iOS 8 reviewed
arstechnica.com
iOS 8 reviewed
1–10 of 199 posts
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#2Credit where credit is due, the lack of customisable keyboards was a major gripe of mine when people asked me why I'd never buy an iOS device.
A Swype-like keyboard (I actually use Google Keyboard's Swype mode, even though I own Swype) is a "must have" on my phone and has been for over three and a half years (since Swype beta was available on the original Galaxy Note).
While there are definitely thumb typists who can type quite fast, for me personally Swyping is significantly faster than tapping. I refuse to go back to that, it is bad enough things like passwords require tapping (although thanks to LastPass working with Chrome on Android, that too might be a thing of the past).
Now all we need is Microsoft to get with the program. Windows 8/8.1 still lacks a Swype-like keyboard and third party keyboards don't really exist. Kind of sucks on the Surface (you don't ALWAYS have the keyboard cover on).
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#3Credit where credit is due, the lack of customisable keyboards was a major gripe of mine when people asked me why I'd never buy an iOS device. A Swype-like keyboard (I actually use Google Keyboard's Swype mode, even though I own Swype) is a "must have" on my phone and has been for over three and a half years (since Swype beta was available on the original Galaxy Note). While there are definitely thumb typists who can…
Interestingly Windows Phone 8.1 already has a Swype-like keyboard which works really well. I hope they will include it in Windows 8.1 or maybe Threshold as well.
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#4To pick on just one point of this massive article: The quick actions on notifications are going to be very useful. I hope other OSs implement them too (I'm a WP user myself). They're unobtrusive, and they can make the entire phone feel more natural. They also enable new kinds of quick interaction: imagine an 'OK' button on a text message that lets the sender know you've seen it, without the need to send a message saying just that yourself.
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#5Maybe I'm just a corner case, but the "Spotlight, multitasking" section didn't address whether Apple has changed the refresh settings when multitasking between apps. Not a day goes by that I don't switch between open apps (say, Mail and Safari) only to watch the browser content disappear under my fingers while it decides to hit the network and refresh the screen with the same content. This is especially frustrating when out of network/wifi range which happens frequently in NYC.
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#6To pick on just one point of this massive article: The quick actions on notifications are going to be very useful. I hope other OSs implement them too (I'm a WP user myself). They're unobtrusive, and they can make the entire phone feel more natural. They also enable new kinds of quick interaction: imagine an 'OK' button on a text message that lets the sender know you've seen it, without the need to send a message say…
Android has had this for quite a while, though not to many apps make full use of it. http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/notifications.h...
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#7To pick on just one point of this massive article: The quick actions on notifications are going to be very useful. I hope other OSs implement them too (I'm a WP user myself). They're unobtrusive, and they can make the entire phone feel more natural. They also enable new kinds of quick interaction: imagine an 'OK' button on a text message that lets the sender know you've seen it, without the need to send a message say…
Android has had them for some time, and as you say, they are fantastic.
When implemented. It's a weakness of Android that few developers take advantage of all the features - I suspect a lot of apps are made iOS-first, so if a feature isn't available in iOS, it isn't implemented on Android. I hope that iOS gaining this feature will mean it is used a lot more on Android, too.
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#8To pick on just one point of this massive article: The quick actions on notifications are going to be very useful. I hope other OSs implement them too (I'm a WP user myself). They're unobtrusive, and they can make the entire phone feel more natural. They also enable new kinds of quick interaction: imagine an 'OK' button on a text message that lets the sender know you've seen it, without the need to send a message say…
Android has had this for quite a while, though not to many apps make full use of it. http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/notifications.h...
I wasn't aware of this, despite having used enough Android in the past. Shows you how many implement it, I suppose :)
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#9To pick on just one point of this massive article: The quick actions on notifications are going to be very useful. I hope other OSs implement them too (I'm a WP user myself). They're unobtrusive, and they can make the entire phone feel more natural. They also enable new kinds of quick interaction: imagine an 'OK' button on a text message that lets the sender know you've seen it, without the need to send a message say…
Android has had them for some time, and as you say, they are fantastic. When implemented. It's a weakness of Android that few developers take advantage of all the features - I suspect a lot of apps are made iOS-first, so if a feature isn't available in iOS, it isn't implemented on Android. I hope that iOS gaining this feature will mean it is used a lot more on Android, too.
That's a good point. We'll have to see if this means it'll be picked up more on Android too, it could get very interesting.
Re: iOS 8 reviewed
#10It's ironic - the addition of extensions, custom keyboards and the like was possibly going to be enough to bring me back to iOS from Android - I always preferred the hardware, just wanted a little more flexibility from my software.
But now Apple has totally ditched the 4" hardware factor - the main reason I liked the hardware so much. To me, Apple has lost an edge by doing that.