iOS 8, the evolution of the iPhone and iPad: a more personal and open ios.

First contact with the new version of Apple's mobile ios: new aesthetic but especially in the expansion of functionality and integration with the Apple ecosystem.

TOGETHER with the two iPhone presented in Cupertino September 9th comes the new version of the operating system that animates them. It's called iOS 8, ​​was unveiled in June and you can download it from the 19 of September 17, for users of the iPhone 4S in on, and iPad 2 onwards. The number of Apple Tim Cook describes it as "the most important version after the introduction of the App Store," which goes back several generations ago now. The last major jump the os mobile Apple has done with iOS 7, which has undermined the overall system present up to version 6, intervening in the operation in a radical way. Success for iOS 7 there was and pointed to the direction for Apple iOS 8 And though this version does not bring such a significant resetting graphics, new features are many and all go in the direction of improving the user experience . Innovating in style Apple and recovering the distance that separated the apple in some respects from what has been achieved by other platforms. Especially on the front (particularly sensitive), of the key elements of the system to outside developers. Here are our impressions after a period of testing. 

Ignition. At first glance, the home screen of iOS 8 is almost indistinguishable from that of iOS 7 Immediately evident the presence of Health, the app dedicated to the health system. In fact the look and feel has been finished since the previous version, it disappears completely any residual interface elements, even those texts, are now more consistent with the idea graphic at the base of "flat design". Double-clicking the Home button will still show the screen with the app that we opened, and you still can not close all applications at once. However, now on the top you see the recent contacts, and tapping the icon with the face we immediately make calls, send messages, or start a video call Facetime. Skip to the eye also some landscaping aesthetic finish than seen in iOS 7 But the real novelty of iOS are 8 under the hood, and on the "engine" of the system Apple has obviously worked a lot. 

Communicate and write. To realize just open the app such as Messaging. The keyboard that we will use to write a text message or an iMessage is now smart and suggest terms that complement what we want to write. When typing a small section placed immediately above the letters allows to simplify and speed up the writing proposing any words we could use to compose the sentence. The suggestions are provided according to your habits, the most used terms and manner of speaking that is typically used. 8 iOS also lets you install third-party keyboards through the App Store. The keyboard Quick Type, the name chosen by Apple, is an option and as such can be enabled or disabled from the settings. E 'can also install third-party keyboards, hitherto a privilege granted only to users of other platforms: Swiftkey is one of the most well-known, will arrive soon in the App Store and allow you to write by sliding your finger over the letters.

Without leaving messages from the app, other news: you can now send instant voice messages (in style Whatsapp) and record video in the same way, or with a "tap" icon prolonged. Inside the Details screen, we display all the media exchanged with the contact, we will send the coordinates of where we ache or enable the tracking of our position, in times that are selectable from an hour until the end of the day. E 'can now mute notifications, receive messages without that sound. For fans of selfie, now they can trigger a fast directly from the app: just tap once we find the camera icon on the left and the photo will be sent instantly. Holding down the button instead, record a video. And again, the photos and videos posted under the new system quickly in iMessage, can now be destroyed automatically after two minutes of sending or viewing. This setting can be switched at will. 

Talk. Wanting to continue the test drive of 8 iOS continuing to work with the text and writing to communicate or work, another novelty lies in the (significant) improvement of the system of voice dictation. The recognition now responds in real time through a flow stream, transcribing everything that dictate as we speak, proving to understand (or not) what we say at the time of delivery. 7 In the iOS dictation system before all listened to our message, then sent the data to the Apple server, translating voice into text and then bring up the complete message in one fell swoop, on our screen. The new voice mode is definitely a step forward, the system includes what is pronounced even if you speak fluently. For example, parts of this article have been written without any particular difficulty using the dictation in the app "Notes" and then edited with a classic keyboard. 

Siri. Evolution for Siri, the voice assistant iOS. In addition to an improvement in the functionality of the algorithms that make it more responsive, now Siri can also be activated by voice, saying "Hey, Siri" when the iPhone is connected to a power source. Siri is now integrated with Shazam and recognizes the songs being played in a direct way, ie without the user first asks "What is the song playing?". Simply boot Siri and bring the phone to the sound source. 

Advanced notifications and widgets. Other key points of iOS 8, ​​the Notification Center. Here was eliminated on the third tab, and now the menu is divided only into "Today," where are collected the widget - significantly improved, made ​​interactive and expandable - and in "notifications", where we find the real communication applications. The widgets in the Notification Center, essentially mini-applications directly accessible from the drop-down menu, can be deleted and reordered directly, rather than through the general settings. Attention highest safety, with the "Family" from 8 iOS you can now connect Apple account and allow up to six family members to share applications, also to avoid "surprises" on the iTunes account, approving in advance all costs associated with their card credit. Then there Handoff, a system feature that allows you to start work on the iPhone and iPad and continue on your Mac, simply "moving" the app with a finger from one device to another. And then iCloud Drive, an extension of the cloud service from Apple that now in addition to backup and sync photos and documents, acquires full capacity device cloud, to share any type of file and document on multiple devices and platforms, Mac and Windows included. At the same time, Apple has attacked the cloud market with a price cut on space, an aggressive move to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneCloud and others. It offered, however, the possibility of using these services directly from iOS 8. 

Health and personal data. Regarding the app Health (Health), the speech is large. The main point is that the system of monitoring of the physical and medical Apple is thought to interact with appropriate confidentiality, with applications and third-party hardware. The idea is to provide an innovative tool for profiling and physical health in the future may also interact with medical facilities. But we must give it time to grow and interact with the app data and other software to understand what and how it can become relevant. 

Photos, selfie, Sms. Among other innovations, improvements to the Photos app now also allows you to change the light and the color of the photos. The elimination of the image is more destructive: in fact, if we remove an image, it will end in another folder called "Deleted recently," and we can retrieve it. The photos are destroyed automatically every 30 days. There is a self-timer mode in the Camera application, we may decide to do automatic photo after 3 seconds or after 10 seconds, and especially the focus of the picture is now separated from exposure. The first is adjusted with a tap, the second dragging up or down, thereby regulating the icon of a little sun on a vertical bar. There is also the Time Lapse. 

Also, the operation of the connected home goes from 8 iOS natively: With HomeKit, developers can use the ios for him to control lights, lock doors and windows, adjust the heating. Soon the system will function as SMS Relay, a service that allows you to use the Messaging application from your Mac or iPhone even other Apple devices like the iPad. We can then start to compose a text message on the iPhone and finish it on your computer, sending it from the iPad and everything will work perfectly and will be sent from the iPhone, where you inserted the SIM. Safari for a couple of good news, first of all the ability to view the sites in desktop mode and then the ability to block banners which automatically open the App Store. And then a whole series of improvements to usability of applications of daily use, such as Mail. 

But generational leaps and level of the product in hand, clearly relevant, what is clear to iOS 8 at launch, is that Apple has thought mainly to broaden the foundations of a system upon which developers can build freely. Overcoming the barrier of the hardware, the design of the app by incorporating external instruments capable of interacting with the iPhone and iPad. Providing short, tools and infrastructure to extend the functionality of mobile devices and the interaction of ideas and technology in a simpler way. The parallel challenge is to keep your personal information safe, and that's why Apple has designed its ecosystem so that the flow of information face always head to the operating system and isolated from possible sampling points. The value of 8 iOS on paper and a first contact is clearly high, the quality of use and the capabilities of the system are obvious. But to give the real figure, on the platform market, you will surely what developers will be able to create using the powerful infrastructure software from Apple.