Apple released the first beta of iOS 8.1 to developers just yesterday, and as we expected, it comes with a lot of minor changes that make up for a handful update over what is available publicly in the form of iOS 8.0.2. Here, we’ll run through all the changes in a neatly organized bulleted list.
You can say what you will about Popcorn Time - and let's face it, most of what could be uttered about so-called "Netflix for Torrents" has already been said - but one cannot argue that those behind it aren't frequent with their updates. With versions of the app already spanning most of the major platforms including Windows, Mac and Android, it was confirmed late in August that an iOS edition was in the making. At the time, it was noted that Popcorn Time for iPhone and iPad would become available in a matter of days, but while today's official roll-out is slightly later than we'd hoped, it does appear to be a nicely refined experience worthy of the wait.
Thus far, Apple has launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in just under 30 nations, with the initial roll-out in the United States, United Kingdom and several others on September 19th followed closely by the addition of a further 20 countries only last Friday. Conspicuous by its absence, however, has been China, an emerging market with something of an affinity to Apple's product line-up. But with the news having trickled out to the blogosphere a short while ago that Chinese regulators has approved both of the Mac maker's new smartphones for retail, Apple has now confirmed that the larger handsets will be available throughout the world's most populous nation as of October 17th.
Apple's iOS 8 seemed to be experiencing a smooth initial transition, with millions of users downloading on the very first day of its launch and bugs apparently as minor as they were few. But after the mess that Apple made with iOS 8.0.1, things seem to have gone downhill somewhat, and it now appears that iOS 8's 'Reset All Settings' feature is also removing iCloud Drive documents apparently safe in Apple's secure online storage hub.
Ordinarily, Apple releases a major enhancement to its mobile software in September, with a further, '.1' update arriving early on in the following year. However, iOS 8's schedule of updates will see the Cupertino pushing out the changes much more aggressively, with three major new releases set to arrive before iOS 9. Not only has iOS 8 brought so much to the table already, but there's still a great deal to come, and so along with the customary iOS 8.1 update, expect to see iOS 8.2 and a further iOS 8.3 as Apple seeks to roll out and establish the likes of Health / HomeKit, CarPlay, Apple Pay and several other potential game-changers.
Some ten days after the official roll-out of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the official Facebook Messenger app has just been updated in compliance with both new handsets. The changelog doesn't list anything else by way of changes, but given that app developers often squeeze in a couple of gratuitous bug fixes and performance enhancements without explicitly mentioning them, this is an update recommended for all using Facebook Messenger for iOS.
iOS 8 has brought a considerable amount to the table in terms of features, many of which are specific to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With larger displays, there's definitely something of a learning curve involved for those long-time iPhone users accustomed to much less real estate, and so to make it easier for smaller fingers and thumbs to reach all of the UI elements, Apple introduced a neat feature called Reachability. As suggested by the name, the implementation enables iOS 8 users on iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to reach the upper tiers of the interface with two light taps of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which pushes the entire UI downwards, and although your iOS 7-running device mightn't necessitate such a feature, the jailbreak community has nonetheless obliged.
The Web is awash with animated GIFs, and thanks to the introduction of iOS 8 and its third-party keyboard support, the authors of such apps have sought to make it easier than ever before to share these moving images. But the GIF isn't the only file type supportive of animation, and although the Animated Portable Network Graphic, or APNG, was assumed to be dying out, Safari for iOS 8 actually supports APNGs as standard. What's more, those using a beta or Developer Preview of OS X 10.10 Yosemite will also be able to indulge, and although both of Apple's new pieces of software have been inundated with new features, this is one that we certainly did not foresee.
Apple's release of iOS 8.0.2 brought with it not just the rather important fixes for some rather massive bugs, but also finally brought the world of third-party apps in line with the new HealthKit framework originally touted for iOS 8. After pulling support for apps that tied into Health from the final release of the latest big release of its mobile OS, Apple has now re-instated it while pushing a handful of app updates that mean users can now take advantage of the company's attempt to put all our health and fitness data into one place.
Here is a list of the top 15 battery saving tips for iOS 8 running on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users that will help you maximize battery life and get you through the day with ease.
















