All You Need to know about iOS 8 and OS X from WWDC 2014

OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 was revealed at Apple’s 2014 WWDC event and they have some massive new features! Tim Cook kicked off Apple’s 2014 WWDC keynote, now in its 25th year, by talking about the future of iOS and Mac OS X. Today, we’re going to see the future of iOS and Mac OS X, he said, and how they work seamlessly together.

The look of Yosemite, from the toolbars to window construction, has been adjusted. Windows and the dock are now translucent. So is FaceTime, Contacts, and Reminders, making them less intrusive on your desktop experience. App icons have also been redesigned with updated typography that looks more modern and iOS-like. There is also a new dark mode for windows and the dock. Notification Centre has that dark translucent background, and now the “Today” view can be expanded with widget information from your favourite apps. It’s very Google Now-like, providing you with an assortment of useful information at a glance, on the righthand side of the screen.

On the iOS front, over 130 million people bought their first Apple iOS device last year, according to Tim Cook, who went on to describe iOS 8 as “a giant release.” Craig Federighi came onstage to elaborate, starting with iPhone, notification centre has been refined with interactive notifications. If you get a message, you can now pull down to reply to the text, without leaving whatever app you’re in. Same with a calendar event—even on the lock screen, you can swipe to respond. Double tapping the home screen now gives you access not just to recent apps, but recent contacts too. With these actionable notifications, you can also like a photo on Facebook right from your homescreen.

Here is a quick rundown of some of the awesome new features.

Messages:
Messages, the most frequently used app in iOS, You can now name threads, and add or remove people from a conversation. If you’re taking part in an annoying thread that’s messaging you all the time, you can choose to “Do Not Disturb” it, or leave the thread, so you aren’t bombarded with constant notifications.

Continuity:
This is pretty clever! If you’re working on something on a Mac, you can pick up right where you left off on your iPad, or vice versa. This is called “Handoff.” This works even if you’re composing an email — it remembers where you are on one device, so you can complete it right where you left off on another. Brilliant!

You can now also receive calls on your Mac, using it as a speakerphone. It works if your phone is all the way across the house on a charger. You can also dial from your Mac. If you see a number on a webpage, you can call it, right from your desktop.

iCloud Drive:
A new addition to iCloud, it is a new file storage system that syncs your files automatically across all of your Macs and iOS devices (and Windows, too!). It’s kind of like Dropbox, with files organised in folders inside.

Mail Drop:
Lets you send attachments, up to 5 GB in size, encrypted. And with Markup, you can edit files you write in the email and send them back on their way—super handy if you need to sign a PDF form and send it to a contact.

Health:
Apple is working with Nike and the Mayo Clinic on HealthKit integration. With the Mayo Clinic, patients can be in contact with their healthcare providers, so they can monitor their patients vitals. It sounds far less robust than a lot of the Healthbook rumours we’ve been hearing would have indicated, but at least you can have all your fitness data in one place.

Family Sharing:
A lot of iOS users share their device among family members, so Apple now has a Family sharing feature. This lets all the members of your family share and have access to your Music, Movies, TV show, or app purchases, for up to six family members (as long as they share the same credit card). For kids, they get prompted to ask their parent for permission before making a purchase, while you get a notification on your device. (Yay!)

App Store:
On the App Store, Apple is adding an Explore tab letting you search for trending topics, and apps by genre. Related searches will appear right below the search bar and offer you options for similar search terms. Developers can also sell their apps in app bundles, so users can buy multiple apps at a discounted price with just one tap. You can also now get app video previews.

Apple has already posted video of today’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote to its website.

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