Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page A12

September 21, 2014

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Sunday » Technology

Devices, apps act like one under iOS 8

By Anick Jesdanun | September 21, 2014, Sunday | Print Edition

THE scores of new features in Apple’s software update for mobile devices can be boiled down to one word: unity.

Many iPhone owners also have iPads and Mac computers, and family members are likely to have Apple devices, too. With the new iOS 8 software for iPhones and iPads, those devices start to act like one. Apps on those devices start to unite, too.

Google’s Android software can’t compete with iOS’ evolving unity because so many different companies manufacture Android devices, and each adds its own variables. Apple knows what goes into the few products it makes and can break down the walls between them.

The free update is available to owners of iPhone and iPad models going back to 2011, though older devices won’t get all the new features. The new software will also come with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which come out Friday. Here’s a look at why iOS 8 is worth installing:

You can start tasks on one device and finish on another.

Let’s say you’re typing an email reply on your iPhone when you realize the message will be quite lengthy. You can pick up your iPad and finish there. With the upcoming Yosemite update for Mac computers, liking coming next month, you’ll be able to use the Mac’s physical keyboard, too.

Picking up a task on a second device is easy. Just slide up the small app icon on that device’s lock screen, be it an iPhone or an iPad. On Macs with Yosemite, click the icon on the bottom left.

For now, this capability is limited to a handful of apps, including Apple’s Maps, Calendar, Mail, Messages and the Safari Web browser. And when you try to open a Web. This feature, known as Handoff, will be more useful once outside developers take advantage of it.

You’ll be able to use your iPad or Mac to send texts or make phone calls.

Currently, you can send text-like messages from iPads and Macs with the Messages app, but the recipient also needs Messages. That excludes Android users. With iOS 8, those iPad and Mac messages will get relayed through the iPhone, so you can reach any other phone. The texting capabilities won’t be coming until next month, though.

What you can do now is use the iPad and the Mac to make and receive calls. The devices have to be on the same Wi-Fi network, so this won’t help if you left your phone at work.

You’ll be able to do more without switching from app to app.

If a text message comes in as you’re browsing the Web, you can pull down the notification and reply right there. You don’t need to leave the Web browser and launch Messages first. You can also delete an email or accept a calendar invite that way.

There are some limitations, though: You get only one reply for text messages. You then have to wait for another message to come in or open the full app. With email, you can mark a message as read or delete it, but you can’t reply. This will be more useful once more apps take advantage of it.

Meanwhile, if you’re chatting with a bunch of friends, you can see their locations (as long as they’ve shared it) without having to leave Messages to open a separate Find My Friends app.

Members of the same households can share calendars and music more easily.

You pick up to five family members to join your network, for a total of six. These need to be people you trust, as they’ll be using your credit card to make purchases. You can require approval for purchases, such as for kids’ accounts.

Family members will be able to share each other’s books, music, video and apps, so Mom, Dad and Junior won’t need to buy separate copies of the “Frozen” movie.

And there’s more ...

The walls between Apple apps and third-party apps are breaking down.

For example, outside developers will be able to use Apple’s fingerprint authentication system with iOS 8. Before, it was limited to a few Apple services.

SundayTechnology


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend