The new update for some iPhones is out and more advanced than ever before with many new features for the Apple user to explore. As long as you have one of the newer Apple products (sorry, iPhone 4), are willing to delete at least six gigabytes of space on your device and are able to survive two to three hours without sending a text while the update downloads and installs, iOS 8 is ready for you.
Messages
iOS 8 takes texting to a whole new level with the updated Messages app. Group messages can be named now! Hate that one guy who always sends kitty pictures at random times? Simply delete him from the conversation — it won’t hurt his feelings at all. And now, you can add your voice to the conversation by sending recordings of yourself instead of having to type out your text — which basically renders the actual “phone” part of “iPhone” completely useless.
Photos
Who needs Nikon or Canon when you can put a filter over your ugly face right when you take a picture on your phone? Not me. And you just go right ahead and delete all those photo-editing apps because the updated camera allows you to crop anyone you want out of your pictures without the hassle of Aviary or Axiem Systems. Plus, you can now search for those over-edited photos with simple keywords — as long as you take the time to name every single picture you take and remember what you called it.
Quicktype
Like a psychic reads your palm to predict your future, Apple reads your texts to anticipate your next message. As you type, the Messages app familiarizes itself with the way you talk and reminds you what you are likely to say — in case you forgot. Simply click on the word, and keep right on going.
iCloud Drive
Also known as the biggest mystery of our generation, the venerable Cloud is a great way to share things with the world you never wanted to share. Nobody’s sure how it works, but you can sometimes listen to songs in the music app that aren’t downloaded onto your phone, which is cool. Plus, if one of your many Apple devices crashes, all of the information you may have otherwise lost will be safely stored on another device. If you don’t have another Apple device, Apple does not acknowledge you or your problems.
Health
There’s this white square on my phone with a heart in it… I don’t know what it is, but it scares me.
Family Sharing
Now your parents have immediate access to everything you do on your phone at all times. Hooray. When users set up a family plan, people included can immediately access each other’s music, photos, apps, TV shows and more. Payments are all made on the same credit card, and members have the right to veto any purchases they don’t approve of. Parenting has never been so easy.
