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iOS 8 Review
An anonymous reader writes: Apple is releasing iOS 8 today, and Ars Technica has posted one of their huge, thorough reviews of the updated operating system. They have this to say about the UI: "iOS 8 tries to fit a whole lot more stuff onto a single screen than iOS 7 did. The operating system was clearly developed in anticipation of iPhones with larger screens." The biggest new feature is Extensions: "Older versions of iOS limited what third-party applications could do to communicate with external services and other third-party applications. ... Extensions remove some (but not all) of those barriers." The biggest examples of extensions are custom keyboards, a feature iOS users have been requesting for years. Downsides to iOS 8 include increased storage and processing requirements, which are bad news for older iPhones, and a host of new bugs associated with the new features.
It would sure be nice if this thread didn't devolve into an Android/Apple pissing contest. Can we at least give it a shot?
It adds so much cruft, it slows down the iPhone 4/4S to the point where it's barely usable. So I'll be skipping this update. They did the same with iOS 7. First update added a ton of fluff. First patch fixed a lot of the slowdown issues with the older phones.
Magic doesn't work in my presence. My power of disbelief is too strong.
You could lose everything in your iCloud backups:
http://www.macworld.com/articl...
Anyone who ever used an android phone. Swype, Swiftkey, and others do an amazing job. Apple lacks continuous path typing (Swype-like paths to type) which is in every major Android keyboard these days and used by hundreds of millions of people as a faster alternative to thumb typing. Apple's autocorrect is mediocre, Swiftkey and Swype/Nuance kick its ass. And the keyboard does matter- its the most used app on the phone- you use it in texting, emails, even browsing. If it isn't a good experience people will not use your device. Apple lost millions of users who wouldn't consider switching due to the lack of options on iOS. The question is if they're now to embedded into the Android world to be willing to change. I'm guessing Apple lost them permanently by being 4 or 5 years too late with opening up the keyboards api.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Getting too tight with IOS8 in there now
The crappy keyboard is one of the biggest reasons I hate my iPad. It is almost unusable for me. There is a reason why all the autocorrect humor is screenshots of iOS.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I'm waiting for the comprehensive review of the Ars Technica review.
#DeleteChrome
That's right on the money. All that was stopping millions (and millions!) from going to Apple was a customizable keyboard. And Apple's lost them forever, because of the Android store lock-in.
But seriously, I'd say the keyboard providers will make more money on iOS now than on Android.
Highly doubt it. I worked at Swype. We had deals at the OEM level and shipped preinstalled. That means we made money on every phone shipped. (Some of those deals fell apart post buyout, because the buyer was hard to deal with). They won't get that deal from Apple. So they may make more money per download, or get more paid downloads. But they won't make more money overall.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
what is crappy about it?
How does it relate to autocorrect software?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
For me, it's crappy because the autocorrect commonly changes what I intend into something that I don't intend. After several years, I gave up and turned off autocorrect, which is a partial solution- but the keyboard was really built with autocorrect in mind, and is below mediocre with autocorrect disabled.
I can't comment on the Android keyboards.
I know there's a lot of hate for Windows 8, but the onscreen keyboard for my Surface 2 (RT) is probably the best on screen keyboard I've ever used. I simply can't stand my Android phone keyboard anymore. I don't have an iDevice, but whenever I go to use my wife's iPad, I cringe at how bad that keyboard is. Always showing the keys in capitals so you can never figure out if you are typing in capitals is probably the most annoying part. Having left and right arrow buttons on the default keyboard for the Surface helps out so much. Also, having Ctrl key is extremely nice because I can use Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z, just like I would on a regular keyboard.Tab needs 2 clicks, but it's still much easier than clicking on the next form field. You can switch to the full keyboard for those times when you really want access to all the keys, although I don't use it all the time. The iOS and Android keyboards might work OK on small screen 4-5 phones, but on a 10 inch tablet, where you have the extra room, there really should be some extended functionality. The iPad keyboard really needs to be different than the iPhone keyboard.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I think you're overselling it somewhat. I've tried the swype systems, and I always devolve to just tapping. Same with my friends that have access to it. Out of 4 of us, all of us hate swype based systems. That's not data, obviously, it's just an anecdote. But I've yet to see anyone stop using the keyboard, let alone a phone, just because the keyboard isn't what they expect. (The lone exception being people that like hardware keyboards. They will stick with a sub-standard phone just for the better typing experience.)
I would also question whether Apple has ever lost anyone permanently that wasn't lost from the start. I've seen a lot of people in comment threads today consider Apple's phones again because it was *screen size* that was holding them back.
I've actually always really liked the Apple keyboard; I have a lot fewer problems with it than other people, though I couldn't tell you why. I borrowed a Nexus 4 and hated the keyboard (and didn't want to install a new one for the short time that I had it) but my hate of the keyboard wasn't actually a dealbreaker even if I'd had to use it forever. If I'd liked other things about the phone, I would've put up with the keyboard I didn't like, no question.
It's a fair opinion to have, but I really don't see any evidence for the grandiose claims you're making.
I don't want an expensive phone that I don't even need because I don't want a cellphone.
Twinstiq, game news
Autocorrect is built into their soft keyboard, n'est-ce pas?
Did they enable nested folders yet? The current single level folders are limiting and create unnecessary clutter.
For instance, it'd be nice to have one games folder, inside which might be a folder for board games, one for shooters, one for tower defense, etc.
One that would be of interest to me would be arranged around photography. One main folder, then one for editors, one for astrophoto conditions and apps, one for auroral conditions and apps, one for IR work, one for special effects, etc., one for a DB of my lenses and cameras, one with my portfolio, one with links to photography websites, etc.
Folders within folders is a very natural way to arrange things in a hierarchy; I have never understood Apple's resistance to giving its customers tools they can use to make using IOS easier. In the case of nested folders, you don't *have* to use the feature if you don't want to, anyway... but if you need it, you probably *really* need it.
So here's hoping.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
I have an iPhone 6 on order, and I plan to use it either way, but I couldn't find the answer to this in the article: Can I use a playlist for an alarm, or can alarm apps work correctly in the background? Since the built-in alarm app only plays one song, you had to use another app if you wanted to wake up to a random song off a playlist. iOS 7 and older versions required that app to be in the foreground for it to play the song. Normally not a big deal, but if you answered a text message in the middle of the night or couldn't sleep and did a little websurfing and forgot to switch back to the alarm app, your alarm wouldn't go off. This isn't an issue with Android, and I'm hoping Apple has fixed this serious limitation - either by allowing the alarm app to use a playlist, or by allowing 3rd party apps to play a song without being in the foreground. It's my biggest pet peeve about iOS, especially after having an Android phone without this limit for the last two years. (If you read reviews in the App Store for alarm apps, most or all of them have people complaining about the app having to be in the foreground - they don't realize it's a limit of iOS rather than a limit of the app. So, I know it's not just me that's annoyed by this.)
Great. I'll upgrade my Cisco router immediately.
And I'll upgrade my Wii homebrew!
Tapping a keyboard three times to type special character. No Swype. Caps always showing, regardless of actual capitalization. All but Unusable with one hand (one handed typing jokes aside). Auto Correct that guesses wrong more often than it should. The interface is not as intuitive as Apple or iOS users claim it is, IMHO.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Once you get use to it, it's hard to not have it.
I still type a lot of my words, but it really speeds up my typing by being able to quickly swype.
I typically only use swype for words around 4 characters in length. Common words that I type a lot.
This isn't something that you'll catch onto after only a couple of uses. It takes some time.
Also, if these were an Apple invention, it would be considered the best thing since sliced bread by most Apple users. Instead, all I ever hear is Apple fans downplaying, saying they don't like it, acting like it's just a gimmick.
Once they have the ability to actually change their default keyboard, they're going to f*ing love it.
like after every other time he updates his iphone his emails all stop working. Have to delete and readd them and he has about 4 or 5 accounts.
yay or nay?
"Contrary to popular belief, UNIX is user friendly. It just happens to be selective on who it makes friendship with"
The skype bug was not a skype bug, but one on some qualcomm camera driver that locked up using a lot of CPU, It had nothing to do with Android multitasking APIs
Yes and no. I actually really think the (new) BB phones are pretty neat. I like that with BB10, they really swung for the fences with the interface design. To an extent, it's a crippled ecosystem and that's not really about the OS any more. They missed the boat. (That said, people will stick with very old BB phones because they can't give up the keyboard. By most measures, they're really not good phones any more.)
No, I'm talking about all sorts of other phones--Android ones, honestly. People will put up with a really garbage phone just because it has a physical keyboard.
I've got a lot more respect for Blackberry than, say, Samsung. Samsung capitalised on an opportunity and makes a lot of money, but they've never, ever had the focus or innovation of Apple and Blackberry.
For me, it's crappy because the autocorrect commonly changes what I intend into something that I don't intend. After several years, I gave up and turned off autocorrect, which is a partial solution- but the keyboard was really built with autocorrect in mind...
Perhaps you have extra-large thumbs, but how exactly is a keyboard "built" with the assumption that someone will be misspelling a word on a device that supports dozens of languages?
Oddly enough, I can't seem to find a definition for "QWERTY" that doesn't pertain the the very keyboard layout that birthed it's name in any dictionary...
I type one handed all the time while walking on my iPhone. Autocorrect guesses correctly more often than not.
The new shift key is 100% garbage, though. You have to wonder which exec at Apple has made that their pet feature. That's the only possible way that such a wholly unintuitive thing still exists. I've yet to meet a single Apple user, no matter how partisan, claim that the iOS 7 shift key makes even the slightest bit of sense.
Wake me up when Apple supports Bluetooth SPP on iOS.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
I worked at Swype.
Which rather puts the importance of Swype that you claimed in the previous post in perspective... I've seen lots of people typing on Android phones whilst standing on packed commuter trains. I've never seen a single one that was dragging across the keys rather than tapping.
It's not just me. One of my best friends really hates that the lines no longer show in "Notes" in iOS 7 on her iPad.
http://iosguides.net/wp-conten...
I can grudgly accept that Apple wants to move away from skeuomorphism, but when Functionality suffers because of some idiotic dogma about Form someone needs a clue stick:
Give people UI _options_.
Does anyone have the new nVidia Shield Tablet? How is for reading and developing games for?
--
"Apple: Pretending they know what is best for you since 1984. The problem is their lost their class in style. Now they are not even tacky."
One that would be of interest to me would be arranged around photography. One main folder, then one for editors, one for astrophoto conditions and apps, one for auroral conditions and apps, one for IR work, one for special effects, etc., one for a DB of my lenses and cameras, one with my portfolio, one with links to photography websites, etc.
You do realize that iOS is for your phone, right? Not your macbook pro?
Fairly average (for a male) hand span, and slim fingers/thumbs. The iPhone keyboard simply isn't built for precise key hits. There are lots of smarts to allow you to type reasonably well regardless, but this assumes that you're typing normal English sentences (and statistically common phrases) and the more you vary from that pattern, the more likely it is to take your typing and produce something garbled or (worse) exactly negate your meaning. I eventually found that retyping any actual mistakes was less frustrating than retyping something that was entered correctly but that the iPhone "corrected" to something else.
Your comment about supporting dozens of languages is way off; the keyboard only supports a single language at a time, and you need to explicitly swap languages (which also swaps the dictionary / auto-correct mechanism.)
Doesn't the apple keyboard not even show when your using caps or did they finally change that?
The problem with Windows 8 wasn't that it didn't work well for a tablet. The problem was it was a terrible interface for a desktop.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
*sniff* An anon doesn't like my opinion but has no ability to hold a conversation and discuss anything on their own merits. I'm so sad. :( :( :(
I don't want a cellphone.
Without a mobile phone, how would you go about reaching roadside assistance or emergency services?
Any shitty old mobile with no service plan will work to call 911
Normally I'd recommend a dumb phone, but HalAtWork refuses even this.
As for roadside assistance, just take off your pants and stand in traffic! Someone will stop sooner or later.
Like a police officer ready to stay you for indecent exposure. I would not find permanent sex offender status worth not carrying a phone.
I disagree.
I love my Win 8 desktop. Much quicker to get to or do anything.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
FWIW, I use "hacker keyboard" on my Nexus 7 (7 inch screen), it has all the important stuff in landscape mode (Tab, Ctrl, Delete, cursor keys, number keys a la laptop KB and symbols in the same place just a shift away) and a more minimal layout in portrait mode. (fewer keys but bigger buttons).
I think the GP is overselling it a bit too, but I've been using the standard Android keyboard for a bit now, which includes swype-like typing, and I'd have a tough time switching back to just tapping. It's substantially faster and generally as accurate as tapping and quite a bit better than any miniature hardware keyboard I've tried. I don't know that if it wasn't built if I'd have bothered downloading Swype or Swiftkey, but it's nice to have the option.
In some ways, it reminds me of the difference between Newton HWR and Palm Graffiti; you had to learn some new patterns to use Graffiti, but when you got used to it, it was light years ahead of the performance of the natural handwriting recognition of the Newton.
Log in or piss off.
THe shift key changes state slightly- colors in blue when manually capped, outlines blue when in autocaps mode. But no, it doesn't show on the keys.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
I doubt you paid much attention to this. I do, I've been developing keyboards for 5 years now. Some of those at Swype, some at a second startup (I left Swype a few months after the buyout and have had neither residuals nor stock in the company or its new owner since May 2012), and now well its still on keyboards but I'm under NDA preventing me from stating where. Do all Android users use continuous path input? Of course not. Not even a majority. But a very solid percentage do, and a majority of those wouldn't use a device without it for a phone sized device (answers differ on large tablets where swyping isn't as efficient). So no, I don't think I oversold the importance of the technology- its a blocking issue for millions of people moving to iOS. Would they have moved had it been available when they were making their OS choice? Some large percentage of them would have. Will they now? Who knows- now they're locked in by various apps and expected behavior. We'll see.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
My anecdotal data is the opposite of yours. The Surface/Windows 8 onscreen keyboard is absolutely awful compared to the iOS keyboard, even on the iPad.
I hate that the keyboard layout changes when I hit the number/symbol key. Being left handed the number pad being on the right side of the screen is ridiculous and I have to readjust my grip to type numbers. The Shift key also does not reset when returning from the symbol/number mode. So if you need to type XX-xx you need a lot of extra keystrokes and grip readjustment (or at least I do). I've never minded the key labels being capitalized on iOS since they're also capitalized on physical keyboards. It's plain to see when and where capital characters will be typed.
The Windows keyboard is also really uncomfortable to use in portrait orientation (Windows 8 is generally uncomfortable in portrait orientation). On the iPad the keyboard is much more usable in landscape orientation than the Windows keyboard is in portrait.
Issues of meta keys being available is simply a difference between Windows 8 and iOS. There's no need for meta keys to access functionality in iOS because everything is designed for touch. Windows 8 is keeping around DOS keyboard shortcuts on a touchscreen.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
That's exactly what I do. Main screen is for "use it every day" with no folders at all, second screen is for "use very often, divided by theme" such as "financial", "media" (which means media consumption for me, so Netflix, Hulu, etc,) "Photo", "science", "sports". Third screen is games, subdivided by category. Fourth screen is "I almost never use these, but space is cheap, so I'll just stuff them here" - mostly store apps that I only have so that Passbook works right with them, apps that Siri integrates with so that I can tap results and have them launch properly (Yelp, etc,) and other things that when I really want to use them, I end up launching them another way. (Google Doc, Sheet, Slide; which I launch via Drive almost exclusively.)
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
Android keyboards change capitalization based on whether or not you have activated Shift or Caps Lock for around 3 years now.
Frustrating. I had to setup a friends iPad to connect to a network, couldn't easily tell if I was typing upper-case or lower-case for each character. Took a couple of attempts before realising that the keys don't change case on the screen keyboard.
Task Mangler
Swipe keyboards take a little getting used to but it's worth spending a few days forcing yourself to use one because in the end they are so much faster. The stock Android keyboard actually has a really good implementation.
The Google Japanese keyboard is excellent too. Like the English keyboard it mines the interwebs for data, so knows a lot of acronyms and slang that I had to teach other keyboards.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
+1000
The shift key is, hands-down, the one aspect of iOS 7 (and 8) that annoys me more than anything.
On the bright side, iOS 8 borrows the suggestion feature from Android, and that makes getting the correct word much easier and faster. It will even try to help with typos and will suggest common phrases.
Are you like the same person posting on 5 different accounts? There can't possibly be more than one person in the world that struggles to figure out what case the ios keyboard is in.
iOS makes you work harder than necessary to get things done. For example, there is no app tray. All apps just get dumped on the home screen after installation and you have to organise them yourself. There isn't even an alphabetical list unless you spend time making it yourself.
It seems really odd given how they try to make other stuff low effort. Finding apps is pretty fundamental.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
"Finding apps is pretty fundamental."
Drag screen down.
Start typing name of app.
Select app from partial search results.
"No Swype"
https://itunes.apple.com/us/ap...
"All but Unusable with one hand"
How large of an Android tablet do you type on one handed?
My second biggest annoyance with the keyboard this... ...my biggest stems from my being in the UK - Apple obviously never tried entering a UK post code...
letter
letter
switch to number pad - no long press on the top row that I know of
number
number
space
switch back to number pad - because it's assumed you want a letter next
number
letter
letter
My job (partly) involves testing mobile apps - so I have to go through the registration process a lot... utter pain in the proverbials...
And this is "intuitive"? I have used iOS for a couple years (iPAD) and never seen that used by anyone.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Beware Ipod Touch/Phone 5th Gen users if you add your own .mp4 files (movies/videos/pron/whatever) and don't purchase shows to watch on your devices.
The IOS 8 update has corrupted the video files for myself and 3 other friends of mine. No music affect at the moment.
Also video files are now limited in their description to 18 characters when viewing them in their list form that shows up when you go to videos.
So now for me, videos show up for example as : The.Daily.Show.201... and can not be look at further before opening them.
My phone is functioning horribly since I downloaded ios8. All apps are crashing and closing or not opening at all, facebook is absurdly slow, and the whole performance has slowed. I hate it. Can you I uninstall ios8?