Apple's iOS 8 Review: Discover Features, Enhancements of New OS

Hundreds of new features, exciting updates and totally new possibilities – these are the promises that Apple's latest iOS 8 delivers with aplomb.

What the Cupertino, California-based tech giant considers as its greatest mobile operating system, the iOS 8 takes you to an astoundingly higher level of mobile phone experience.

Indeed, Apple's latest mobile software is the most customisable yet, with improved security as well as faster messaging tools.

Although appearance-wise there is no major change from Apple's previous operating systems, iOS 8 packs deeper changes and presents much cleaner interface, according to gadget reviewer Charles Arthur.

Improved keyboard

This is just one of the many features found in the third-party keyboards that Apple has finally allowed for its iPhones and iPads. The App Store sports several new and enhanced keyboards which add such features as swiping, gestures, and different designs among other innovations. Apple's own "Quick Type" keyboard improves on its predecessor in the older iOS. The keyboard offers word suggestions which, Apple says, are derived from the words in your emails and messages stored on the phone. If you don't like the word suggestions, you can slide the bar down and type your own choice of word. If you have a change of mind, tap the "world" icon to get the suggested word back.

Extensions allowed

One of the most useful changes is the "Extensions" feature which allows apps to share their functionality with other apps, so an app can add the ability to post directly from Safari to LinkedIn, Instapaper, Pinboard or more.

To "install" the extension, you simply download the app. Its extension will then appeasr in the related apps.

Family Sharing

Apple has created "Family Sharing," a feature that allows a single iTunes payment card to be shared among up to five people. The owner of the account can invite others, and also set up accounts for children under 13. This allows parents to control the app purchases of their children. The account owner can turn on "Ask to Buy" for any account, which means that before a user can make a purchase, it has to be approved by the owner, although they can still download free apps.

Family Sharing also means that each member of the "family" gets access to the others' apps -- music, films and TV shows.

Self-destructing messages

With the growing popularity of Snapchat – an app that allows users to send brief voice rather than text messages – Apple has made new tweaks on its iMessage to facilitate this function. In the new iMessage, you can now send pictures or video that will self-destruct within a few seconds -- unless the receiver chooses to keep it.

You can also press the microphone icon on the right of the message bar to record a message which, again, will self-destuct unless the recipient decides to keep it.

Camera enhancements

Apple has allowed apps that can control all sorts of camera details, including exposure, time, white balance, and focus. Filters can be embedded (via Extensions) into the Photos app, where they can make "non-destructive" changes – which means that the original photo remains in your library, and the changes are stored.

The iOS 8 camera has a new "exposure" control -- the yellow sun icon around the focus square, which you can slide up or down. There is also the Time Lapse, which creates a time-lapse film at 1/30th normal speed. Another addition is a timer function, which is useful for the selfie fans.

Privacy

The iOS 8 offers tougher app privacy will tell you if an app has been using your location in the background. It asks for your approval before allowing an app to use your contacts, or access the camera, or Health, or the microphone, and other elements of your phone. This is a major difference from the Android system, where apps offer you an all-or-nothing option – you either allow them to grab your data or they don't work for you.

On the downside, for some people at least, the iOS 8 has vastly increased its number of settings, and their submenus. The Settings menu has become so huge that it could be a problem to search for the apps and features you want to access.