While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) referred to iOS 8 as “the biggest release since the launch of the App Store,” it’s difficult to see the folks at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) losing to much sleep over it. Apple’s promises provide users of the iconic iPhone the same functionality that Android has been offering for some time.
Apple’s iCloud Photo Library
While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has significantly improved its cloud photo and video storage with iOS 8, it still lags behind Android’s offerings. In the past, users were allowed 1,000 photos for a month. With the new service, users’ photos will be automatically stored in the cloud and can be accessed by any device. Google+ users are accustomed to this but aren’t limited to the 5GB (free) but allowed unlimited storage for both photos and video.
iCloud Drive
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also announced that it was interested in offering a bit of competition to Dropbox and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Drive. iOS will see iPhone and iPad users gifted 5GB of free storage. Android users who use Drive are given 15GB while Dropbox starts free users at 2GB with the potential to raise that number to 20GB by referring others.
iCloud Drive won’t be limited to tablets and the iPhone but will be made available to PC and Mac users as well.
QuickType
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new QuickType keyboard will offer predictive typing that learns your habits. For the first time, Apple will also open its iOS to the same thing Android users are accustomed to, third-party keyboards.
“OK Google er..”Hey Siri”
When the iPhone is plugged to a car, users will simply need to say “Hey Siri” to activate the voice assistant. Additionally, Apple has added 22 new dictation to Siri along with integration with song recognition program Shazam. Nothing new there and it’s beginning to sound like imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery.
Improved Notifications
Ok, interactive notifications. iOS 8 users will now have the option to simply swipe downwards to reply to a text message or like a Facebook post without having to open an application. Once again, something that Android users are already offered.
While there are a few additional benefits built into iOS 8, the new OS is essentially Apple opening up its OS a bit more, something that Android users have grown to know.
