-iMessage featureset. iOS Messages app doesn't even work well with Android phones in group texts. They way they package up the text is totally different.
eertami 12y ago
I don't have an iPhone, but I just can't understand why the keyboard cannot be lowercase when you're writing in lowercase. I just don't understand the motivation.
- gecko 12y ago
  The original reason for that was simply because they hadn't thought of that. The ongoing nominal reason was that it was a continuing nod to skeuomorphism. But given Jobs' passing, and the otherwise massive ditching of skeuomorphism since then, I do not begin to understand myself why that's the still the case. I'll hope that iOS 8 might introduce that mode as we get closer to shipping.
  - mason55 12y ago
    With third-party keyboards now available I imagine that it will be doable
- omnibrain 12y ago
  And I don't understand why they can't cram the punctation marks (at least full stop and comma) on it. And I have an iPhone...
  - the_watcher 12y ago
    I don't understand why every single keyboard on mobile doesn't have the .COM button. It's basically become as ubiquitous as any punctuation mark given how often emails are typed.
    - Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0 12y ago
      IIRC, this is exactly what happens for html5 forms: the default keyboards on ios/android/wp do display the "@"/".com"/".net" buttons next to the space bar depending on the input type.
      - 12y ago
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- crusso 12y ago
  I disagree. Continuity by itself will be a tremendous addition and well-worth the upgrade. It implies not only some App/OSX integration, but also some nifty telecommunications integration.
ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
I was really hoping for split screen multitasking (which Windows 8 on tablets does a good job of). I heard it was possible, but was having problems getting it out the door in time. I really hope it comes out in the final version of iOS 8, because that's the one thing that would tempt be to get a Surface over the next iteration of the iPad.
- pandatigox 12y ago
  I think there's a jailbreak thing for that
  - mikeash 12y ago
    While jailbreak hacks are really cool, you can't really base any long-term decisions (like hardware purchases) around them, because jailbreaks are so unpredictable. It's a crapshoot as to whether any given OS version will have a jailbreak, and who knows how long it will take. Even if you wait for the jailbreak to be released, there's no real guarantee you can keep it. The next OS release will probably break it, and even if you refrain from upgrading, it's likely that you'll eventually be forced to upgrade due to a hardware failure, OS corruption, inadvertent button press, massive widespread security hole, etc. And good ol' Apple doesn't let you install older OSes after new versions come out, even on hardware that supports them.
Jordan15 12y ago
Sounds minor, but I would have loved to have been able to change the SMS screen so I could have a black background instead of a white one. Is it that hard to do?
- scrumper 12y ago
  I set up the accessibility feature called Invert Colors and assign it to a triple tap on the home button. That works great for things like Mail and Messages, especially first thing in the morning when my eyes are tired and I don't want my retinas seared by a crisp white screen.
yalogin 12y ago
The extensions for apps look very promising. I don't think Android intents provide this kind of deep integration between apps. But I would wait for some one to confirm that part.
- etherealG 12y ago
  i can confirm that intents are this deeply integrated in android. more so because they are custom, any app can fire or register an intent, so they don't need to be something baked into the OS from the start. i do like the ideas for extensions apple presented, but they all seem to specific. the android intents i use day to day are way past this.
pmelendez 12y ago
>"Plus, it also knows who you’re talking to, which is crazy. By knowing who you’re talking to, it will send up predictions that are right for the type of conversation you have with that particular person." This is a bit scary... This means that Apple not only knows who I talk to but now actually maintain an index on how I talk with everyone. 1984 is getting closer and closer.
- taiki 12y ago
  I'm guessing it's going to do all this stuff on the device, and not done in the cloud.
- g5pw 12y ago
  Well, they said that data will reside on your device only (no default internet access for custom keyboards, too).
- mikeash 12y ago
  Did you not previously notice that iMessage keeps a history of your conversations, or what?
FPSDavid 12y ago
I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the amount of stuff they've packed into iOS 8. Looks like it'll be more than enough to easily rip me away from jailbroken iOS 7.
the_watcher 12y ago
HealthKit and HomeKit are both really exciting (probably going to look at smartlocks now in particular). However, I'm easily most excited about being able to leave a group text.
Osmium 12y ago
So so happy to see the SceneKit API make it to iOS. Even though 'minor' compared to some of the other announcements, it was the number one thing I was looking for in today's keynote, and it was nice to see it featured. Can't wait to start using it.
- ja27 12y ago
  That's the most useful thing I saw for my current development. The integration, widgets, etc. will open up a lot of new possibilities too. I'm not too excited about Swift but it looks like it could speed up the code, compile, load, test cycle.
dang 12y ago
We changed the url for this story from http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/02/apple-introduces-ios-8 http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/02/apple-introduces-ios-8. If we pick the wrong url, happy to change it again, so let us know. The goal is to have one discussion about each significant announcement, and have the best url for each.
- jrochkind1 12y ago
  I like the techcrunch url better, thanks for including it in the comment at least. A third-party editorial review is much more useful to me than a marketting brochure.
jwcrux 12y ago
I'm personally excited about the possibility of creating an "Emergency Card" (http://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/health/ http://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/health/) that's accessible from the lock screen. Currently, I use a screen-shotted contact screen as my wallpaper for my ICE contact - just in case the worst were to happen. This will let me put more information, and might even let me have a wallpaper again!
- cheeseprocedure 12y ago
  Wouldn't it be more sensible to just carry that information in hard copy? If you're hit by a car and your phone is smashed...
  - unphasable 12y ago
    Why not both?
- Cthulhu_ 12y ago
  On the one side, yes; on the other, I doubt people will look at your phone in case of emergency. That is, at the moment - I guess it's quite possible this feature will change that. But that's a generation thing. Still best to have one of those medical bracelets with your blood type and allergies and the like.
jevinskie 12y ago
Wow, real dynamic linking. Xcode even let me do so when targeting 7.1. Does anyone know if you will be able to submit apps to the AppStore that use dynamic frameworks while still deploying to < iOS 8?
Istof 12y ago
I am surprised that we see more then one submission about iOS 8 on this site (if you take into account the curation)
espitia 12y ago
Really, what does android have on ios that mainstream user would want?
jordan0day 12y ago
The family sharing looks like a great idea that is way overdue. Hopefully it works as easily as the marketing material indicates.
RivieraKid 12y ago
"Huge for developers. Massive for everyone else." "Completely new. Completely Mac." I find meaningless slogans like these really disgusting and annoying. And it's not just Apple, every second startup does this.
- hsod 12y ago
  annoying I could understand but "really disgusting"? what is it that bothers you so much?
  - prawn 12y ago
    Disgust includes a "feeling of strong disapproval". I didn't physically throw up reading them, but I did read out a couple aloud in the office and scoffed. They're so smug and grandiose that it's very off-putting and I wish they'd just let the product speak for itself. (I use an iPhone, iPad and MBP.)
    - sosborn 12y ago
      > I did read out a couple aloud in the office and scoffed. > They're so smug and grandiose You have to admit there is a little bit of irony in this.
      - prawn 12y ago
        A little bit! Scoff was a bit of a rushed word I have to admit. It was less scoffing and more whining...
- tvon 12y ago
  I don't like it either, but that kind talk that has been around for as long as people have had something to sell.
- mikeash 12y ago
  Slogans and mottos and such have a long history (to the extent that a lot of them are written in Latin because the practice was common when Latin was a living language) and rarely say much concrete.
nachteilig 12y ago
It wasn't made clear in the keynote and the page doesn't mention it--I hope this includes sharing contacts with "Family Sharing". That'll be huge for helping my older family members keep a coherent address book.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
d1cd 12y ago
The attention to deal is mind boggling. If you missed the presentation, they said how many time they spent just trying to design a proper trash can.
bitsoda 12y ago
Apple's iOS support for older products has been stellar, though I'm betting iOS 8 will be the last update the iPad mini, iPad 2, and iPhone 4S receive -- they will have had a good run of four years (except for mini) by the time iOS 9 is released.
slipshod 12y ago
Totally on a tangent here, but I find myself disappointed, again. I'm a long time hobbyist programmer, got my start back in the days of Apple IIe, got my first Mac in 1984...and I'm still not switching back to iPhone until I can write my own software and run it on my own phone without paying Apple for the privilege. I'm waiting for two simple words: "Unknown sources". Guess I have to wait some more. Not sure how low Apple's market share will have to go before they start allowing it. Can't say I love programming for Android, Java just doesn't feel right to me, but I'm sticking with it as long as I can write my own software, run it on my phone or tablet, share it with others, even sell it without Google's permission.
- Terretta 12y ago
  I think you missed that the App Store is an iPhone afterthought -- the original, still supported, intent was to support HTML5 apps installed to your home screen. You can write your own software, run it on any iOS device, share it with others, even sell it without anyone's permission. Here is a PacMan style game, for example: http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/257187093/pie-guy http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/257187093/pie-guy If that's not "hobbyist" friendly, I don't know what is.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    It's an awful way to program. You don't get a choice of languages. There's no debugger. There isn't even an easily accessible console log to print to. It's like trying to assemble a watch, in the dark, while wearing mittens. You can do it, but it's not terribly fun. There's a reason that there was a massive developer outcry at the "sweet solution" of HTML5 apps, causing Apple to release a native SDK instead.
    - simscitizen 12y ago
      You can actually attach desktop Safari's Web Inspector to both Mobile Safari and webviews running on a remote iPhone and get debugging, console logging, etc. The native stuff still has much better tooling, but the situation with webviews isn't as dire as you imagine.
samuelb 12y ago
Download iOS 8 for every device. (I'm downloading at 4MB/s) http://i.trackr.fr/tutoriel-telecharger-et-installer-ios-80-beta-1-12a4265u-liens-ipsw http://i.trackr.fr/tutoriel-telecharger-et-installer-ios-80-...
moyaRD 12y ago
Impress by All the announcements for developer in the WWDC. But taking the perspective of a enduser, there are key features i was hopping to get in iOS 8 that i didn't: -Spotlight Integration For third Party Apps. -Multi-User Support Or Guest Mode -iMessage For Android -App Trials -Fixing The Music App ( Artis-Album View is broken) -Third Party Default Apps
- culturestate 12y ago
  Can you expand a bit on what you mean by "third-party default apps?" I'm not sure I know any users who are particularly vexed that Apple doesn't allow carriers to load up their devices with crapware.
  - anonymfus 12y ago
    Probably it was about ability of third party apps to register itself as default handlers of protocols, mime types and file extensions.
samirmenon 12y ago
This was interesting: "Touch ID- For the first time, you’ll have the option of using Touch ID to sign in to third-party apps — there’s no need to enter a password. Your fingerprint data is protected and is never accessed by iOS or other apps." Will this be used significantly by developers?
- clarky07 12y ago
  yes, i think so. Any app that has a password on it now will likely "upgrade" to this. Prime examples being finance apps.
- rimantas 12y ago
  Yes.
- Cthulhu_ 12y ago
  It depends. For secure applications? I doubt it; fingerprints is identification, not authorization. Bank apps and the like won't consider it secure enough.
dpcan 12y ago
Still no user accounts on iPad. The only thing I want, and 8 versions in, it's still not there. Why I can't create a login for my kids on my iPad that hides my mail, calendar, certain games, etc? I don't understand why this isn't possible.
- duncan_bayne 12y ago
  Because iOS devices are single-user by design. Think of the amount of cruft you could cut from your average desktop OS if you didn't have to support multiple users. (I assume that, being UNIX under the hood, there actually are multiple users on an iOS device, for security. But these would presumably be invisible to the user, and not usable as login accounts).
  - skeletonjelly 12y ago
    That's some circular logic right there. You can't create a login because they're single user by design?
    - duncan_bayne 12y ago
      Yes. How is that circular? The OP is asking why he can't create separate logins on iOS devices. My answer: because Apple decided to make them single-user, presumably because of the simplicity and UX benefits to be had from that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning
      - skeletonjelly 12y ago
        Here's how I read the conversation. > Why can't I create multiple accounts? I want this feature. > Because iOS is single-user. It's not circular sorry, I meant to say your answer is stating the question. I don't mean to offend or start a fight. I just read the conversation similar to "I have X why can't I have Y" "Because you have "X". The "by design" is moot when Apple are the designers. It's not some real world construct or difficult problem to solve, they don't have multi-user because they don't want IOS to have multiuser.
ksk 12y ago
I have read through the entire text on that page and I still have not found the answer to the question "What makes iOS 8 the world’s most advanced mobile operating system?".
MasterScrat 12y ago
Mobile Safari now has WebGL enabled by default. How the hell isn't that bigger news?! Look eg here to get an idea of what it means for webapp: http://www.photonstorm.com/html5/a-first-look-at-what-ios8-means-for-phaser-and-pixi-js-hint-bunnies-lots-of-them http://www.photonstorm.com/html5/a-first-look-at-what-ios8-m...
nicolime 12y ago
Share the latest about Swift here! Be part of the biggest page for the language. Looking for admins now. https://www.facebook.com/swiftofficial https://www.facebook.com/swiftofficial
exodust 12y ago
"Coming This Fall" Let me get my US-centric conversion calculator out... Fall > Autumn, carry the one, add 2, and oh look it's "coming this Spring".

322 points by J-H 12y ago

J-H 12y ago

The new texting suggestions in QuickType are awesome (if it works as suggested).

27182818284 12y ago
Swiftkey already learns quite well. For example, I often type "Hey what's going on?" and it has now learned that if I type "Hey" it should suggest "what's" and so on, so in 4 taps I have the whole sentence. What it doesn't have, is the context-aware switching. That is something really neat about the new keyboard. Switching context from a meeting being "postponed" to "boring" is great.
- maaaats 12y ago
  And the keyboard on Windows Phone is also really great, especially in WP8.1. So Apple needed to improve the keyboard, they were already far behind the competition.
keehun 12y ago
It does. It sometimes blocks the main interface from updating (doesn't seem perfectly optimized or parallelized yet). It's also on an iPhone 4S which is the oldest iPhone they support.

gnopgnip 12y ago

The do not disturb sounds great. Does this mean the recipient or the sender sets it?

ciniglio 12y ago
Recipient I think

y14 12y ago

The mac integration for calls is great.

will_work4tears 12y ago
It does seem to have promise. I didn't catch all of the details, was there a demo? Was it able to say, switch a call over to your mac with the ability to do something like FaceTime?
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  They did a demo call with Dr. Dre. They didn't showing switching a call between devices. I did notice a video button on the call on the Mac suggesting you might be able to switch from audio to video (presumably FaceTime).
the_watcher 12y ago
Yea, having to awkwardly move around to answer a call when I have my phone charging is one of those little things that I suspect we'll all be surprised by how often this new feature improves our life.

untog 12y ago

Call/SMS integration is great. It's worth noting that Google had absolutely everything they needed to do this years ago, and just... didn't. Hangouts is still inferior to iMessage today. It's a real shame. Edit: this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android, at last. Third party keyboards, too (I've gotten quite attached to the Android swiping stuff). Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure what keeps me on Android. I confidently predict that iOS Active Notification usage will be far higher than on Android, even though Android has had it for years.

dirkgently 12y ago
> this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android, at last. I am not sure if you are serious or not.
- untog 12y ago
  Why? The intends system of Android is amazing, and I use it heavily. It was absolutely a blocker for me switching to iOS.
  - dirkgently 12y ago
    Yes, Android intends are great, and that's why I was surprised when I read "this extensibility stuff might be enough to tempt me back to Apple from Android". What I meant to ask was, what do you mean by "enough"? Does this mean that: 1. iphone/ios/Apple suddenly provides better extendibility? 2. Would you be able to, say, open a link to any browser of your choice in iphone? If any of the above answers is "no", then, yes, I am not sure if you were serious or not. Hence my comment. (Edited for clarity)
    - threeseed 12y ago
      It came across as being sarcastic hence the down votes. And yes iOS8 does provide better extensibility than it did before and yes you would be able to open content in alternative browsers. Not sure about apps like Mail however.

sz4kerto 12y ago

There are two big things here: Health: it's stepping on the toes of many partners, but might be groundbreaking. It's extremely hard to crack healtcare, it's very closed, defensive system of people and bureaucracy, Apple might just have the power to do it. Extensibility: intents are basically _the_ reason Android can work so much better in many cases than iOS. I hope MS will bring it to WP very soon.

daigoba66 12y ago
Per Microsoft: "App contracts and extensions" have existed since day one: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh464906.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh46490... Per Healthcare: that is a really exciting new feature and there is a LOT of potential here. But I wonder how successful it can actually be in the grand scheme of things. I.e. not everyone can have or wants an iPhone. Edit, expanding a bit: On the flip side, I am huge advocate for personal health records (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record), but no one really knows about them and no really uses them because they don't work with your doctor. I don't think Apple has even remotely come close to solving the overall problem of integration and usefulness, but maybe it will get more people interested and thinking about the concept of a personal health record.
- sz4kerto 12y ago
  You're right, app contracts have been there since ages, just not really used as much as they are on Android. Re. Health: it can fly in the US, and if it does, then they've got the momentum to port the stuff to other mobile OSes. Health itself is such a big industry that they might not want/need to use it just as a promoter for their devices.
- threeseed 12y ago
  Expect health devices to be the new hot space for the next few years. Yes Apple will have an iWatch but they would be more than happy having hundreds of dirt cheap equivalents that integrate seamlessly with the iPhone.

sigzero 12y ago

You can finally leave group MMS! That is awesome.

RandallBrown 12y ago
Can you leave group MMS or just group iMessages?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- keehun 12y ago
  I think all those features mentioned like attachments and sharing location and leaving/adding people to a conversation is a strictly-iMessage featureset. iOS Messages app doesn't even work well with Android phones in group texts. They way they package up the text is totally different.

eertami 12y ago

I don't have an iPhone, but I just can't understand why the keyboard cannot be lowercase when you're writing in lowercase. I just don't understand the motivation.

gecko 12y ago
The original reason for that was simply because they hadn't thought of that. The ongoing nominal reason was that it was a continuing nod to skeuomorphism. But given Jobs' passing, and the otherwise massive ditching of skeuomorphism since then, I do not begin to understand myself why that's the still the case. I'll hope that iOS 8 might introduce that mode as we get closer to shipping.
- mason55 12y ago
  With third-party keyboards now available I imagine that it will be doable
omnibrain 12y ago
And I don't understand why they can't cram the punctation marks (at least full stop and comma) on it. And I have an iPhone...
- the_watcher 12y ago
  I don't understand why every single keyboard on mobile doesn't have the .COM button. It's basically become as ubiquitous as any punctuation mark given how often emails are typed.
  - Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0 12y ago
    IIRC, this is exactly what happens for html5 forms: the default keyboards on ios/android/wp do display the "@"/".com"/".net" buttons next to the space bar depending on the input type.
    - 12y ago

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

crusso 12y ago
I disagree. Continuity by itself will be a tremendous addition and well-worth the upgrade. It implies not only some App/OSX integration, but also some nifty telecommunications integration.

ZanyProgrammer 12y ago

I was really hoping for split screen multitasking (which Windows 8 on tablets does a good job of). I heard it was possible, but was having problems getting it out the door in time. I really hope it comes out in the final version of iOS 8, because that's the one thing that would tempt be to get a Surface over the next iteration of the iPad.

pandatigox 12y ago
I think there's a jailbreak thing for that
- mikeash 12y ago
  While jailbreak hacks are really cool, you can't really base any long-term decisions (like hardware purchases) around them, because jailbreaks are so unpredictable. It's a crapshoot as to whether any given OS version will have a jailbreak, and who knows how long it will take. Even if you wait for the jailbreak to be released, there's no real guarantee you can keep it. The next OS release will probably break it, and even if you refrain from upgrading, it's likely that you'll eventually be forced to upgrade due to a hardware failure, OS corruption, inadvertent button press, massive widespread security hole, etc. And good ol' Apple doesn't let you install older OSes after new versions come out, even on hardware that supports them.

Jordan15 12y ago

Sounds minor, but I would have loved to have been able to change the SMS screen so I could have a black background instead of a white one. Is it that hard to do?

scrumper 12y ago
I set up the accessibility feature called Invert Colors and assign it to a triple tap on the home button. That works great for things like Mail and Messages, especially first thing in the morning when my eyes are tired and I don't want my retinas seared by a crisp white screen.

yalogin 12y ago

The extensions for apps look very promising. I don't think Android intents provide this kind of deep integration between apps. But I would wait for some one to confirm that part.

etherealG 12y ago
i can confirm that intents are this deeply integrated in android. more so because they are custom, any app can fire or register an intent, so they don't need to be something baked into the OS from the start. i do like the ideas for extensions apple presented, but they all seem to specific. the android intents i use day to day are way past this.

pmelendez 12y ago

>"Plus, it also knows who you’re talking to, which is crazy. By knowing who you’re talking to, it will send up predictions that are right for the type of conversation you have with that particular person." This is a bit scary... This means that Apple not only knows who I talk to but now actually maintain an index on how I talk with everyone. 1984 is getting closer and closer.

taiki 12y ago
I'm guessing it's going to do all this stuff on the device, and not done in the cloud.
g5pw 12y ago
Well, they said that data will reside on your device only (no default internet access for custom keyboards, too).
mikeash 12y ago
Did you not previously notice that iMessage keeps a history of your conversations, or what?

FPSDavid 12y ago

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the amount of stuff they've packed into iOS 8. Looks like it'll be more than enough to easily rip me away from jailbroken iOS 7.

the_watcher 12y ago

HealthKit and HomeKit are both really exciting (probably going to look at smartlocks now in particular). However, I'm easily most excited about being able to leave a group text.

Osmium 12y ago

So so happy to see the SceneKit API make it to iOS. Even though 'minor' compared to some of the other announcements, it was the number one thing I was looking for in today's keynote, and it was nice to see it featured. Can't wait to start using it.

ja27 12y ago
That's the most useful thing I saw for my current development. The integration, widgets, etc. will open up a lot of new possibilities too. I'm not too excited about Swift but it looks like it could speed up the code, compile, load, test cycle.

dang 12y ago

We changed the url for this story from http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/02/apple-introduces-ios-8 http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/02/apple-introduces-ios-8. If we pick the wrong url, happy to change it again, so let us know. The goal is to have one discussion about each significant announcement, and have the best url for each.

jrochkind1 12y ago
I like the techcrunch url better, thanks for including it in the comment at least. A third-party editorial review is much more useful to me than a marketting brochure.

jwcrux 12y ago

I'm personally excited about the possibility of creating an "Emergency Card" (http://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/health/ http://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/health/) that's accessible from the lock screen. Currently, I use a screen-shotted contact screen as my wallpaper for my ICE contact - just in case the worst were to happen. This will let me put more information, and might even let me have a wallpaper again!

cheeseprocedure 12y ago
Wouldn't it be more sensible to just carry that information in hard copy? If you're hit by a car and your phone is smashed...
- unphasable 12y ago
  Why not both?
Cthulhu_ 12y ago
On the one side, yes; on the other, I doubt people will look at your phone in case of emergency. That is, at the moment - I guess it's quite possible this feature will change that. But that's a generation thing. Still best to have one of those medical bracelets with your blood type and allergies and the like.

jevinskie 12y ago

Wow, real dynamic linking. Xcode even let me do so when targeting 7.1. Does anyone know if you will be able to submit apps to the AppStore that use dynamic frameworks while still deploying to < iOS 8?

Istof 12y ago

I am surprised that we see more then one submission about iOS 8 on this site (if you take into account the curation)

espitia 12y ago

Really, what does android have on ios that mainstream user would want?

jordan0day 12y ago

The family sharing looks like a great idea that is way overdue. Hopefully it works as easily as the marketing material indicates.

RivieraKid 12y ago

"Huge for developers. Massive for everyone else." "Completely new. Completely Mac." I find meaningless slogans like these really disgusting and annoying. And it's not just Apple, every second startup does this.

hsod 12y ago
annoying I could understand but "really disgusting"? what is it that bothers you so much?
- prawn 12y ago
  Disgust includes a "feeling of strong disapproval". I didn't physically throw up reading them, but I did read out a couple aloud in the office and scoffed. They're so smug and grandiose that it's very off-putting and I wish they'd just let the product speak for itself. (I use an iPhone, iPad and MBP.)
  - sosborn 12y ago
    > I did read out a couple aloud in the office and scoffed. > They're so smug and grandiose You have to admit there is a little bit of irony in this.
    - prawn 12y ago
      A little bit! Scoff was a bit of a rushed word I have to admit. It was less scoffing and more whining...
tvon 12y ago
I don't like it either, but that kind talk that has been around for as long as people have had something to sell.
mikeash 12y ago
Slogans and mottos and such have a long history (to the extent that a lot of them are written in Latin because the practice was common when Latin was a living language) and rarely say much concrete.

nachteilig 12y ago

It wasn't made clear in the keynote and the page doesn't mention it--I hope this includes sharing contacts with "Family Sharing". That'll be huge for helping my older family members keep a coherent address book.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

d1cd 12y ago

The attention to deal is mind boggling. If you missed the presentation, they said how many time they spent just trying to design a proper trash can.

bitsoda 12y ago

Apple's iOS support for older products has been stellar, though I'm betting iOS 8 will be the last update the iPad mini, iPad 2, and iPhone 4S receive -- they will have had a good run of four years (except for mini) by the time iOS 9 is released.

slipshod 12y ago

Totally on a tangent here, but I find myself disappointed, again. I'm a long time hobbyist programmer, got my start back in the days of Apple IIe, got my first Mac in 1984...and I'm still not switching back to iPhone until I can write my own software and run it on my own phone without paying Apple for the privilege. I'm waiting for two simple words: "Unknown sources". Guess I have to wait some more. Not sure how low Apple's market share will have to go before they start allowing it. Can't say I love programming for Android, Java just doesn't feel right to me, but I'm sticking with it as long as I can write my own software, run it on my phone or tablet, share it with others, even sell it without Google's permission.

Terretta 12y ago
I think you missed that the App Store is an iPhone afterthought -- the original, still supported, intent was to support HTML5 apps installed to your home screen. You can write your own software, run it on any iOS device, share it with others, even sell it without anyone's permission. Here is a PacMan style game, for example: http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/257187093/pie-guy http://mrgan.tumblr.com/post/257187093/pie-guy If that's not "hobbyist" friendly, I don't know what is.
- mikeash 12y ago
  It's an awful way to program. You don't get a choice of languages. There's no debugger. There isn't even an easily accessible console log to print to. It's like trying to assemble a watch, in the dark, while wearing mittens. You can do it, but it's not terribly fun. There's a reason that there was a massive developer outcry at the "sweet solution" of HTML5 apps, causing Apple to release a native SDK instead.
  - simscitizen 12y ago
    You can actually attach desktop Safari's Web Inspector to both Mobile Safari and webviews running on a remote iPhone and get debugging, console logging, etc. The native stuff still has much better tooling, but the situation with webviews isn't as dire as you imagine.

samuelb 12y ago

Download iOS 8 for every device. (I'm downloading at 4MB/s) http://i.trackr.fr/tutoriel-telecharger-et-installer-ios-80-beta-1-12a4265u-liens-ipsw http://i.trackr.fr/tutoriel-telecharger-et-installer-ios-80-...

moyaRD 12y ago

Impress by All the announcements for developer in the WWDC. But taking the perspective of a enduser, there are key features i was hopping to get in iOS 8 that i didn't: -Spotlight Integration For third Party Apps. -Multi-User Support Or Guest Mode -iMessage For Android -App Trials -Fixing The Music App ( Artis-Album View is broken) -Third Party Default Apps

culturestate 12y ago
Can you expand a bit on what you mean by "third-party default apps?" I'm not sure I know any users who are particularly vexed that Apple doesn't allow carriers to load up their devices with crapware.
- anonymfus 12y ago
  Probably it was about ability of third party apps to register itself as default handlers of protocols, mime types and file extensions.

samirmenon 12y ago

This was interesting: "Touch ID- For the first time, you’ll have the option of using Touch ID to sign in to third-party apps — there’s no need to enter a password. Your fingerprint data is protected and is never accessed by iOS or other apps." Will this be used significantly by developers?

clarky07 12y ago
yes, i think so. Any app that has a password on it now will likely "upgrade" to this. Prime examples being finance apps.
rimantas 12y ago
Yes.
Cthulhu_ 12y ago
It depends. For secure applications? I doubt it; fingerprints is identification, not authorization. Bank apps and the like won't consider it secure enough.

dpcan 12y ago

Still no user accounts on iPad. The only thing I want, and 8 versions in, it's still not there. Why I can't create a login for my kids on my iPad that hides my mail, calendar, certain games, etc? I don't understand why this isn't possible.

duncan_bayne 12y ago
Because iOS devices are single-user by design. Think of the amount of cruft you could cut from your average desktop OS if you didn't have to support multiple users. (I assume that, being UNIX under the hood, there actually are multiple users on an iOS device, for security. But these would presumably be invisible to the user, and not usable as login accounts).
- skeletonjelly 12y ago
  That's some circular logic right there. You can't create a login because they're single user by design?
  - duncan_bayne 12y ago
    Yes. How is that circular? The OP is asking why he can't create separate logins on iOS devices. My answer: because Apple decided to make them single-user, presumably because of the simplicity and UX benefits to be had from that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_reasoning
    - skeletonjelly 12y ago
      Here's how I read the conversation. > Why can't I create multiple accounts? I want this feature. > Because iOS is single-user. It's not circular sorry, I meant to say your answer is stating the question. I don't mean to offend or start a fight. I just read the conversation similar to "I have X why can't I have Y" "Because you have "X". The "by design" is moot when Apple are the designers. It's not some real world construct or difficult problem to solve, they don't have multi-user because they don't want IOS to have multiuser.

ksk 12y ago

I have read through the entire text on that page and I still have not found the answer to the question "What makes iOS 8 the world’s most advanced mobile operating system?".

MasterScrat 12y ago

Mobile Safari now has WebGL enabled by default. How the hell isn't that bigger news?! Look eg here to get an idea of what it means for webapp: http://www.photonstorm.com/html5/a-first-look-at-what-ios8-means-for-phaser-and-pixi-js-hint-bunnies-lots-of-them http://www.photonstorm.com/html5/a-first-look-at-what-ios8-m...

nicolime 12y ago

Share the latest about Swift here! Be part of the biggest page for the language. Looking for admins now. https://www.facebook.com/swiftofficial https://www.facebook.com/swiftofficial

exodust 12y ago

"Coming This Fall" Let me get my US-centric conversion calculator out... Fall > Autumn, carry the one, add 2, and oh look it's "coming this Spring".