New details about iOS 8 surface following WWDC announcement
We have to commend Apple for being able to maintain such a diligent update schedule for iOS. Each year, we learn about some of the neat new features to come, then we see them put into action with a new device a few months later. It is a proven recipe and from the looks of things, we will not see the Cupertino clan change that approach at WWDC in June.
Codename: Okemo
Regarding iOS 8 specifically, we have learned that it has been codenamed “Okemo,” which as far as we can tell, was borrowed from a popular ski resort in Vermont. Visually speaking, iOS 8 will not depart from Jony Ive’s design motif. Functionally, iOS 8 will add a host of health and fitness related features to the experience.
Healthbook
From a fitness and health perspective, there will be a “healthbook,” which leaked last month. It will track nearly everything related to your personal physical condition. From aggregating personal health data, like blood work to blood sugar levels, to fitness activity, gathered by apps and accessories, the health book will be about the closest you can get to carrying around your medical file with you, without the stacks of paper. The healthbook will also include emergency card data, which will provide important basic information to first responders, age, weight, medications, blood type, or even if you happen to be an organ donor.
Apple Maps
iTunes Radio, Voice-over-LTE
Other tidbits we are learning about iOS 8 involve the possibility of breaking iTunes Radio into its own app in an effort to push better promotion and growth of the service. Though, given it has only been available for six or seven months, iTunes Radio has made a respectable showing.
Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) will also be supported in iOS 8 which should be intriguing. The challenge then will be if carriers support the feature later this year. T-Mobile does in select markets (thanks to MetroPCS), but the rest of the carrier gang is still testing things.
Messaging and Notification Center
Messaging in iOS 8 may also offer the ability for the user to select messages to be deleted automatically after a certain period of time. Users should be able select if messages are deleted after a month, or perhaps a year. The feature can also be disabled for those that never delete their messages, but it will prove handy for those who may have storage problems.
Of course, Apple will be implementing iOS 8 to be a faster performer and reportedly the focus is on making the camera on newer generation hardware even faster.
Enhanced text editing and game developer tools should also be in the mix for iOS 8, not to mention updates to the flagship Apple OS X 10.10 for the MacBook, iMac, and Mac Pro. All-in-all, a solid list of things to look forward to at WWDC 2014. Now, we will just sit back and watch the rumor mills go crazy with anticipated hardware specifications for the next iPhone.
sources: 9to5Mac via Redmond Pie
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