by CAROLINE GAVURA Section Editor
At this year’s annual keynote address for Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference, software – not hardware – was king. While many people were desperate to see the new gadget Apple would unveil, the company decided to show iOS 8, the new software update coming later this year.
Before you get too disappointed, you should know some of the cool new features coming with the new software update:
Health has apparently become a big priority for Apple. iOS 8 comes with a new app called “Health” that pulls information from all different health-related apps and stores them in one place. It also allows the user to send information to doctors and hospitals of his or her choice.
Another feature, HomeKit, is Apple’s step toward using a smartphone as a remote control. HomeKit will let users control their connected garage doors, lights, locks, cameras, and thermostats all on their phone.
“I’m most excited for the HomeKit feature! This way it will be even easier to control things I use everyday in my home. While I was disappointed Apple was not going to unveil the iPhone 6, I am still happy with all the work they put in with this new software update,” said junior Yazmyne Abbott.
Siri has also learned a couple new tricks. She will now be awoken by voice activation when plugged into a vehicle. A more hands-free environment will promote safer driving, especially with teenagers who are basically glued to their phones.
Siri will also be able to identify a song its user is listening to with technology from the Shazam app.
FINALLY, a ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature has been added to messages! No longer will we have to suffer through countless group messages we really do not care about! This feature allows you to mute certain threads while keeping others active so you can come back to them later if you are busy or simply do not want the notifications crowding your feed.
“I have wanted a feature to leave group messages for so long! It’s so annoying when you’re out with family or at work and your phone is blowing up! Now I will be able to silence the notifications and come back to the conversation later,” said senior Kylie Scannella.
Another big advance is interactive notifications, which allows the user to respond to text messages, Facebook posts, and appointment reminders without leaving the app they are currently in. It even lets you respond with a voice recording, image, or video.
QuickType is a feature that will be able to guess what the user is typing by learning the user’s language habits in different threads. For example, what QuickType might guess you are typing in a thread with your boss will be different than in a thread with your best friend.
There is also new updates with family sharing and iTunes accounts. Now up to six members of a family will be able to share one account, but it still requires the accounts to be under the same credit card.
What is your favorite feature of iOS 8?