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iOS 8 to Include Battery Usage Per App and Much More

Monday June 2, 2014 2:37 pm PDT by Juli Clover
During today's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Tim Cook and other Apple executives gave us a fast-paced, broad-ranging look at some of the features we can expect with iOS 8, including improvements to Messages, keyboard enhancements in the form of QuickType and access to third-party keyboards, HealthKit, Extensibility, and more.

Along with the features that were demoed on stage, an iOS 8 graphic displayed some additional functions that went largely under the radar, many of which look quite interesting. For example, iOS 8 will apparently display battery usage by app, a handy feature that will let users monitor the battery drain of specific apps, shutting down those that are drawing too much power.

batteryusage
Image courtesy of Evan Coleman

iPads will gain the ability to take Panoramic photos like the iPhone, while the Camera will gain an instant burst mode, a timer mode, and separate controls for focus and exposure. iBooks will support an auto night mode and the ability to organize books by series, while notifications will include travel time.

A mysterious Tips app, which was first depicted in an early screenshot of iOS 8, is also mentioned, though it is unclear what this app will do. It is possible Tips will provide iOS users with information on lesser known iOS features, serving as a tutorial app for those who want to learn the ins and outs of their devices.

ios8features
Click to make larger

An "In Case of Emergency" card will be added to iOS 8, displaying contact information and possibly health-related information as well. Users will be able to use Siri to purchase iTunes content, Notes gains a new rich text editing feature, and RSS feeds are displayed within Shared Links in Safari.

Other mentioned features offering unknown functions include Place cards in other apps and Speak Screen.

Finally, there are also several accessibility improvements coming, including an Alex voice, Braille keyboard, improved zoom, and multi-device support for MFi hearing aids. Guided Access, which limits an iPad or iPhone to opening a single app, will gain time limits, a countdown timer, and Touch ID integration.

These are of course, only a small selection of the hundreds of new features and minor functions that will likely be added to iOS 8 as it is in development. iOS 8 is available to developers immediately, while the public will get access to the new mobile operating system later this year.

[ 137 comments ]


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rantor49
62 months ago

Another Android feature checked off... Will Apple come up with anything original any time soon??


Will Trolls say anything original any time soon?
Rating: 20 Votes
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CyBeRino
62 months ago
Braille keyboard? This I have to see.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Tha Professor
62 months ago
DuckDuckGo for Safari... Someone is not happy right now :-)
Rating: 12 Votes
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diddl14
62 months ago

Another Android feature checked off... Will Apple come up with anything original any time soon??

Why? You not happy with Android?
Rating: 9 Votes
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ElTorro
62 months ago
Another Android feature checked off... Will Apple come up with anything original any time soon??
Rating: 8 Votes
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w00master
62 months ago

These new features in iOS 8 are awesome! I like the QuickReply feature for texting. Hopefully the next keynotes will feature hardware from here on out.


Let me know when Android has as good security as iOS does.

Thanks-
w00master
Rating: 8 Votes
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sjjordan
62 months ago
Add Wifi-calling to the list! Been waiting for this since January as T-mobile is spotty in my area, even with a booster. Can't wait for iOS 8.
Rating: 7 Votes
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theineffablebob
62 months ago
Apple ran out of ideas so now they're just taking Android features now lol
Rating: 6 Votes
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cocky jeremy
62 months ago

To be fair, a number of the features announced today have been in Android for years and have been missing from iOS for way too long. But as they say, better late than never.

Swiftkey is on its way..... rejoice! Hopefully some of the Android hand writing input extensions too (there are some which are simply amazing).

It's going to be a great update, 10x ("ex" really? the word is "times"!) better than the iOS 7 "flat" update, this is a real user experience improvement.


What good is it for Android to have new features when 9% of Android users actually get it? ;)
Rating: 5 Votes
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newagemac
62 months ago

Copied from Android along with third-party keyboards and "hey Siri".

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Oh come on. That's not trolling. After years of "Samesung" comments, the tables have turned, and the Apple fans don't like it.

There's no question Apple are just incorporating features that have been available on other platforms for years.

"Ok, Google" and "Hey, Siri". That's blatant copying, you can't argue with that.


Seeing that Google Now itself is a copy of Siri I fail to see what point you're attempting to make. You do realize Google did their personal assistant after Apple came out with Siri right? That's what I call blatant copying if you want to go there. Like most things in Android.
Rating: 5 Votes

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