• Read Me First
• Introduction
• What’s New in iOS 8
• What to Check after Installing iOS 8
• Explore the Lock Screen
• Take Control of the iOS 8 Control Center
• Home Screen, Sweet iOS 8 Home Screen
• Switching Apps in iOS 8
• Spotlight on iOS 8 Spotlight
• Pull Down the iOS 8 Notification Center
• Speaking to Siri
• Commanding Keyboards in iOS 8
• All in the Family Sharing
• An Introduction to iCloud
• iOS 8: For Your Health
• There’s an App (Store) for That
• iOS 8 Camera Basics
• Get to Know Photos in iOS 8
• Setting up and Using Mail in iOS 8
• What’s New in iOS 8 Mail?
• Mapping in iOS 8
• Sending a Message in iOS 8
• Tips for Messages in iOS 8
• Phoning It In
• Going on Safari
• Apps to Try in iOS
• A Look at Apple’s Apps
• Managing Share Sheets in iOS 8
• Guarding Your Privacy in iOS 8
• Accessibility in iOS 8
• Managing Data Usage in iOS 8
• Improving Battery Life iOS 8
• iPhone 6 Quirks
• About This Book
• About the Author
• About the Publisher
• Copyright and Fine Print

A Look at Apple’s Apps

Apple includes numerous apps in iOS 8, including a couple of formerly optional apps: iBooks and Podcasts. But you can download many other Apple-developed apps from the App Store You can see some in the figure below ①. I also talk About Handoff in this chapter.

AirPort Utility

If you own an AirPort base station, you need the AirPort Utility app, which lets you view and manage recent AirPort base stations, much like the identically named utility on your Mac ②. It’s particularly handy for checking device status and then restarting the base station if need be.

Apple Store

You can use the Apple Store app to buy products from Apple’s online store, but it’s also useful for scheduling Genius Bar appointments ③, and you can even use it to pay for products at physical Apple Stores without human intervention. The app also frequently offers a free weekly download from one of Apple’s digital stores, so it’s worth opening every week or so.

Beats Music

Although it was acquired by Apple, Beats Music fits right into the lineup ④. Beats Music is a unique streaming music service with an emphasis on human curation. The app is free, but the service costs $9.99 per month, with a 14-day free trial. For an in-depth look, see my TidBITS article FunBITS: What Sets Beats Music Apart.

Find My iPhone

If you were wise enough to enable Find My iPhone on any of your Apple devices (see Setting up Find My iPhone), then the corresponding Find My iPhone app (which works on all iOS devices) is a must.

From the app, you can locate a lost device on a map. And, if you can’t find it (or are afraid that it has fallen into the wrong hands), you can tell it to erase itself. One of my favorite features lets me play a homing chime on a lost device, even if it’s in silent mode. This is handy when I’ve misplaced the iPad in my house. Again.

Find My Friends

While Messages can now help you keep tabs on friends (see Share Your Location), its tracking powers pale to those of the Find My Friends app ⑤. Its map shows everyone who has shared locations with you, and lets you set alerts for when someone arrives at or leaves a location.

GarageBand

One of the coolest iOS apps is GarageBand. GarageBand is essentially a multitrack recording studio that lets you create music on your devices. GarageBand has a virtual keyboard, guitar, bass, drums, and more, plus the capability to use MIDI input from external instruments.

iMovie

The included Photos app offers some basic video-editing functionality, but iMovie expands on those capabilities, letting you turn those video clips into full-featured productions ⑥ with title cards, video filters, and more.

iTunes Movie Trailers

Do you like movies? Do you want to see trailers for upcoming movies? Then iTunes Movie Trailers is the app for you.

iTunes U

If you’re at all interested in education, you need iTunes U. The app offers all sorts of courses—at all levels of instruction—(often) for free, and lets teachers and students manage and follow entire classes.

iWork

The iWork suite—Pages, Numbers, and Keynote—lets you create and edit documents ⑦, spreadsheets, and presentations, respectively.

Each app can be configured to sync files through iCloud Drive, so those documents are available on all your devices (including your Mac), and even on the Web.

Remote

Do you hate losing your Apple TV remote? Or do you just hate the Apple TV remote itself? The Remote app can control your Apple TV—or iTunes on your Mac—and in some cases do a better job of it. For example, it’s much easier to browse and search your media library using the app than with the Apple TV remote.

About Handoff

New in iOS 8 and Yosemite, Handoff that lets you seamlessly transfer your work between devices. For example, you can start drafting an email message on your iPad and switch to your iPhone to finish, or you can hand a Web site from iPhone’s Safari off to your iPad.

Apple’s Mail, Maps, Messages, and Safari apps support Handoff, and developers can add Handoff to their apps.

Using Handoff

1. Be sure Handoff is enabled in Settings > General > Handoff & Suggested Apps.
2. Open an app that supports Handoff and begin working in a message or document.
3. Now, switch to a different device.
4. If the receiving device is asleep, wake it and look for an app icon in the lower left of the Lock Screen—for example, if you were viewing a Web page in Safari, you see a Safari icon ⑧. Slide that icon up (entering your passcode, if needed) to complete the handoff.
   

   ⑧ To accept Handoff data, slide the app icon up on the Lock screen.

   Or, if the receiving device is awake, double-press the Home button to bring up the App Switcher, then swipe to the right, past the Home screen preview, to reveal the Handoff app ⑨. Tap it to open the app and complete the handoff.

If there is a discrepancy between two apps—for example, if you start an email message using an account that doesn’t exist on the other device—you’ll see a communication error.

Copyright © 2014, Josh Centers. All rights reserved.