✔ Continuity: This concept, enhanced in iOS 8, allows you to move from one iOS device to another to pick up where you left off using a feature called Handoff. For example, you might start to watch a TV show on your iPhone on the train but then pick up where you left off viewing the show on your iPad when you get home. You can even hand off a document or email and start where you left off on another device, as well as have text messages and phone calls ring through from your iPhone to your iPad or Mac.
✔ Improved Notification Center: Notification Center is a centralized location for reviewing things like calendar appointments, messages, and weather, With iOS 8, you can interact with notifications from the center, for example, replying to a message listed there. The new Today view lets you display your choice of notification types on both the Home and Lock screen.
✔ Mail Improvements: In iOS 8, you can access other email messages while composing a new message. You’ll now be prompted to add a phone number or flight number mentioned in an email to your Calendar app. You can also flag or mark email by simply swiping across the screen to access those commands.
✔ Quick Type for iPad Keyboard: Now the iPad onscreen keyboard uses predictive technology to suggest words as you type. The keyboard also notes whether you’re typing an email or message and makes suggestions based on the tone of voice each type of message calls for.
✔ Improvements to the Photos App: To help you organize your photos, in iOS 8 you can now store your photos in iCloud and download them when you want to view them via your iCloud Photo Library. Photos or videos can also be shared among up to six people’s devices using Family Sharing. There are also several improved tools for editing photos in iOS 8.
✔ Shazam: Shazam is a music identifier service that has been integrated into Siri to identify songs and other media as they play around you.
✔ Messaging: The Messages app has some improvements. For example, you can name group messages by swiping down in the Details screen to access the hidden group name setting, and remove people from conversations. You can also set up a Do Not Disturb feature for certain threads so that you’re not interrupted by messages on those threads, and you can record and send voice messages.
✔ Siri Hands-Free: If you are driving or otherwise occupied and want help from Siri, such as getting directions or to send a message, you can use a new feature to open Siri without touching your iPhone – as long as it is connected to a power source. With this feature enabled, all you have to do is say “Hey, Siri,” and your electronic personal assistant opens, ready to hear your wish, which is, of course, Siri’s command.
✔ Instant Hotspot: You’ve been able to use your iPhone as a hotspot in the past, essentially using your iPhone connection to get other devices online. With iOS 8, this personal hotspot is improved; nearby devices such as a computer now automatically display the iPhone as an optional network that you can join to go online.
Choosing the Right iPad for You
Though there are slight differences in thickness and weight among the different generations of the larger iPad model, if you pick up an iPad (see Figure 1-1), you’re not likely to be able to tell one model from another on first glance, except that some are black and some are white or gold or silver. Newer models get gradually thinner and lighter. Still, most of their differences are primarily under the hood.
Figure 1-1: A black iPad has a classic look.
If you’re in the market for a new iPad, Apple’s latest offerings are iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3. The iPad mini is smaller, but its screen resolution matches that of the iPad Air 2. However, the iPad mini 3 lacks a few features of the iPad Air 2, including the Burst and Slo-mo features for the Camera app, the higher-end laminated display and antireflective coating, support for the latest Wi-Fi standard, and the faster A8 processor.
The larger iPad Airs have three variations:
✔ Case color
✔ Amount of built-in memory
✔ Method used for connecting to the Internet: Wi-Fi only, Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and 3G/4G.
Your options in the first bullet point are silver, gold, or space gray, but if you’re confused about the other two, read on; I explain these variations in more detail.
Deciding how much memory is enough
You know that computer memory is a measure of how much information – for example, movies, photos, and software applications, or apps – you can store on a computing device. Memory can also affect your iPad’s performance when handling tasks, such as streaming favorite TV shows from the World Wide Web or downloading music.
Your memory options with an iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3 are 16, 64, or 128 gigabytes (GB). You must choose the right amount of memory because you can’t open the unit and add to it, as you usually can with a desktop computer. There is also no way to directly insert a flash drive (also known as a USB stick) to add backup capacity because iPad has no USB port – or CD/DVD drive, for that matter. However, Apple has thoughtfully provided iCloud, a service you can use to save space by backing up content to the Internet. (You can read more about that in Chapter 5 of this minibook.)
So how much memory is enough for your iPad? Here’s a good rule: If you like lots of media, such as movies or TV shows, and you want to store them on your iPad (rather than experiencing or accessing this content online on sites such as Hulu or Netflix or from your Mac or PC using an app like Air Video), you might need 64GB or more. For most people who manage a reasonable number of photos, download some music, and watch heavy-duty media such as movies online, 64GB is probably sufficient. If you simply want to check email, browse the web, and write short notes to yourself, 16GB might be enough, but for my money, why bother?
What’s the price for more memory? For the iPad Air 2, a 16GB Wi-Fi unit (see the next section for more about Wi-Fi) costs $499; 64GB adds another $100. But doubling that to 128GB adds just $100, boosting the price to $699. If you buy an iPad mini 3, you’re looking at $399, $499, or $599 for the three levels of memory it offers.
Determining whether