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What's Coming in iOS 8.1: Apple Pay, SMS Relay, Instant Hotspot, Camera Roll, and More

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During yesterday's iPad-centric media event, Apple executives announced that the first major update to iOS 8, iOS 8.1, would be released to the public on Monday, October 20.

First seeded to developers at the end of September, iOS 8.1 promises to bring a quite a few significant features to the operating system, offering new services and finally allowing Yosemite users to access the full functionality of Continuity.

While some major Continuity features like Handoff and Phone calls on the Mac are working for users who have both an iOS 8 device and a Mac running OS X Yosemite, other features, like SMS relay and Instant Hotspot will not be available until Monday, when iOS 8.1 is released.

With SMS relay, both Macs (running Yosemite) and iOS devices like iPads are able to receive SMS messages that have been routed through a user's iPhone. Currently, while iPads and Macs can receive iMessages, SMS messages are limited to iPhones. When SMS relay is functional, an SMS message that has been received will be forwarded to iPads and Macs, and users will be able to answer all of their messages on any device. It's also possible to start SMS-based conversations directly on a Mac or iPad.

smsrelay.jpg
Instant Hotspot is another facet of Continuity that will be enabled with iOS 8.1. This feature lets a Mac remotely activate the Personal Hotspot capabilities of an iPhone when the two devices are near each other. The Mac can automatically detect an iPhone with Hotspot and users can connect to a Hotspot via the Mac's Wi-Fi menu without needing to remove the iPhone from their pocket.

instanthotspot.jpg
While these two Continuity features were originally slated to launch alongside iOS 8, Apple added a small footnote to its iOS 8 press release suggesting the features were unfinished and would come with the iOS 8.1 update.

iOS 8.1 will enable Apple Pay, a major new service and Apple's first foray into mobile payments. When Apple Pay becomes available on October 20, hundreds of retailers will be prepared to start taking payments using the service, and numerous banks will be on board. With Apple Pay, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users can make purchases solely via their iPhone at any store that accepts contactless payments.

Along with Apple Pay and Continuity features, iOS 8.1 will bring several other minor changes as well, as detailed during Thursday's event. Many users were unhappy with the disappearance of the Camera Roll, which Apple announced will be reinstated in iOS 8.1, and beta iCloud Photo Library access will be provided to all iOS 8.1 users.

icloudphotolibrary.jpg
iCloud Photo Library is designed to store all of a user's photos and videos, making them accessible on all of their iOS devices. iCloud Photo Library is tied to a user's iCloud account, using the storage space of their iCloud plans. With iCloud Photo Library, photos are kept in the cloud with a smaller version available on iOS devices, taking up less storage space. iCloud Photo Library will also tie in to the upcoming Photos app for the Mac, but until that is available, iCloud Photo Library will only be available on iOS devices.

Finally, iOS 8.1 may bring several bug fixes, including a fix for an ongoing Bluetooth issue that has caused some iOS 8 users to have trouble pairing their phones with their Bluetooth devices. Apple has not provided a time for the release of iOS 8.1, stating only that it plans to release the software on Monday.

Article Link: What's Coming in iOS 8.1: Apple Pay, SMS Relay, Instant Hotspot, Camera Roll, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/17/whats-coming-in-ios-8-1/
I wonder what 8.2 and 8.3 will bring. One must certainly be Apple Watch support.
 
SMS relay is all i wanted since day one. lol

8.2 8.3 will probably be iWatch related or perhaps iPad Pro but i get the feeling IF there is a iPad Pro.....it will be a WWDC reveal and worse case a October 2015 keynote presentation
 
pogoyoyo said:
I was pretty mad SMS relay didn't come with 8.0 but was in the beta.
8.1 needs a landscape music app for the 6+. Cover flow is stupid.
Click to expand...

There is no "Cover flow" in the music app. What you're using is a mosaic of album art. In my opinion it's very useful.
 
MacRumors said:
Along with Apple Pay and Continuity features, iOS 8.1 will bring several other minor changes as well, as detailed during Thursday's event. Many users were unhappy with the disappearance of the Camera Roll, which Apple announced will be reinstated in iOS 8.1
Click to expand...

Why they thought removing it was a good idea I'll never know...
 
MacRumors said:
Finally, iOS 8.1 may bring several bug fixes, including a fix for an ongoing Bluetooth issue that has caused some iOS 8 users to have trouble pairing their phones with their Bluetooth devices. Apple has not provided a time for the release of iOS 8.1, stating only that it plans to release the software on Monday.
Click to expand...

But will it fix screen orientation bugs? Very annoying and has made me want to throw my phone a number of times.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6553365
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6544573

Also, when is Apple going to fix Siri?
 
Can anyone confirm that 8.1 will allow you to force the phone to use edge networks. There seems to be mixed reports. With the poor quality of 3G where I am along with the lack of LTE, this could prove useful.
 
i wish apple would just SLOW DOWN.
releasing features that arnt ready for primetime yet.
broken health app.
OS updates that disable features.
bugs galore.
TOO many hands in too many different areas.

wish it was they focused on making their devices perfect than every year overhaul.
god forbid we go ONE year without anything new. would rather have a stable phone for an extra year than a 700$ device that only does 3/4 of what was promised.

iCloud drive??? yeah.
 
Any word from Verizon, AT&T, etc. on the hotspot feature? Is the service going to cost extra or work with our current plans? We all know they won't give you anything for free so I'm expecting the hotspot feature to be blocked.
 
I just want all the bugs fixed, that's all.
I don't know if I am just an unlucky victim, but I keep running into rough patches with iOS8. I can't even update my apps because it asks me for someone else's Apple ID password even though I am logged in with my account, and if I log out and try to update then it just spins forever.
This is one of many software issues I've hit since getting my 6+

First thing I did when I got this phone was clean a lot of photos and texts out. I would spend an hour going through things and deleting, then when I hit delete and they disappear, I leave and do something else on my phone, go back and everything I deleted was back again. Had to do things 2 or 3 times before they actually went away, which is a pain to do when it's something like organizing and such which is attention stressed and time consuming
 
FlyersPh9 said:
Any word from Verizon, AT&T, etc. on the hotspot feature? Is the service going to cost extra or work with our current plans? We all know they won't give you anything for free so I'm expecting the hotspot feature to be blocked.
Click to expand...

If you can make a hotspot with your phone currently, then it should work with Instant Hotspot. AT&T allows mobile share customers to do hotspots, but if you're still on an unlimited plan from yesteryear you will be out of luck.
 
FlyersPh9 said:
Any word from Verizon, AT&T, etc. on the hotspot feature? Is the service going to cost extra or work with our current plans? We all know they won't give you anything for free so I'm expecting the hotspot feature to be blocked.
Click to expand...

On AT&T, it's included with the mobile share plans. It is not included with the grandfathered unlimited plan. I doubt that this will change.
 
irfaanfaki said:
Can anyone confirm that 8.1 will allow you to force the phone to use edge networks. There seems to be mixed reports. With the poor quality of 3G where I am along with the lack of LTE, this could prove useful.
Click to expand...

Dude, that sucks. I had to use Edge back when I had an unlocked 3GS on an "unsupported" network (Cincinnati Bell), and even the difference between that and 3G was insane. The loss of speed between using Edge and LTE would be unbearable to me at this point.
 
I can't wait to use SMS relay. My boss has Android phone so I can't use iMessage via computer. Now when 8.1 becomes out Monday I'll be able to reply back on my laptop instead of texting through my iPhone. Yay!
 
It was really annoying upgrading to Yosemite and realizing all the new features are contingent on 8.1.
 
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