iOS 8 review

New features unapologetically round out Apple's previous flat design

"iOS 8 isn't a facelift like last year's update, but new messaging features and third-party extensions for keyboards and Touch ID make iPhone and iPad easier to use than ever. The best has yet to come, with Mac OS X Yosemite promising even better integration next month."

For

• Share location in Messages
• AirDrop between iOS and Mac
• Manual camera controls
• New keyboards
• Third-party extensions

Against

• Best features await OS X Yosemite
• Hey Siri requires plugging-in
• No multitask close all button
• No Control Center customizations

Update: Our iOS 8 review takes into account the new iOS 8.0.2 update that fixes some of the launch problems. We added an updates section accordingly.
There's a lot more to iOS 8 than meets the iPhone. Sure, it doesn't usher in a dramatic new look like last year's mobile operating system makeover from Apple. Instead, it rounds out that flat iOS 7 redesign with less obvious, but equally important extra features.
It's free to download and install iOS 8 today, whether or not you're upgrading to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus for their larger displays. Apple has made the update compatible with iPhone 4S and later, iPad 2 and later, both iPad mini and iPad mini 2 and iPod touch 5th generation. In fact, the iOS 8 compatibility list only severs ties with the now-four-year-old iPhone 4.
Apple's broad legacy device support is complemented by this year's overarching theme of "convergence." iOS 8 features tighter Mac OS X Yosemite integration while loosening the restrictions on extensions and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor for third-party app developers.

Not all of the cross-platform software perks are available right now. OS X Yosemite is still in beta, Apple Pay may have to wait until iOS 8.1 and Apple Watch is expected in early 2015. But Apple's iOS 8 roadmap ties everything together between iPhone, iPad and Macs better than anything Google has envisioned for its Android L beta so far.

Works with everything you see here

Updates

The latest version of the iPhone and iPad software is iOS 8.0.2. It integrates Apple's Health app with data from third-party fitness-focused apps including Jawbone Up, Withings Health Mate and Strava.
It also fixes some of the problems that sent iOS 8 downloaders downgrading to iOS 7. Touch ID, cellular, Wi-Fi and battery drain issues were among the glitches.

iOS 8 Health app finally launches in full thanks to iOS 8.0.2

Not helping the situation was the fact that iOS 8.0.1 broke more features than it fixed. The good news is that, when it works, iOS 8 is a worthy upgrade beyond its initially rough edges.

Design

iOS 8 looks and feels the same on its surface. Apple didn't swap out the default backgrounds or change the way the homescreen functions. However, almost every other menu has design tweaks that make your iPhone and iPad snappier to use.
Double tapping the home button, for example, sends multitasking into overdrive. In addition to its usual swiping through open apps, the top of the screen now features circular profile photos of your most recent contacts.

Your closest contacts appear at the top of the multitasking screen

Swiping to the left lists your favorites in the same setup. This is great for quickly making calls, sending texts and starting FaceTime chats with the most important people in your life. No more digging through the contacts or phone menu anymore.Spotlight serves a better purpose in iOS 8. It now considers broader sources of data including Wikipedia, the news, movie showtimes and suggested websites. It understands your context and location when doing this, which means Apple is taking one aspect of Google Now. Calling or navigating to the local pizza shop is as easy as typing in its name.
More time-savers come in the form of interactive notifications at the top of the screen. Swiping down on incoming message gave me the chance to respond without leaving my current app. This applied to SMS, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages. Even quicker is the way to reply to calendar invites via simple accept or decline buttons. Checking off or snoozing reminders, retweeting or favoriting tweets and trashing or marking as read emails received the same treatment.

Messages

By actually opening up that Messages app, you'll find more more ways to communicate than before. The messages text box is now flanked by a camera and a microphone icon.
The camera icon on the left we've seen before - it previously attached photos to messages. It still does that, but it also does some new tricks. Holding the icon down reveals a menu overlay that enables quick selfies via the front camera and take video. It's faster to send photos and videos than Snapchat, and though it doesn't have the goofy photo editing perks, it's all integrated into the conversation.

Video, audio and location sharing comes to Messages

The new microphone icon on the right isn't for dictation. That's still cramping the spacebar in the bottom left corner of the keyboard. Instead, it opens up a similar menu overlay in which you can record audio messages. Again, it's fast to send and the person doesn't have to load a separate app or player in order to listen. It all happens in-line with the new Messages.You can also share your real-time location in the middle of a Message conversation. This has to be my favorite new addition to iOS 8. I put this to use over the weekend when I arrived at an amphitheater for a comedy tour overrun by 15,000 attendees. I beamed a snapshot of my location to friends without having to randomly describe my surroundings. The map pinpointed where I was at, all from the Messages app.
Your can also share your roaming location for a set period of time: one hour, until the end of the day and indefinitely. It's easier to use than the similar Find My Friends app because there's no setup or separate login screen required. Apple is one step closer to eliminating the pointless "Where are you at? Wait, which street corner?" and I couldn't be happier.
Rounding out the iOS 8 changes to Messages, the new "details" button in the top right corner of conversations replaces "contact" and it's littered with new options. You can set individual and group conversations to "Do Not Disturb" and rifle through attachments including every last photo you've sent someone and they've sent you. Just make sure to delete inappropriate pics before showing off this cool, new feature to mom and dad. 

iOS 8 Health app

Apple needs a little Health from its friends/app partners

We finally got a chance to test out the pre-loaded Health app in full and there's more coming from third-party developers. They just started getting access to the platform with iOS 8.0.2. Apple's stat-tracking ecosystem currently includes 38 apps dividing into two categories: fitness & wellness and food & nutrition. Names like Withings, Jawbone Up, Runtastic, Strava and MyFitnessPal have joined.
Not on the Apple diet is Fitbit, which has refused to sync its popular data with the iOS 8 app for now. It's sticking to its Fitbit Flex and Fitbit Force provided software. The iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can work without these app extras and their wearables. The M7 co-professor logs steps directly from the phone.
Health apps are just getting into their workout routine. Right now, we really like the Apple's well-thought-out and potentially life-saving Medical ID card. It gives you a chance to list your medical conditions, blood type, allergies and medications among other health stats.
Emergency contacts are just one press away, and this data can - optionally - even be access through the lockscreen. If it catches on and medical workers know where to look, it could become vital a tool if you're ever in an emergency.

Odds and ends

These are just the main iOS 8 features that Apple has made available today. There are also smaller tweaks, and future Mac OS X Yosemite integration will one day round out this update package.

Handoff lets you pick up where you left off between devices, but it's not here yet

Take the new battery usage list as a great example. It's buried in the settings menu and isn't a visual show-stopper, but it's important to nearly every power-hungry iPhone owner out there. Knowing why your battery is draining and shutting down background app refresh on weighty apps you had no idea were still open is a feature Android owners have been reveling in.
I just wish there was a "close all" button on the multitasking window to quickly clear all open apps. It's still not here in iOS 8.
Apple also matches Android's "Okay Google" trigger word with "Hey Siri." Siri asks "How can I help you?" without having to hold down the home button. That's great for the car when you want to initiate hands-free driving directions. Sadly, Siri's always-listening mode only works when you're plugged in. We're still waiting for Apple CarPlay to make it even smoother.

Send Last Location will help you find where that dead iPhone was seen last

Just as clutch is the Send Last Location buried within iOS 8's Find My iPhone menu of iCloud. Turn it on to automatically beam your device's location to Apple's servers when the battery becomes critical. You won't be frantically searching for your dead iPhone that way, you'll know if a nefarious crook walked off with it or if it's innocently between the couch cushions... again.

Mac integration and more

The most exciting features for Mac owners who seldom leave their desk during the day have yet to hit the iTunes update screen. iOS 8 promises deeper Mac OS X Yosemite integration with cross-talk between your Apple-owned devices.
In fact, even if you're experimenting with the OS X 10.10 beta, you won't find features like Handoff, which allows you to pick up on a Mac what you've started looking at on an iPhone, and vice versa. This works between iOS and iPad today, but not your biggest screen of all.

You'll be able to respond to all texters, not just fellow Apple iMessage users

AirDrop between iOS devices and Macs is here and you can receive calls on your computer, but we're anxiously awaiting the SMS relay option that mirrors text messages to our Macs. It works exactly like iMessages, but ensures you quit ignoring your green-bubbled Android during the middle of the working day.
We'll update this ongoing iOS 8 review when that happens and as new features are tested out with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

 source:-iOS 8 review