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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?
You could lose everything in your iCloud backups:
http://www.macworld.com/articl...
I have an iPhone 5. When iOS 7 was released, the main features that pulled pep from my phone was the motion visual effect. Turning it off made a huge difference. Can be found under -Settings --> Accessibility --> Reduce Motion (ON). Hopefully the iOS performance hit is mainly video related so as to turn off whatever advance feature chews through cycles. If it's the kernel itself taxing the CPU, yeah, pretty much screwed.
Life is not for the lazy.
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?
Actually, the update is not for iPhone 4.
Also, you can cure a lot of upgrade-related slowdown on the 4 by doing an iTunes backup, factory resetting, and restoring backup. I just did so and cured all my slowdown.
Uh, wut? The entry level iPhone 6 is 16GB.
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.
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?
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.
6 apostrophe s
That drive me up the wall. Why have an entry level phone? the manufacturing costs between 16 and 64 is tiny. Why support some many phone types? just make 1 64GB phone.
And I ask the in earnest. What data support the cost of different lines vs/ the cost of all of them being 64GB?
16 GB is there BECAUSE it's a bad choice.
32 GB is NOT there BECAUSE it's a good choice.
People will see the lower price of the 16 GB version and use that price to decide if they want an iPhone 6.
Then when they're getting ready to buy they'll hear / worry that 16 GB isn't enough, so they'll shell out the ridiculous up-charge for the 64 GB model.
The true zealots will buy the 128 GB model despite not needing that much storage.
The cost of maintaining 3 different lines is minimal. The extra income gained by stratifying the models like this is huge.
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.
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.)
The alarm only works if it's the foreground app? Holy fucking shit LOL!
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.
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.
Because they can charge a 1000x markup for that extra flash. When a 64GB mcroSD card can be had for 20$, why should 64GB add hundreds to the cost of a phone? (greed)
iOS terms of service prevent you from writing a service or daemon except under very specific circumstances. If you do, they'll reject your app from the store. So you have to do a lot of things that should run in the background only when you're in the foreground. Yes, its idiotic- in order to try and avoid a few badly written apps from draining battery power unnecessarily running in the background they've instead prevented entire categories of useful behavior.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
But it shouldn't cost $100 for the difference between the two anyway. It's a $650 phone. It should have 64 GB by default, or have 32 GB and have the option of an SD Card. You only say that 16 GB is fine because it's $100 for the next level up. That's almost the same price as a 128 GB micro SD Card (currently 109.99). There's no reason why they should be charging you $100 for 16 GB upgrade in the first place.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Wrong. It's a common marketing tactic.
You have one model that you use to advertise the "starting" price. This model has a significant con to it that will concern most users.
You have the main model you intend to sell the most of. This model does not have the con of the cheaper model. This model is what you based your design and price around. The other models are represent minor changes and have prices determined entirely by psychology, not by production cost.
You have a high end model that you sell a few of at ridiculous markups. This model is just slightly better than the main model in a few aspects.
You see this done with Apple devices, cars, video cards, event tickets, etc. It's not a conspiracy unless you're an idiot who doesn't realize this goes on everywhere. It's marketing.
Nested folders have been around since version 7 but it takes a little practice to actually make one.
Solving Unix problems since 1989...
Did they enable nested folders yet?
Thankfully not. It's bad enough if you lose track of an app in single level folder.
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.
It'd only be nice if you have a filing fetish. It's not useful. Any minor pleasure it might bring filing fetishists would be vastly outweighed by those ordinary phone users who lose applications.
SD Cards are a whole other world of complexity; it's no wonder Android has started to clamp down on how they work somewhat. I worked on an XBox 360 game and I had to deal with the TCR requirements regarding removable storage. They're the worst. If someone removes the device during a save, you have to deal with that. If they remove it right before or right after a save, that's something else too. Basically, if anyone does anything with the removable storage at any time, you have to handle a bunch of exceptions, and then you also have to handle the case where the data is corrupted. It's awful.
Anyway, yes, you're probably right. I don't know what that kind of storage costs and what the economies of scale are, but I'm sure Apple could soak them up if they wanted to. But to a certain extent, that choice exists merely so people can feel like they HAVE a choice, and people like that. Even if zero people bought the 16GB version, it's there to make the other two options look better. But that's what the market will bear, I guess. Capitalism. What're you gonna do?
Which 2010 phone isn't abandoned? Will the first Samsung Galaxy S get Android L?
You *do* know IOS has a search, right? Makes it kind of difficult to fail to find an app you're actually looking for.
As for the rest, different strokes, etc. I have no objection if you choose not to use such a feature (for that matter, perhaps the OS could contain a switch to turn it off for those who are unable to manage more than a single level of folders.
As for not being useful, you're not qualified to say what's useful to me.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Awww, poor guy, he got 3-4 years of use & upgrades out of his old iDevices. It's soo much better on Android where most devices are sold with outdated firmware & never updated. Not just abandoned but orphaned at birth.
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
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. :( :( :(
Your conclusion doesn't necessarily follow from your set up. They may have decided not to implement it because it's a pain in the ass (as I've talked about in my other comments). It probably wasn't worth their time and money in a bunch of different ways, not least of which is that it may not give the user experience that they wanted out of it.
A) Some of us like that level of organization
B) No one is talking about forcing you to use it
C) If you are loosing application on a iDevice, then you must be pretty dim.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I disagree.
I love my Win 8 desktop. Much quicker to get to or do anything.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
C) If you are loosing application on a iDevice, then you must be pretty dim.
Mr. Pot, there's a Mr. Kettle on line three for you.
[UID-HeinzIntel]
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).
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.
Find me an Android from 2010 that can run KitKat.
Find me more than two Android devices that got KitKat on launch day.
Yes, Apple ruthless abandons old devices. But you KNOW it's happening. The iPad 1 was the only "surprise! We discontinued support earlier than you thought!" device, but even then, you knew when iOS 6 was first announced that it was going to happen. And if you get support, you get it on day 1. Today, the iPhone 4S and newer, iPad 2 and newer, and iPod touch 5 all get iOS 8.
Android devices are a complete mixed bag. You may get good support for 2-3 years, you might get screwed with zero updates ever. You might get the update on day 1, you might get it 6 months later.
Android has many ways it is far superior to iOS, but release reliability and long-term device support are *NOT* among them.
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
"Finding apps is pretty fundamental."
Drag screen down.
Start typing name of app.
Select app from partial search results.
This is exactly the no-win situation I have pointed out here before when people complained about upgrades not being allowed for older hardware.
If Apple does not provide the upgrade for older devices, then they are accused of artificially restricting the upgrade to force sales of newer devices. If Apple does provided the upgrade for older devices, then they are accused of artificially crippling the upgrade to force sales of newer devices.
Since no matter which choice Apple went with they would be accused of artificially forcing sales of newer devices, you cannot used their choice as proof that they are or are not artificially forcing sales of newer devices.
How good would the performance have to be on older devices to stop the accusations that they are artificially crippling it? I submit that there is no limit and that no matter how good it worked Apple would be accused of artificially crippling it.