New Features To Expect On Your iPhone When iOS 8 Launches This Week

iOS 8 is the latest iteration of Apple's mobile operating system iOS. And it is arriving this week, specifically on Wednesday, September 17. Now it may not generate as much excitement as the release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but still it should stoke some users, especially those awaiting to experience for themselves the latest iOS version's new features. But what exactly are these features? Let us go through each of them below.

Expanding Sharing Options

Compared to, say, the Android operating system, iOS is a bit limited when it comes to sharing content, especially when it is content from a mobile device. Indeed, Apple only lets you share content with those whom Apple says it is okay to share content with. Well, that is about to change with the new iOS 8. Users can expect more sharing options other than the usual Facebook, Twitter, Mail, and soon many others like Evernote or Pocket.

Ability to Interact with Notifications

Apple's Notification Center started with iOS 5 and now it is being further improved so that users can interact better with their iPhone notifications without having to switch in and out of apps that are currently running. With the iOS 8, one can reply directly to an iMessage, or manage calendar invites while browsing the Internet.

Handoff

As its name implies, Handoff is a feature that lets users start an activity in a particular device and continue it in another without having to start over, thus accomplishing a seamless “handoff”. This feature is expected to be added in iOS 8, with many native apps (Safari, Maps, Calendar, Pages) supporting it. Now you can start composing mail on your iPhone and then continue the activity seamlessly on your iPad.

Continuity

Continuity works much the same way as Handoff, but it is designed solely for communications. For instance, you can facilitate voice calls between your iPhone, iPad, or even Mac.

Widgets Galore

Those who want iOS to feature more widgets may be getting their wishes very soon. Apple is adding developer support for more widgets, and users will be able to select which new ones they would like featured on their operating systems.

Native Keyboard and Optional Third Party Keyboards

Expect old and new iPhones to have better word suggestions than before, courtesy of an improved native iOS keyboard. Also, other keyboard developers will also start to support iOS 8, making way for new swype-style input methods and even keyboard customizations.

There may be a lot more iOS 8 features that will make an appearance in both old and new iPhones after the iOS 8 launch this week, but we will leave that to the users to go and discover for themselves.