The Top New Features of iOS 8 and its Outstanding Capabilities

The new features of iOS 8 has most Apple lovers in a tizzy because of the strong features that it has introduced. Here are the best features of the platform.

Response to notifications

Responding to notifications has become easy too. One can reply back to messages without having to open the messaging app. The same attribute is added to Calendar notifications, and even Facebook. One can set up the feature from the lock screen, which will shave a few seconds off your response time.

Developers can now resort to building widgets for the notifications drawer wherein real-time updates can be flashed consistently, be it sports, stocks or just about anything else.

Siri is more responsive

Siri is now becoming useful while driving cars with better hands-free use. Hey Siri will now start the assistant and with Shazam, it can now recognize songs and even buy tracks through Amazon.

TouchID for all

Third-party apps can now make use of the TouchID feature with fingerprint data restricted to the phone itself. Now social sharing becomes easy and so do mobile payments.

Mail navigation with a swipe

The Mail app now introduces the option to flag and delete messages with just a single swipe. Swiping down will minimize the draft for accessing other inbox mails. Tapping at the bottom with reopen the draft. You can add calendar events from email directly too.

Spotlight finds more

Similar to the yet-to-be-launched OS X Yosemite, Spotlight in iOS will help you search for apps within the device as well as in web locations from where you might want it to be downloaded from. Search for songs, and Spotlight will show results from the music library and even from iTunes. You can push for local theater listings, and content for streaming.

Keyboard gets smarter

Predictive typing makes it way to iOS, finally in the form of QuickType which will suggest words and phrases depending on the app. It will look the same though, without the row on top indicating the options. Apple now also supports third-party keyboards, including Swype.

Advanced Photos and camera options

iOS 8 provides the Photos App to automatically correct the pictures with smart editing tools along with individual tools available for fine-tuning the images. Now users can adjust exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows and the like. The Photos framework will be available for third party developers to build apps. iOS 8 also allows camera apps for better control with manual adjustment of focus, shutter speed and ISO.

Healthkit unifies medical data

Healthkit aggregates all health related info from different features combining and storing that info in a centralized place. Users can share information received from doctors. If the health levels are not optimal, the app has the ability to contact the hospital and doctor.

HomeKit provides smart home control

With a multitude of smart home devices which are independent of each other, Apple’s HomeKit brings them together under a common network protocol to control all of them. Voice commands will help in monitoring and controlling the different smart home features such as lights, doors, thermostat and the like. Philips and Honeywell are some of the partners for the same.

Family Sharing lets you spread media around

With the family sharing feature, one can share photos and calendar entries within the family and even share iTunes and App Store purchases with up to six people. Also, parents will be notified if their kids are trying to buy something online.

Building on iOS 7′s flat interface, iOS 8 App Development has enabled users to do much more than before. Now, instead of just showing the open apps, it also shows the pictures of people who you connect with on a regular basis. One can communicate in more ways than one through the feature.

Role of iPhone apps in the Tourism Industry

With the advent of the smartphone apps, the tourism industry has been beset with various iPhone apps which are being popular among the masses.

Introduction to iOS Apps for Tourism

With the advent of Apple’s iPhone, smartphones became the latest fad which were desired by many. They ravaged the market like no other technology. Many platforms and mobile operating systems have come into existence since then. As consumers become dependable on smartphones, various apps are being developed to satisfy every need by every industry. New studies from ABI Research reveal, there would be more than 44 billion app downloads by the year 2016.

The recent Global Trends Report by WTM revealed that smartphones are bound to replace Google as the most used and popular tool for the travel industry. The report was made based on the study jointly conducted by Euromonitor international which forecasted intense smartphone penetration of more than 92% in Europe alone by this year. Mobile web browsing is set to supersede PC internet access too according to the report. The tourism industry is aware that already, many Hotel and Flight websites are generating 100,000+ bookings on an annual basis through smartphones which is bound to increase in later years.

iPhone users are known to tinker with several apps of the App Store and with every travel, they are bound to explore new apps of discovery. There are a number of travel-based apps and features which make use of the GPS and can indicate the present location and route of travel towards a preset destination.

Mobile App Development Strategies for Tour Operators

Many iPhone users are known to share their knowledge about the features of apps which they have downloaded to their friends and relatives. Travel-based apps are mostly advertised through mouth publicity and social media. With photo-sharing apps and social media making an unbreakable connection, people like to post travel pictures and videos through social media with a single touch.

It is difficult for today’s time-strapped consumers to research about trips and holidays through a PC or laptop. Journeys are helpful for such people wherein they usually can take time out to research about different places or even in coffee shops where there is no disturbance. Tour operators always believe that they can target apps so that any person can use the smartphone to research about it. With an evolving iPhone and rising consumer expectations about travel packages, a decent holiday and travel research app is what is required.

Tour operators can market their services and schedules through mobile apps, but such an investment cannot be made easily by smaller companies.

Companies have in the past developed free iPhone Travel Apps for consumers which suggest users with a slew of holidays as well as discount offers on trips during a particularly slack season. Such companies introduce cruises, tours, holidays, camps and the like.

Contents of a Typical Tourism App

Tourism apps generally help users to search by holiday type, lifestyle, facilities of the trip, destination and budget. Travel Companies are concerned with providing users with a comprehensive list of travel vendors for their business.

One can create wish lists in their apps even save details of a holiday that is being planned. Suppliers are generally a touch away through such apps too. One can even share details of the trip through social media including emails, Twitter or Facebook.

With tailored tourism apps, tour operators can actually focus on targeted leads and even make the best use of prospects with upsell opportunities for car hire, insurance and the like.

Offshore mobile development is a leading iPhone applications development company that offers tourism solutions.