Apple Flurry
The flurry of activity surrounding Apple includes a hugely important update to the iPhone and iPad operating system.
Wednesday's release of iOS 8 brings with it a host of improvements, making fundamental changes to how the mobile devices work. You might not notice an immediate difference, but apps now work better with each other. For example, when I launched my Maps while I was driving it allowed me to immediately check other apps that helped me navigate around traffic.
It's important to note that Apple has decided to stop unlocking phones with IOS 8 for law enforcement. The decision is clearly aimed at easing concern on the part of those wo are upset about the access to user data that Apple has given the government.
Also, Apple delayed the release of its new healthcare-tracking software that's one of the main features of iOS 8. HealthKit won't be available for another week or so as Apple fixes "a bug."
The download and installation of iOS 8 will set you back at least 45 minutes for each device, but we're hearing reports of around two hours for those with slower internet speeds.
Apps are also being updated, but the process of getting them onto the devices is, as usual with Apple, relatively seamless.
Meanwhile, the reviews are in on the new iPhones and they're generally good. But the nation's "newspaper of record," The New York Times, reports the largest of the new smartphones is less than dazzling.
The nice lady ventures to say that you'll have a hard time holding the larger phones because they're so slick and thin. Bloomberg, on the other hand, now says the new phones prove that Apple "can make a bigger phone than anyone else in the marketplace."
Wow!
You'll see a mention there about the new operating systems.
I'm excited since there's a real prospect that developers will finally be able to start making real money because of how much better everything will work with third-party apps. We're talking quantum leaps in functionality.
You can get the iOS 8 update now, but we'll be waiting at least a month for Yosemite, the update to OSX. The general release of Apple's computer operating system will apparently come around the time the new iPads are released, now looking to be around October 21st.
All this is generating a great deal of activity surrounding Apple.
Things don't look to slow down anytime soon since we'll also be paying attention to how the new payment system known as "Pay" comes off, and don't forget that Apple Watch will also become available early in the coming year.
