iOS 8
iOS 8 is the eighth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 7. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 2, 2014, and was released on September 17, 2014. It was succeeded by iOS 9 on September 16, 2015.[1]
For similar names, including Mac OS 8, see OS8 (disambiguation).Developer
Closed, with open source components
September 17, 2014
8.4.1 (12H321) / August 13, 2015
Proprietary EULA except for free software components
iOS 8 - Apple at the Wayback Machine (archived September 5, 2015)
The biggest iOS release ever.
iOS 8 incorporated significant changes to the operating system. It introduced a programming interface for communication between apps,[2] and "Continuity", a cross-platform (Mac, iPhone, and iPad) system that enables communication between devices in different product categories, such as the ability to answer calls and reply to SMS on the Mac and iPad. Continuity includes a "Handoff" feature that lets users start a task on one device and continue on another. Other changes included a new Spotlight Suggestions search results feature that provides more detailed results, Family Sharing, where a family can link together their accounts to share content, with one parent as the administrator with permission controls, an updated keyboard with QuickType, providing contextual predictive word suggestions and Extensibility, which allows for easier sharing of content between apps. Third-party developers got additional features to integrate their apps deeper into the operating system, including support for widgets in the Notification Center, and the ability to make keyboards that users can replace the default iOS keyboard with.
App updates in the release included the new Health app, which can aggregate data from different fitness apps, as well as enabling a Medical ID accessible on the lock screen for emergencies, support for iCloud Photo Library in the Photos app, which enables photos to be synchronized and stored in the cloud, and iCloud Drive, which lets users store files in the cloud and browse them across devices. In iOS 8.4, Apple updated its Music app with a streaming service called Apple Music, and a 24-hour radio station called Apple Music 1.
Reception of iOS 8 was positive. Critics praised Continuity and Extensibility as major features enabling easier control and interaction between different apps and devices. They also liked the QuickType keyboard word suggestions, and highlighted Spotlight Suggestions for making the iPhone "almost a portable search portal for everything.” However, reviewers noted that the full potential for iOS 8 would only be realized once third-party developers integrated their apps to support new features, particularly widgets in the Notification Center.
Roughly a week after release, iOS 8 had reached 46% of iOS usage share. In October 2014, it was reported that the adoption rate had "stalled,” only increasing by "a single percentage point" from the previous month. This situation was blamed on the requirement of a high amount of free storage space to install the upgrade, especially difficult for iPhones sold with 8 or 16 gigabytes of maximum storage space. The following December, iOS 8 had reached 63% usage share, a notable 16% increase from the October measurement.
System features[edit]
Continuity[edit]
iOS 8 introduced Continuity, a cross-platform (Mac, iPhone, and iPad) system that enables communication between devices in different product categories. Continuity enables phone call functionality for the iPad and Mac, in which calls are routed through the iPhone over to a secondary device. The secondary device then serves as a speaker phone. This also brings SMS support to the iPad and Mac, an extension of the iMessage feature in previous versions.[6]
Continuity adds a feature called "Handoff," that lets users start a task on one device and continue on another, such as composing an e-mail on the iPhone and then continuing it on the iPad before sending it on the Mac. In order to support Handoff and Continuity, Macs needed to have the OS X Yosemite operating system,[7] which was released in October 2014,[8] as well as support for Bluetooth low energy.[6]
Spotlight[edit]
iOS 8 introduced Spotlight Suggestions, a new search feature that integrates with many websites and services to show more detailed search results, including snippets of Wikipedia articles, local news, quick access to apps installed on the device, iTunes content, movie showtimes, nearby places, and info from various websites. Spotlight Suggestions are available on the iOS home screen as well as in the Safari web browser search bar.[9][10]
Notifications[edit]
The drop-down Notification Center has now been redesigned to allow widget functionality. Third-party developers can add widget support to their apps that let users see information in the Notification Center without having to open each respective app. Users can add, rearrange, or remove any widgets, at any time. Examples of widgets include a Weather app showing current weather, and a Calendar app showing upcoming events.[11][12]
Notifications are now actionable, allowing users to reply to a message while it appears as a quick drop-down, or act on a notification through the Notification Center.[13][14]
Keyboard[edit]
iOS 8 includes a new predictive typing feature called QuickType, which displays word predictions above the keyboard as the user types.[15][16]
Apple now allows third-party developers to make keyboard apps that users can replace the default iOS keyboard with. For added privacy, Apple added a settings toggle called "Allow Full Access", that optionally enables the keyboard to act outside its app sandbox, such as synchronizing keyboard data to the cloud,[17] third-party keyboards are not allowed to use Siri for voice dictation, and some secure text fields do not allow input.[18]
Reception[edit]
iOS 8 received positive reviews. Brad Molen of Engadget highlighted Continuity as a major advancement for users with multiple Apple devices. He also praised the Extensibility feature, allowing apps to share data, and liked the support for third-party keyboards. However, Molen noted that some of the new introductions - Family Sharing, Continuity, and iCloud Drive - require further diving into the Apple ecosystem to work. He particularly enjoyed actionable notifications and third-party widget support in Notification Center.[58] Charles Arthur of The Guardian also liked Extensibility, as well as the new QuickType word suggestions functionality in the iOS keyboard. He criticized the lack of an option for choosing default apps, and he also criticized the Settings menu for being confusing and unintuitive.[59] Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch praised the improvements to iMessage, writing: "Best for me has been the ability to mute and leave group conversations, which is something I've been sorely missing since the introduction of group iMessage conversations." He liked the new search and editing features in Photos, and the QuickType feature in the keyboard, but particularly highlighted Spotlight Suggestions as "one of the better features of iOS 8, even if it's a small service addition," noting that "it makes your iPhone almost a portable search portal for everything."[60] Martin Bryant of The Next Web wrote that "The real advances here are yet to come," adding that "Apple has included demonstrations of what can be done, but the true power of what's under the hood will be realized over the coming days, weeks and months" as third-party developers gradually incorporate new features into their apps.[61]
On September 23, 2014, "roughly a week" after the release of iOS 8, user adoption of iOS 8 had reached 46%.[62] In October 2014, Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica reported that iOS 8 user adoption rate had "stalled," only climbing "a single percentage point" since the previous September measurement of 46%. Cunningham blamed the "over-the-air" update requiring 5 gigabytes to install, an "unusually large amount" that may have posed challenges to those using 8 gigabyte and 16 gigabyte devices. As an alternative, Apple offered the update via its iTunes software, but Cunningham noted that "An iTunes hookup is going to be even more out of the way these days than it was a few years ago, not least because Apple has spent the last three years coaching people to use their iDevices independently of their computers."[63] In December, a new report from Ars Technica stated that iOS 8 usage had increased to 63%, up "a solid 16 percent."[64]
Problems[edit]
App crash rate[edit]
A study by Apteligent (formerly Crittercism) found that the rate at which apps crashed in their tests was 3.56% on iOS 8, higher than the 2% found on iOS 7.1.[65]
8.0.1 update issues[edit]
In September 2014, the iOS 8.0.1 update caused significant issues with Touch ID on iPhone 6 and cellular network connectivity on some models. Apple stated that affected users should reinstall the initial iOS 8 release until version 8.0.2 was ready.[66][67][68]
iOS 8.0.2 was released one day after 8.0.1, with a fix for issues caused by the 8.0.1 update.[69]
"Effective power" text message crash[edit]
In May 2015, news outlets reported on a bug where receiving a text message with a specific combination of symbols and Arabic characters, caused the Messages application to crash and the iPhone to reboot.[73][74][75]
The bug, named "effective power,"[76][77] could potentially continuously reboot a device if the message was visible on the lock screen.[78]
The flaw was exploited for the purpose of trolling, by intentionally causing others' phones to crash.[79]
The bug was fixed in iOS 8.4, an update released in June 2015.[80]
Hoaxes[edit]
"Apple Wave" microwave charging[edit]
In September 2014, a hoax Apple advertisement for an alleged feature of iOS 8 called "Wave" circulated on Twitter, which promised users that they would be able to recharge their iPhone by heating it in a microwave oven. This feature did not exist, and the media cited numerous people reporting on Twitter that they had destroyed their iPhones by following the procedure described in the advertisement.[81][82] The hoax had originated from 4chan, an anonymous imageboard and forum website.