The iOS 8 Review
by Brandon Chester on September 17, 2014 1:00 PM ESTDesign Tweaks
Apple often makes tweaks to existing applications, even when they are not doing an entire redesign. iOS 8 is no exception. I've already covered some of the more significant design changes such as the new Control Center and the new parts of the interface in Messages. Below are some of the other various visual changes that I noticed going from iOS 7.1 to iOS 8.
Clocks App. iOS 7.1 on the left, iOS 8 on the right.
The circular buttons in the Clock application no longer have a border, and the lap button has been given a background that is slightly different than the grey color of the app itself. This is a similar change to what we saw with the buttons in Control Center. It seems that Apple no longer feels that users require that a button has an explicit border to recognize that it can be pressed. The smartphone is something most people are familiar with today and so it makes sense that design conventions that would have been necessary with older versions of iOS are no longer necessary today.
The Share Sheet. iOS 7.1 on the left, iOS 8 on the right.
Apple has also modified the design of the Share Sheet. There is slightly less spacing between icons, and the action buttons in the bottom row also adopt Apple's new style for buttons. The sheet itself is now like a floating card that is separated from the cancel button at the bottom.
The last design change that I noticed is that landscape mode in Apple's stock applications is now a fullscreen interface, with no status bar at the top. This affords a bit of extra space but when using landscape mode I usually have the keyboard up and there's still not even remotely enough space on an iPhone's display to fit much besides the keyboard in landscape orientation. It's possible that this feature offers a greater advantage on newer devices like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with their higher screen resolutions.
Application Changes and Additions
Weather. iOS 7.1 on the left, iOS 8 on the right.
Apple's Weather app receives some improvements in iOS 8. As I mentioned earlier in the section about Notification Center, Apple now sources their weather information from The Weather Channel rather than Yahoo. This allows the app to provide more detailed information and that required some changes in its interface. Both the hourly and daily forecasts have been extended to show information further into the future. Accessing the additional dates requires swiping up in the application. This also reveals a section with detailed information about the current weather. Previously this information was accessed by tapping on the current temperature, which wasn't a very obvious gesture. Putting it at the bottom was also necessary to fit additional information like the UV index, visibility, amount of precipitation, and sunrise and sunset times.
Facetime. iOS 7.1 on the left, iOS 8 on the right.
FaceTime receives some design tweaks in iOS 8 as well. After the inclusion of FaceTime audio calls in iOS 7 it looks like Apple has seen fit to split the app into a section for video calls and a section for audio only calls. The navigation buttons at the bottom have been removed, with the recent calls page now being the main page of the application. The plus symbol in the top right now brings up a list of contacts to select from, rather than its previous function of adding a new contact that seemed out of place.
iOS 8 also brings a new Tips application with hints and information about how to do things on your iPhone or iPad. Given that most things on iOS are designed well enough that they're fairly evident to the user, I don't really see why another application taking up space on my 16GB device is necessary.
In addition, Apple's Podcasts and iBooks apps have also been added as stock applications. Because of this, iBooks is able to adopt the transparent design with the device's wallpaper showing through, like the Newsstand app. Again, I don't think a large enough percentage of users use these applications frequently enough to make them worth including with the operating system rather than keeping them as optional downloads from the App Store. Having to hide them in a folder is annoying, and I feel constrained enough trying to manage storage on 16GB iOS devices with the current size of the OS and all its apps.
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Brandon Chester - Saturday, September 20, 2014 - link
No I'm not. None of the A5 devices maintain 60fps everywhere on iOS 7.1.2 (I own an iPad 3 and a relative owns a 4s). Scrolling lists like the settings app are one of the best examples.mjh483 - Saturday, September 20, 2014 - link
"From the perspective of a user there's no real wow factor with iOS 8 right now".I get what you are saying, but I don't get why you say it. This just tells me that you are EXPECTING to be amazed by just downloading one software update and not using anything other than the stock apps. The general expectation for Apple products is just purely wrong. I am not saying it's perfect, but criticising the lack of a wow factor doesn't SEEM AT ALL like a way to judge a new mobile operating system. If you only use Whatsapp, Facebook and play a few casual games, there's only so much any software update can improve your experience.
houkoholic - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
> but criticising the lack of a wow factor doesn't SEEM AT ALL like a way to judge a new mobile operating systemYet that is always done with other OS like Windows Phone.... "oo but it lacks this WOW feature the other OS has".
WakarusaJack - Saturday, September 20, 2014 - link
Updated my iPad to iOS 8 and now I leave it on the table, virtually unusable. Slow. Locks up. So sorry I upgraded!!!!raj5151 - Saturday, September 20, 2014 - link
Wow, really useful information post. Thanks for sharinghttp://techhowdy.com/blackmart-alpha-black-market-...
dopehat - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link
Okay... I understand your love for Madoka Magica... lolAppleCrappleHater2 - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link
Worship the holy apple.The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like to
get robbed.
This has been a disastrous launch in every respect. The iwatch is such an
ugly piece of crap, it is truly unbelievable how a company, formerly known for
its remarkable design, dares to put out such a crap ton of shit. Some
characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive,
hardly innovative, limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to
make it work), looks exactly like a toy watch and so on.
There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially form the
likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for
another piece of over expensive junk.
The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model with
a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny
anymore. The screen resolution is horrendous, it isn't water proof, shock and
dust resistant, it offers nothing innovative, just some incremental
updates over its predecessor, both lacking severely behind their competitors at
their respective launch dates.
Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow,
where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind.
That’s pathetic. The interesting thing about that is the fact that apple
always manages to sell backwards oriented, outdated crap to its user base, all
while pretending to be an innovative technology leader. The similarities
regarding any form of sectarian cult are striking.
You gotta love how Apple always comes up with new marketing bullshit terms,
aka "Retina HD", with the intention to manipulate its users while preventing easy
comparisons with its competitors by withholding the actual specs. Apparently it’s
not enough to have a 1080p screen, you have to call it "Retina HD" to make those
suckers buy it, otherwise someone could look at the 4K Amoled and Oled screens
form LG and Samsung devices and get outright disappointed. Same goes for
everything else. Every outdated „feature“ needs to get its own marketing label
to persuade buyers with crappy „experience“ and „usability“ ads, while covering
the truth with marketing gibberish, knowing full well that only a fraction of
aforementioned buyers cares to look at the facts and dares to compare them.
Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo
charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but
by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label,
this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list
of features of a car.
By doing so a negative aspect is transformed into a positive one, the
reality is distorted, non tech savvy buyers are manipulated and comparisons are
made more difficult (another layer of marketing bullshit to overcome), well done
marketing department. You see , if something is seriously lacking (of course for
profit, what else), don’t bother explaining, just give it a nice marketing term, distort
reality, make it a feature and call it a day. Fuck that!!
The Apple Iphone 1 and Ipad 1 might have been innovative at their time,
but since then, the bitten apple has been continuously rotting from the inside
outwards, always swarmed by millions of Iworms which regale themselves with its
rotten flesh, not forgetting all other Americans who support apple by means of
their tax dollars to finance its bought US Treasury/Government bond interest rates.
Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the nsa,
free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all.
Ceterum censeo Applem esse delendam.
Breach1337 - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link
Rendered my wife's iPhone 4S completely unusable. It's not just lag and worse performance compared to 7.x - the whole thing just stops responding, touchscreen, couldn't even reboot it. So much for it simply works for me.xenol - Sunday, September 21, 2014 - link
I lost it at the Madoka Magica Nendroid figures.phoenixash87 - Monday, September 22, 2014 - link
Not sure if this was already posted, but to undo an unintentional delete, one can simply shake the iPhone which is the standard gesture for undo-ing any action.