Ten New Amazing Features You Might Have Overlooked In iOS 8

Am a big fan of iOS 8, one of my favourite feature is the extensions which allow apps to interact with each other in ways previously not possible, and the way in which Apple has opened up the operating system to developers so they can develop new app for the OS.

1. Identify Music 

If you have upgraded to iOS 8 you can now ask Siri "what music is playing"? then it will tell you it needs to listen and check. After the song is identified, it will display a message saying "Ooh, I know this song! It's(TITLE by SING\ER) below" and there will probably be a link to buy the song from Apple store.

2. Check which apps are draining your battery 

Though this feature is not new to Android users, iOS device users can now see exactly what app is draining their battery power. To view those app, just tap Settings> General > Usage > and then Battery Usage. There are two lists: one for the past 24 hours, and another for the last week. For some apps, you'll see that they've been using power when running in the background.

3. Instant reply from lock screen or Notification Centre

If you're currently using iOS 8, Perhaps, you might have know about interactive notifications. Well if you don't know, sit back and read on. When you get a notification, you can swipe it down to display a text box for replying to messages, or buttons for accepting or declining a meeting request.

Moreover, you can also reply to messages from the lock screen? When you switch on your iPhone - or iPad - simply drag the notification to the left to show a Reply button. Similarly, if you miss a notification, you can swipe down from the top to show the Notification Centre and then swipe left on the message to reply.

4. Group messaging

A downside of iOS for many is that there's no way to create groups of contacts. Now, you can sort of, as the Messages app allows you to add several contacts to a conversation, then name that thread, just like whatsapp messaging app.

You can share your location with the group, just as with individual contacts, and mute notifications for the conversation, since they can get rather annoying if lots of people are contributing over a long period. There's also the option to leave the conversation, even if you started it.

5. Siri hands-free

iOS 8 adds a potentially handy feature in that you can call up Siri from the other side of the room (or when driving) even if your iPhone or iPad is in sleep mode. As long as it's plugged into a power source, you can say, "Hey Siri" and it will start up. Very useful for sending messages and other tasks when you're very busy.

6. Instant audio messages and selfies…

Messages has also gained a viber-like microphone icon which, when you tap and hold it, records a short audio clip and sends it when you release the icon.

What's not quite as obvious (because the icon was there in previous versions of iOS) is that you can long-press on the camera icon to bring up a new control for taking photos or videos. By default the front camera is used as it's assumed you want to snap a selfie.

 If you want to send the scene in front of you instead, tap the icon in the top-right corner to switch cameras. You can also send short video clips this way by pressing the red record button instead of the camera icon.
To send a selfie really fast, tap and hold on the camera icon, line up your shot and swipe upwards to take and send it. Be careful when sending photos or videos because it can't be cancel.

7. Minimize an email

When you're composing or replying to an email, it's useful to be able to refer back to older emails. In iOS 8 you can do just that. Just drag down from the top of the email and it will minimise to the bottom of the screen. You can scroll through the messages to which you're replying or swipe to the right to go back to your inbox and look for other emails.

8. Set messages to auto-delete

Set the time you want messages to spend on your device and when the time elapsed, your device will automatically delete the messsages.  Head to Settings and tap on Messages. Scroll down and you can choose when those audio and video messages expire - either after two minutes or never.
However, this doesn't mean the video, photo or audio will be deleted from the other person's device - they can choose to keep the message.

9. Flyover tours

This isn't a new feature in iOS 8, but what you probably dodn't know you can do, is flyover tours of cities in the Maps app. Search for New york, for example, and a banner will appear offering the tour. Tap start and enjoy a 3D flyover complete with named landmarks.

10. Get desktop websites in Safari

Sometimes you don't want to automatically be redirected to a mobile version of a website, but that's fine in iOS 8 as you can tap the address bar and swipe up to see the option to "Request Desktop Site".

If you think we omitted some other features you want us to include to this list, please don't hesitate to share it with  us through the comment section.

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