The Apple iPhone 6 runs on the iOS 8 perfectly. The new OS is close to the iOS 7, and as far as the UI goes, there are only minor touches provided, though there has been a major upgrade provided at the back end, with the new services getting the bulk of the changes. All the apps populate the home screen, with the folders present in the mix, along with the standard clock, the dock at the bottom featuring 4 shortcuts, the additional options of themes and transparency. The lock screen too is the same as its predecessor, with all the controls (playback controls, camera shortcut) present, along with the three unlock methods, the traditional options of the 4-digit passcode, the custom passcode and the TouchID. The Control Center has been given a minor upgrade, while the Notifications area now missing the All and Missed tabs, sees a more dominant Notification tab consisting of both the notifications from All and Missed, while the Today section can be edited from options present at the end.
The notifications pop up has been upgraded to better interact via the same pop up, and notifications can be discarded, responses posted, tasks can be completed and comments and likes can be posted on Facebook among others. Apple has opened up the Notification Center to developers, and soon a lot of apps will have great and very interactive widgets on display.
The task switcher can be accessed by a double tapping the home key, with all open apps displayed as cards with app icons to display which app they represent, and an additional row on top to display the favorite contacts who have been recently contacted – the apps can be switched to or killed, and the contacts can be called or sent a message, from this place.
Another big change is the Spotlight update, which now enables smart suggestions, and these suggestions can now be pulled from iMDb, Wikipedia and other such sources, App Store, iBooks, nearby places, and more – these suggestions now work within Safari also.
A very helpful addition is the “Open With†option, through which files can now be opened into any required app. Battery statistics and usage has finally arrived in Apple.
The Siri assistant received an upgrade, with Shazam integration, and song recognition – just by listening to a song, Siri can recognize the name, the details of the song and can provide an iTunes link for the song. Voice activation is added, and can be enabled by simply saying "Hey Siri". Siri now supports 24 different languages, and can perform actions affecting the iOS like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi control, reading voicemail, brightness controls, etc. Queries can be answered using the internet connectivity at the back, which is always a big help.
Another addition to the growing list of Apple features inspired by Google, is the greatly advertised iOS 8 feature, Handoff. This is very close to the tab sync option from Google Chrome, though it takes the concept to another level. Shifting between different iDevices while the task is at the same state is the basic functionality, and if you are looking for a location on the Maps app on your iPhone 6 and feel the screen is a bit small, you can go to the iPad nearest to you and continue from where you were on your iPhone 6. This feature works on messages and emails, Maps, Calendars, Safari pages, Contacts, Reminders, Keynote and Numbers among others. Even calls and messages can be fetched or sent from any Wi-Fi enabled iOS device, using this feature, like Macs. The core requirement other than iOS 8 devices is that all these be on the same Wi-Fi network, with connectivity enabled via the Hotspot option.
The TouchID sensor that was introduced in the iPhone 5s, is at the same place, i.e. with the Home button, has been improved, given a larger sensor, has better recognition, and takes a 360-degree reading, so that the fingerprint scan is effortless. Passcode is still required as a prerequisite, however. Up to five fingerprint scans are allowed for validation, so that family can be allowed to access too however, this will affect the performance. The TouchID can be used to not only unlock the iPhone, but also for purchases, and can be used for this purpose in iTunes, App Store and the iBooks Store. The TouchID is available for developers from iOS 8, though direct access is not allowed to the fingerprints, only approvals and denials are provided, and there will be a lot more apps coming that use this feature. Apple Pay also utilizes the TouchID, though it is supported via NFC only.
The iCloud has been given a much needed upgrade, evolving to the levels of Dropbox and OneDrive, with instant sync provided for images and videos, and the images are all readily available on the cloud, as well as other iOS devices that you may have. Like other cloud services, the sync feature works on all files that are required to be synchronized. The Handoff feature is dependent on the iCloud for the sync and file availability across devices, and without iCloud, Handoff will not work. The iCloud does provide options to select data from which apps gets to be synced automatically, and whether or not to use data options when there is no Wi-Fi. The iCloud has only 5GB free, and to increase this, you have to pay.
Another feature most useful is the Family Share option, introduced with iOS 8, using this, up to six users can be connected together for purchases via a single card. The card owner can opt to either approve all transactions individually, or simply approve all transactions by the users. The tracking for iPhones present on the Family Share is very helpful, with other iPhones available on a map like display.
The phonebook is the same one that we had in the iPhone 5s. The Blacklist option, as well as Facebook and Twitter integration are available, with the addition of the option to link existing contacts with social contacts. Different tone settings for different users is in place, and iMessage and FaceTime users are identified and merged automatically.
The reception on the iPhone 6 has been taken up from where the iPhone 5s left, which was already pretty good. The multiple mics have been used very intelligently to provide an outstanding in-call experience. Call rejection provides the option to respond via SMS.
Location based reminders are included, and requires GPS which is a bit taxing on the battery. FaceTime comes pre-installed, and can use both Wi-Fi and data network.
Wi-Fi calling has been included in the mix, so that if both devices support this, the calls will be placed via Wi-Fi instead of cellular networks. Of course, this means the audio quality improves with the connectivity speeds, and there are no bills.
Apple's Safari browser invites developers with access to extensions through contextual menus available, supporting things like form auto-fills, translation of web pages, and TouchID security use, among others. The Spotlight search is enabled in Safari, displaying suggestions from different information sources like Wikipedia, App Store and iTunes. The Private Browsing mode has greater intuitiveness and does not convert all open tabs to Private tabs, as before.
Apple provides another feature on the Safari browser, the iCloud keychain, greatly helpful by storing all passwords and credit card info in one location, with a password generator on board. The sync option means all this information is available on all Apple devices on iOS 8. The sync also means tab related information can be synchronized across devices. The Reader mode too is on board.