photo via Creative Commons
Apple will officially release iOS8 and OS X 10.10 this fall, but the world got a preview of what the newest operating systems will include at the Worldwide Developers Conference that took place in June.
There are a host of new and impressive features that come with them, some of which Android users have enjoyed for a while, like predictive typing and the ability to use Swype on a device keyboard.
There are also some new features that have big implications for businesses. Here’s a look at the top four:
iCloud Drive and Mail Drop
With iOS 8, Mail Drop will automatically load large attachments into your iCloud account, and then send a link to the attachments. That’s something service like Dropbox have offered for a while, but for Apple users is means the ability to expand iCloud’s capabilities and bypass third party solutions altogether.
Continuity
Using an auto-detection feature, AirDrop allows users to directly transfer content between nearby devices, even if those devices aren’t on the same Wi-Fi networks. Apple introduced AirDrop for iOS last year, but now those file-sharing capabilities are integrated with Mac devices, too.
Handoff, another new feature, lets you start a task on one device, for instance on your iPhone as you’re headed to the office, and then finish it on your desktop or laptop computer at work. The potential downside to this is that data is shared across all your Apple devices, which could make it all too easy for personal and work materials to get mixed.
App Development
With iOS8, users have access to more of the device’s native features, which makes it easier to create apps with the new Swift programming language. It also means it will be easier to build new apps with more features, at less cost. That could be great news for commercially focused businesses.
Messages
iOS8 is bringing a lot of new functions to messaging, including support for voice and video messages and the ability to share data like location within a message. You even have the option of letting audio messages self-destruct after a certain amount of time.
The upgraded Messages also now lets you set threads to a “Do Not Disturb” setting so you’re not alerted every time someone responds to a big group message.