There are certain things in life that are resilient to change or that are bound to stay the same forever – February 29th happens every four years and some people believe the moon landing was staged. For me, one of those immutable facts used to be that 1Password for iOS couldn’t be as powerful as its Mac counterpart. That changes today with the launch of 1Password 5 for iOS 8, available for free on the App Store.
1Password 5 for iOS 8 Review
iOS 8 Messages: Our Review
Messages for iOS 8 is a feature packed update to what Apple claims is “the most-used app on iOS”. More than simple features, however, Messages for iOS 8 represents a fundamental change in the way Apple wants us to view interacting with friends through our devices. From voice messages to quick camera shortcuts to integration of a simplified Find My Friends in the new Details view for conversations, Apple wants Messages to be about more than just text.
Evernote Brings Widget, Share Extension to iOS 8
I save everything into Evernote. While I’m almost religious about plain text and Markdown for my articles, anything else goes into Evernote: PDFs, screenshots, photos with GPS information, my shared shopping list, and any other note that has a visual component (such as formatting or hyperlinks).
I started using Evernote in 2009, and it’s become an external brain where I archive everything that I need to remember but not store in my own brain. Evernote suffered in its transition to iOS devices as it couldn’t be as flexible as the Mac app: Evernote is only as good as the ways it gives you to create notes, and the iOS app couldn’t use the best one – the clipper.
This is changing today with Evernote 7.5, which adds extensions for iOS 8 to let you save anything from anywhere with just two taps.
iOS 8: Tips, Tricks, and Details
iOS 8 is, by any measure, a big update. A lot of it is refinement to last year’s drastic design overhaul, but there are also a lot of notable new features. Sitting amongst those refinements and big new features are little nuggets of delight in which Apple has designed or implemented something (whether it be a feature, design flourish or a shortcut) that you might not notice until one day you stumble upon it accidentally.
Just like we have in the past few years, we like to find those little gems that come with every brand new version of iOS. So in this post, you’ll find dozens and dozens of tips, tricks, and details of iOS 8 that we’ve collected throughout the summer since the first beta release of iOS 8.
For more iOS 8 coverage, check out our news hub.
iOS 8 Family Sharing Explained: Share Purchases Between Family Members & Much More
Over the past few years it has been possible, but never easy, to have a family with iOS devices where everyone could share purchases but keep their own accounts for other purposes. Thankfully, Apple has recognised this pain point and introduced Family Sharing in iOS 8 which not only streamlines the ability to do certain things that were possible before, but also introduces some new features that makes having a family with iOS devices easier to manage.
To summarise the changes, everyone in a family can now have their own Apple ID but if they also enroll in Family Sharing they will be able to share App/iTunes Store purchases, Photos, location (Find My Friends/Find My iPhone), Reminders, and Calendar events between everyone. Most of that was possible pre-iOS 8 with some trickery and effort, but Family Sharing simplifies it significantly. What is new with Family Sharing is the ability for everyone to have their own Apple ID and share existing purchases or request purchases which will be made from one central account.
MyFitnessPal Adds HealthKit Support, Bringing Its Data to iOS 8’s Health App
Popular food tracker and calorie counter MyFitnessPal, available for free on the iPhone, iPad, web, and other platforms, has today introduced an update for iOS 8 users that adds support for Apple’s new Health app. I’ve been testing the updated MyFitnessPal, and I believe that Health integration has the potential to be a great way to let the app integrate with other services on iOS 8.
Apple: Record 4 Million Pre-Orders of iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Made in 24 Hours
Apple announced this morning that they had seen a record number of first day pre-orders with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with over 4 million pre-ordered in the first 24 hours. Apple notes that the demand well exceeds the initial pre-order supply and many iPhone customers aren’t scheduled to receive their iPhone until October. There will be some additional stock at Apple retail stores and mobile carrier stores on Friday.
“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available from this Friday in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.
The two iPhone models will also launch in another 20 countries on the following Friday, September 26, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.
VARIDESK Adjustable Standing Desk [Sponsor]
It’s no longer a question, it’s a fact: sitting all day is bad for your health. The VARIDESK is a height adjustable standing desk that sits on top of your existing furniture, and allows you to raise from a seated to standing position in just 3 seconds.
It ships fully assembled, and is ready to use right out of the box. There are 4 models to choose from for single and dual monitors starting at just $275; VARIDESK has no fixed installation, there’s a risk free 30-day guarantee, and there’s even a desktop app to set the times you wish to sit and stand during the day.
You can learn more at VARIDESK.com.
Our thanks to VARIDESK for sponsoring MacStories this week.
Apple TV Update Now Available: New Design, Peer-to-Peer AirPlay & Family Sharing
The Apple TV has today received an update which brings a fresh new design that removes skeuomorphic flourishes, adds more vibrant colors and more closely matches the style of iOS 7/8 and OS X Yosemite. Besides the visual refresh, the update also adds support for peer-to-peer AirPlay and the new Family Sharing features in iOS 8.
Supported Apple TV Models
Today’s update is unfortunately only available for the 3rd generation of Apple TVs, which is the 1080p model currently on sale. If you’re not sure which model you have, have a look on the bottom of your Apple TV and if it says Model A1427 or A1469, then you have 3rd generation Apple TV which is eligible. Apple TVs with model number A1378 are unfortunately the 2nd generation models with the older A4 processor and aren’t eligible for the update.
Apple TV (3rd generation) users should be prompted to update their Apple TV when they next turn it on, but you can also manually update by going to Settings > General > Software Updates > Update Software.