iOS 8, six months later these are our conclusions

iOS 8 reached our iPhones in a massive way on September 17 of last year and if something has generated it is controversial, although it is undoubtedly one of the versions of iOS that has won the general public the most, but what is clear is that for those most faithful to perfectionism and the fluidity of iOS it has created more than one blister. This is our rundown of what iOS 8 has been up to now.

Sharing and extensions

Better late than never, Undoubtedly, the extensions in the Operating System were crying out for, although perhaps it has not had the reception that was expected, because we can see how there are applications that have not yet included them in their code, and others that recently included it., such as WhatsApp (what to say about WhatsApp ...), but it is undoubtedly an option that has made life easier for iOS users who demanded something as simple as sending a photo beyond the pre-established applications.

Widgets

I personally call it the fix. Apple has wanted to give a use to the Notification Center for which it is not intendedMuch more so when the filter of applications that may or may not use it is totally inquisitive by Apple, even removing widgets as inconsequential as a calculator. On the face of it, it is a function "under construction" from which we expect a lot in future versions of iOS but which is currently in its infancy.

However, it should be noted that this has been one of the functionalities that the developers have taken very seriously and it is to be appreciated. Even having dedicated applications like "Launcher" that do wonders for users.

QuickType and third-party keyboards

I am one of the first who outlined a "Yes!" huge after the introduction of Apple's predictive keyboard, the "QuickType", call it what you want. As a former Android user I have missed nothing more (in fact, it is the only thing I have missed) than a quality predictive and accommodated keyboard.

Apple presented its predictive keyboard, which although it meets all the requirements of an Apple product has two devastating details, slow prediction and absence of the possibility of using two languages ​​simultaneously (at the same time and without changing keyboard). But for color tastes, pun intended, and Apple knows it, that's why it opened iOS 8 more than ever and gave the possibility of the arrival of third-party keyboards, such as Swiftkey and Swype.

I don't hide that I'm a Swiftkey fan, an unparalleled predictive keyboard, which is ahead of you, incredibly ergonomic and that for people who like me communicate regularly with people who speak another language brings the key function, two simultaneous languages ​​without the need to alternate between them for the corrector . In addition, in its latest version, it has added emojis to the keyboard itself, which allows you to use only Swiftkey and gain stability. Although, I do not use it now because it gives certain errors in iOS 8.3 that I am sure will solve soon.

iCloud Drive

You're definitely doing it wrong Apple, really bad. There are few of us who expected a Dropbox-style system from iCloud Drive, and nothing could be further from the truth. With an improper file management of an Apple product, it drives the most patient to despair, for many things it is practically useless, in fact, it is practically useless beyond those people who have a complete Apple suite, that is, all its Computer and electronic products are from the apple brand, and that in 99% of cases is as impossible as it is improbable.

But let's not lose hope, iCloud Drive is still in a practically Beta situation And they still bring us surprises for iOS 9.

Handoff

If a few lines ago we took the colors from Apple, from Caesar what belongs to Caesar, integration carried to the maximum exponent. It is quite obvious to see that they are doing it well and more when systems like Microsoft are including these types of options. There is little we can say about Handoff, just leave your iPhone on the nightstand and receive that call from the iPad with which you are answering emails on a cold winter night.

"Salud"

Apple has wanted to enter the medical field through the front door, and when a mass consumer device such as the iPhone can participate, no matter how little it may be in the development of solutions to medical problems, the results are magnificent as we have already seen .

Without a doubt, it is a software that has been received with open arms by the medical and scientific community, The astonishing results that have collected data from thousands of patients in just one day when it usually took months or even years attest to this.

Apple Pay

Paying was never so easy, paying was never so fast. Apple Pay has been a clear success, although Apple has not been the "inventor" of this system, but it is clear that it is the one who is going to implement it worldwide in a useful and massive way. Apple Pay will be successful in the long run and that's a no-brainer.

The phone has become an extension of the hand (and if we talk about the Apple Watch ...), and it accompanies us to places where our wallet does not accompany us, in addition, physical money is a payment system that we like or it is not intended to die and Apple knows it.

Conclusions

Without a doubt iOS 8 has been a turn of the screw for everything that Apple had been doing in terms of Operating Systems, but as the saying goes "he who covers a lot does not squeeze", and I think this is what has happened to iOS. I do not dispute that iOS 8 has brought many things, making iOS what some call a more open system, but at the cost of what. Undoubtedly the stability and fluidity of iOS 6 is very, very far, but they were both necessary and grateful changes if iOS did not want to be left behind.

Obviously we have left a lot of the news unanalyzed, but we could write a book with it and focus on the most important ones. Rumors indicate that once the Apple Watch and the rest of the functions are implemented, Apple will focus on optimization, leaving aside the "new features" that it has been presenting since iOS 7, and I will not be the one to complain. , I will appreciate it.