Apple WWDC 2014: iOS 8 has HealthKit app, Family Sharing, Widgets and more

With OS X 10.10 Apple moved its desktop operating system a little closer to the mobile OS. And now with iOS 8, the company is hoping to be a more intrinsic part of your every day life.   Apple’s iOS 8, which was unveiled at the WWDC keynote, has big emphasis on Health and Family. What we thought would be called Healthbook is actually Apple’s new HealthKit, a comprehensive health-tracking ap that can pull in data from third-party apps and can be accessed by healthcare professionals as well, in what is most definitely the biggest health bet any technology company has made.   Samsung et al may have shown inclination for it, but no one is doing it all the way like Apple. Apple partnered with the world-renowned Mayo Clinic to make HealthKit happen, and the Clinic was all praise for Apple’s new innovation in the health sphere.   With HealthKit, your iPhone can keep a tab on your important health metrics on a daily basis, and over a longer period. Nike is among the first companies to partner with Apple for HealthKit. Apple’s tie-ups with other institutions will allow medical professionals to receive and transmit data from your checkups to the cloud for syncing. Apple claims to have deep privacy protections in place to store these sensitive records safely.   The Family Sharing part of iOS 8 part of it involves greater parental control, stronger privacy, and more fun for big groups. iTunes purchases can now be shared with your family, along with calendars, group messages, and more. If you are a parent worried about your kid overspending through in-app purchases, Apple has you covered with its new alert system, that lets parents know when their kids are about to spend. You can even remotely block purchases.  

Finally, iOS has widgets. Users will be able to add widgets in the notification center to show information at a glance. Widgets are part of Apple’s new extensions for apps, which allows iOS apps to talk to one another. This is quite like Android’s intents system, which lets you share things from one app to another or through other third-party apps without any restrictions.

  Notifications have seen a big change. Like Android, users can reply to messages straight from the notification area, and this works on the lock screen too. Other apps can also tap into this functionality, such as accepting event invites, liking Facebook posts and such.

In the task switcher menu, Apple has added recent contacts, while Spotlight search will help you find pretty much anything and not just the stuff on the iPhone or iPad.   Messages is the most-used app on iOS, Apple claims and as a result, they have focussed heavily on new features. Users can now name message threads and exit or enter a thread as they wish. Audio and video messages can also be added, and they have Snapchat-like self-destruct function.   Apple’s stock keyboard will now predict what word you will type next; that’s a feature ripped off directly from SwiftKey, which happens to have an iOS app too.

Siri updates mean you can get the virtual assistant going with just a “hey Siri.” a la OK Google. Following Google’s lead, Apple has opened up a public beta programme for developers, which allows app makers to ship out early releases to advanced or enthusiastic users.