Apple unveiled iOS 8, the biggest iOS release ever for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch at the WWDC 2014 Keynote in June.

It includes a number of new features and improvements such as Interactive Notifications, QuickType, third-party keyboard support, Messages and Siri improvements, and lots more.

With just a few hours to go for the iOS 8’s September 17th release, we take a look at all the major new features and improvements.

Interactive Notifications

iOS 8 lets developers add custom actions to notifications like reply for messages, archive or trash for mails, decline/accept for calendar invites and so on.

Interactive Notifications will also be available on the lock screen and in notification alerts. On the Lock Screen and Notification Center, you’ll have to swipe left to reveal the actions associated with a notification.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Interactive Notifications

All-New Messages app

Apple added a bunch of new features to the Messages app, taking cues from other successful messaging apps like Whatsapp and Snapchat.

• Voice Messages: You can now send audio messages by tapping and holding on the microphone icon to the right of the text field.
• Sending photos in messages has become a lot quicker with a new gesture-based interface where you tap and hold the camera icon and swipe up or to the right to shoot a new photo or video.

• If you tap the camera icon, you can attach photos and videos you’ve already taken from your library. The entire workflow of this process is much more efficient with iOS 8, making it easier to send multiple photos.
• All attachments you send will be deleted 2 minutes after they’re seen, unless the receiver explicitly taps “Keep”.

• Group Management: You can now name your group message threads, and also mute or leave conversations.
• Other feature additions include the ability to share location for a specified period, browse all browse all attachments, and an option to automatically delete old attachments.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Messages gets a major update

QuickType

Android keyboards have seen a lot of innovative new features like Swype and word suggestions, while the iOS keyboard has largely been the same since it was first introduced. This is all set to change with iOS 8.

QuickType is a new addition to the standard iOS keyboard that displays word suggestions as you type in a row above the keyboard. The word suggestions aren’t simply based on what you’re typing, but also take into account where you’re typing. So if you get a message “Are we going out for dinner”, the suggestions will be “Yes” and “No”. If you’re in an email the suggestions will be formal in tone, but in Messages, the tone will be casual.

Third-party Custom Keyboards

QuickType is just one improvement to iOS 8’s keyboard. Another, arguably much more important, addition is the ability to install third-party keyboards like Swype, SwiftKey etc that will then be available system wide. Many keyboards should be available on the App Store on September 17, the day iOS launches.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: The biggest changes to the keyboard since the very first iPhone

Siri

Siri gained a new number of new features in iOS 8 including hands-free activation, Shazam song recognition and improved language support.

Handoff

Handoff is a new feature in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite that lets users move their work from iOS to Mac, and vice-versa, seamlessly. It detects devices in proximity, and lets them talk to each other to ensure activities are transferred between the them seamlessly. So say you’re working on a document in Numbers on your Mac, and you have to move away from your desk, you can pick right where you left off by simply sliding up the Numbers icon that appears on your iPhone or iPad’s lock screen.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Handoff makes going from iOS to Mac seamless

AirDrop now works across iOS and Mac

One of our biggest annoyances with AirDrop was that it didn’t work across iOS and Mac. So AirDrop on Mac could only send files to other Macs, and AirDrop for iOS could only send files to other iOS devices. With iOS 8, Apple finally made AirDrop compatible with both iOS and Mac, so you’ll be able to easily share photos from your iPhone to Mac or vice versa.

SMS and phone calls from iPad and Mac

Handoff works with third-party iOS apps, but Apple has added a similar feature for the Messages and Phone app too. With Continuity, you can send and receive SMS messages on your iPad and Mac, as long as your iPhone is nearby. Similarly, you can even receive and make phone calls from these devices, eliminating the need to reach out for your iPhone each time you get a call or a text.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Preview: Make and receive phone calls, send SMS from your Mac or iPad

App & Safari Extensions

Extensions are a powerful new addition to the iOS 8 SDK that lets developers run their code outside apps, and augment other apps with useful features. Extensions are of various types: Widgets, Share, Actions, Custom Keyboards, Document Picker, and Photo Editing.

• Share: This type of extension lets developers provide their own sharing option in other apps. So if you install the Pinterest app, you’ll start seeing an option to share to Pinterest in iOS’ standard share sheets.

• Action: An action extension is quite powerful — it “helps users view or transform content within the context of another app.” The action extension Apple demoed was Bing’s translator, that could translate selected text in Safari into a different language. We’ll likely see a lot of Safari extensions on the App Store when iOS 8 launches.

• Custom Keyboards: We’ve already detailed custom keyboards above.

• Photo Editing: iOS 8 lets you access your favorite app’s photo or video editing interface, make changes and save the edited photo, all without leaving the Photos app. In the future, Instagram, VSCO cam or Aviary could have their own interface pop up within the Photos app, and you can apply your favorite filters and presets without jumping through multiple apps.

• Storage Provider: Services like Dropbox, Google Drive etc. can now define themselves as “Storage Providers” so that apps that deal with files can store and retrieve files stored in these services without any hassles. These changes make it much easier to work on a single file from multiple apps without creating unnecessary copies.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 App Extensions Detailed: Widgets, Custom Keyboards, Document Picker and more

Improvements to Photo management

• iCloud Photo Library

Photo management wasn’t easy on iOS devices, despite the tight iCloud integration. With iOS 8’s iCloud Photo Library, you no longer have to be concerned about filling up disk space, as the storage cap is defined by the iCloud limit and not your device. So it’s possible to have more photos than what your device can actually store, with the iPhone or iPad acting as a cache for your iCloud Photos.

• Editing improvements and Sync

The inbuilt Photos app now has a lot of advanced editing features, like smart adjustments to fix light and color, an option to straighten photographs, and third-party filters. These new features can let you enhance your photos without leaving the Photos app.

With all these new editing features, Apple also built in edit syncing, which means edits you make on one device will appear on all other devices through iCloud.

• Other features
  • Apple finally added a search field, to let you search your photo library based on date, time, location, or album name.
  • The Camera app adds a cool new Timelapse mode, which is demoed in this video:

Sadly, Apple seems to have downgraded iCloud Photo Library to beta status ahead of its public release.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Photos, Camera and Image Editing

Safari Improvements

Safari has received an update in iOS 8, adding a number of new features:

• Safari for iPhone’s tab view and full screen view are now available in Safari for iPad too.

• There’s also a new two or three-finger pinch gesture to quickly switch between tabs on the iPad:

• Safari for iPad also adds a new sidebar that lets you easily see your Reading List, Shared Links and Bookmarks.

• With iOS 8, developers will be able to develop Safari Extensions, powered by the new Extensibility framework. During the keynote, Apple demoed the Bing Translate extension that could translate foreign languages into your own language.
• Other additions include the option to request desktop site, Autofill Credit Card Information with your Camera and more.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: A closer look at Safari’s new features and improvements

iCloud

Apple added a number of new features to iCloud in iOS 8 to make it a solid alternative to rival services like Dropbox, Google Drive etc.

• iCloud Photo Library: Detailed above
• iCloud Drive: You can now use iCloud just like Dropbox. iCloud Drive exists as a folder on your Mac and iOS devices where all your files and folders remain synced. With iOS 8’s new Document Picker, you can easily work on the same files in iCloud Drive across multiple apps without creating unnecessary copies.

• CloudKit: Developers can now add advanced cloud features like database storage, authentication and file storage without renting servers using CloudKit.

Widgets

With iOS 8, Apple finally added a long-requested feature — third-party widgets. Powered by the new Extensibility framework, third-party widgets will let developers add widgets with quickly consumable information in the Today section of the Notification Center. Apple demoed SportsCenter and eBay widgets at the keynote. The eBay widget let you quickly see the status of your bid, your watch list while the SportsCenter widget gave you scores for your favorite teams as well as relevant headlines.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Widgets Explained

Family Sharing

iOS 8 introduces a new feature called Family Sharing that lets families share their iTunes purchases without all of them having to be signed in from the same account. You can add up to six members of your family to your account, authorising them to freely use any apps, books, music or movies you’ve purchased.  iOS also creates a shared Photo Stream where you can share your photos and videos with your family. Family members also get a shared Calendar and Reminders list, as well as access to members’ devices in Find My Friends and Find My iPhone.

If you’re a parent, you can let your child make an iTunes account, and ask him to request you to purchase an app from his or her device. This request then pops up on your device, which you can authorise or deny.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Family Sharing

Touch ID

With iOS 8, developers can use Touch ID to let users login as opposed to the traditional method of entering passwords. This will encourage users to create stronger passwords without having to worry about remembering them.

App Store

Apple added a number of features and improvements to the App Store to improve discovery, search and beta testing.

• Trending Searches: Apple has made a lot of changes to the search experience. The first thing you’ll see is a list of trending searches:

• The search result list now scrolls vertically, as opposed to horizontally in iOS 7. You’ll also see related searches to your query:

• There’s a new Explore tab, to let you discover new apps and games based on categories and subcategories:

• App Bundles are a new way to let developers sell apps in a group at a discounted price.

• Video App Previews: In addition to screenshots, developers can now display a 15-30 second video clip of their app:

• TestFlight: TestFlight is Apple’s new beta app distribution service that will let app developers enrol up to 1000 beta testers.

Accessibility Features

Apple is one of the few companies that pays a lot of attention to Accessibility, and with iOS 8 it made its accessibility tools even better with changes like:

• Natural Sounding VoiceOver: The robotic-sounding VoiceOver has been replaced by a more human sounding voice called Alex.
• Speak Screen: A new feature in iOS 8, that speaks out the contents of the screen including text, buttons, labels etc.
• Improvements to Zoom: Adjust zoom level, specify which portion of screen to zoom and more.
• Braille Keyboard

➤ Read more: Here are all the new Accessibility features Apple added in iOS 8

Mail gets new time-saving features

Just like the Safari app, the Mail app in iOS 8 received a ton of improvements and useful features:

• Intelligent Notifications: Mails from Open Table will have an “Add to Calendar” notification right at the top for your reservation.

• Quick Delete: In the inbox list, you can delete a mail quickly by swiping the row all the way to the left. Similarly, you can swipe all the way to the right to mark a mail as Read.

• New Compose window: iOS 8 makes it easier to refer to other mails when composing a new mail. When you tap on the compose button, it will open a new compose window on top of the current window. If you want to go to your Inbox to copy some information then you can swipe down on the compose window to dock it at the bottom as you can see below to access your Inbox.

➤ Read more: iOS 8 Preview: Mail app gets new time-saving features

Compatible Devices

The following iOS devices are compatible with iOS 8:

• iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4s
• iPad Air, iPad 4, iPad 3 and iPad 2
• Retina iPad mini, 1st gen iPad mini
• iPod touch 5th generation

Let me know what you think of iOS 8. Do you plan to upgrade when iOS 8 is released or you plan to hold off until the iOS 8 jailbreak is released?