iOS 8 is scheduled to roll out on Wednesday, just two days before the official release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, one of the new features Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) showed off earlier this year won’t be coming with it.
SMS Continuity delayed
The new version of Apple’s mobile operating system will have SMS Continuity eventually though. The feature allows users to both send and receive MMS and SMS text messages between an iPad or Mac computer and a non-iOS device.
iLounge was the first to spot the new release date for the iOS 8 feature. Apple’s website now says the Continuity feature won’t be available until sometime next month. It’s possible that Apple will roll out that feature along with the Mac OS X Yosemite launch, but it’s unclear if this is what the company is really planning.
Apparently developers did have access to Continuity previously, but they have now found that it is unavailable for testing.
What’s new in iOS 8?
Although Continuity won’t be out as part of iOS 8 in time for the mobile operating system’s release, there are plenty of other features that will. The new HomeKit and HealthKit APIs are ready, as is the Health app. The new version of iOS offers plenty of new capabilities for health applications and connected homes, although the design of the operating system will not change much.
iOS 8 will also bring widgets along with it—finally—and access to keyboards developed by third parties. Also users will finally be able to swipe between letters while typing, as the new SwiftKey feature will arrive as part of the operating system.
Apple will make iOS 8 available for users of the iPhone 4S or newer, the iPad and third generation iPad, the iPad Mini and the iPad Mini with Retina display. As is usually the case, users should expect at least a few bugs with the rollout. Last year’s iOS update certainly didn’t go smoothly for many users.
