While it's easy to look back on the decade and remember all the great hardware and new devices that came out from Apple, it's easy to overlook the software that makes the iPhone what it is.

In 2014, iOS 8 was released alongside the iPhone 6, and it came with some huge improvements and new features that would prove to be instrumental in how people use their Apple devices and what direction the company would take in the future.

The start of Continuity

When you ask people why they have stuck with Apple, you'll get a lot of different answers, but one answer you hear a lot is that people love the "Apple ecosystem." The way different Apple devices work hand-in-hand with other Apple devices makes life easier for a lot of people and is a huge draw for Apple. Well, iOS 8 was a huge step forward for Apple's ecosystem since it brought the launch of Continuity.

Continuity is what allows communication between Apple devices. It's the reason you can take phone calls on your Mac and iPad and the reason you can send SMS messages on your Mac and iPad. More importantly, Continuity launched with the Handoff feature, which allowed you to start a task on one device and continue on another. If you started writing a note on your iPhone, you could easily finish typing it on your Mac and vice-versa.

Since iOS 8, Continuity has only become more and more useful, and Apple has doubled down on expanding its ecosystem. The future of how we use our Apple devices (especially different devices together) has forever been shaped by iOS 8.

Apple gets healthy

When Apple launched the Health app (and HealthKit), it may have been pretty barebones compared to what it is today, but there's no question that, when it was announced in 2014, it started Apple on a health journey.

The Health app was about more than just counting steps or how many floors you climbed — which the app would do using the iPhone's internal sensors — but was a place for developers to aggregate health data from different fitness apps. Little did we know at the time that the Apple Watch was going to come out the next year, and completely blow the lid off of Apple's dedication to health.

Over the years, HealthKit and the Health app have gone through a ton of changes, and Apple keeps pumping out new features for iPhone and Apple Watch to help users get a better insight into their health.

A strong year for iOS

You may not think of every new version of iOS is something to write home about, and you'd be right. Plenty of years, the innovation of the newest iOS can feel minimal when you look at it in a vacuum; however, when you look at the bigger picture, something like iOS 8 looks pretty monumental.

Continuity really solidified Apple's commitment to making your workflow feel way more seamless when using multiple devices. The Health app was the very beginning of Apple's commitment to using its products to help people with their health — even if, at the time, it was a little barebones.

Those are only two big changes that were included in iOS 8, plenty of other changes were brought in during the lifetime of iOS 8 that changed the Apple software forever. That's why, when it comes to significant Apple innovations over the years, I'll always remember 2014 for bringing us iOS 8.

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Apple has just released iOS 8.4.1, which includes fixes for, among other things, Apple Music. It also includes some improvements to accessibility, primarily where it comes to Apple's screen-reader, VoiceOver.

The improvements should make it easier for people with limited or no vision to access the additional information and controls available in Apple Music. That includes, for example, following and unfollowing artists in Connect.

iOS 8.4.1 is available via iTunes on the Mac or Windows, or on-device via Software Update.

• How to download and install iOS 8.4.1

As part of the iOS 8.4 update, which brought Apple's new Music app and streaming service, Apple has also added a number of improvements to its iBooks app. One of these changes means that iBooks is now the destination for your audiobooks. You can find, download, and listen to audiobooks from the app. Previously, audiobooks were found as a part of the Music app.

iBooks on iOS 8.4 also adds support for iBooks Author-created books, and Made for iBooks content, on the iPhone. Check out below for the full list of iBooks changes in iOS 8.4:

• Browse, listen, and download audiobooks from inside iBooks
• Enjoy the all-new Now Playing feature, designed specifically for audiobooks
• Books that are Made for ibooks now work on iPhone in addition to iPad
• Find and pre-order books in a series right from your library
• Improves accessibility of widgets, glossary and navigation in books made with iBooks Author
• New default Chinese font
• New setting to turn off Auto-Night theme in your library
• Resolves an issue that may have prevented Hide Purchases from working
• Resolves an issue that may have prevented downloading books from iCloud

To take advantage of these new features, be sure to download iOS 8.4.

Apple announced that iOS 8.4 along with its premiere features—a new Music app, Apple Music, Beats 1, and Connect—would be launching on June 30, 2015. The company even created a Facebook event for the launch. Now, however, Ian Rogers, former CEO of Beats and current Senior Director of Apple Music, has written a blog post giving a precise go-live time for both iOS 8.4 and Beats 1: 8am PT and 9am PT respectively.

Apple typically puts new versions of iOS live at around 10am PT. If Apple is indeed deviating from that, it could be because this specific software launch is also tied not only to a services launch, but to a massive international media launch anchored in Los Angeles, New York, and London—Pacific, Eastern, and British Summer Time respectively.

Rogers also expounds on the importance of the launch, as he sees it:

For anyone who's had a hard time wrapping their heads around Apple Music, and why a company like Apple would spend so much time and money on it, and give it top-level exposure from the company, this is why.

Apple executives almost always say what they mean on stage and what they've said about music is that it matters to the company and to them at a core level. Music is in their DNA. That doesn't mean they'll always get it right, or that it's meant to be a revenue generator like iPhone or iPad or the Mac.

It means at the very highest levels of Apple, they think there are problems in modern digital music that the company is in a unique position to solve by offering a great product and experience. In this case, a "single thought around music"—purchases, streaming, radio, locker, and social components all integrated together and available in one place.

And come Tuesday, starting at 8am PT, we'll get the first indications of how well Eddy Cue, Jimmy Iovine, Trent Reznor, Ian Rogers, and everyone else at Apple have done.

For more on Apple Music, see our comprehensive Apple Music FAQ, and then join us Tuesday for complete coverage.

While Apple is working on a fix for the bug that causes Messages and notifications to crash iOS 8, there are several things you can do right now to help prevent your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch from being affected, and to try to recover if you've already been affected.

1. Unless you have reason to believe you're a target, you probably only need to do this until your friends' attention span lapses and they move on to the next prank.
2. We've had luck with these methods. They may or may not work for everybody. Other people may or may not have had luck with other methods, up to and including a restore with Messages or notifications disabled. Make sure you let us know in the comments what's worthing for you!

Update from Apple

Apple has posted a fix in the company's knowledge base{.nofollow}. It's similar to the Siri fix we listed below, but more specific and worth trying first:

Ask Siri to "read unread messages."

1. Use Siri to reply to the malicious message.
2. After you reply, you'll be able to open Messages again.
3. In Messages, swipe left to delete the entire thread. Or tap and hold the malicious message, tap More, and delete the message from the thread.

How to prevent crashes from the lock screen

1. Launch the Settings app from your or iPad iPhone Home screen.
2. Tap on Notifications.
3. Tap on Messages.
4. Toggle Show on Lock Screen to OFF.
   
   

How to prevent Apple Watch crashes

1. Launch the Apple Watch app from your iPhone or iPad Home screen.
2. Tap on Notifications.
3. Tap on Messages.
4. Tap on Custom.
5. Toggle Show Alerts to OFF.
   
   

How to clear notification center to prevent crashes

If you've already received the bad Unicode string maliciously or as a prank, send yourself or have someone else send you a clean message to the same app.

1. Hold down the Home button to launch Siri.
2. Say "Send a message to [name]".
3. Say "Send it" or tap Send.
   
   

You can also use the Share Sheet.

1. Launch Photos from your iPhone or iPad Home screen.
2. Tap on any Photo.
3. Tap on the Share button.
4. Tap on the Messages icon.
5. Enter the recipient.
6. Tap Send.
   
   

That should fix the notification crashes, but you still won't be able to open any conversation or screen that contains the bad string.

If you've been affected by the bug, or found any other fixes, please let us know.

Nick Arnott contributed to this article.

Updated to include a fix posted by Apple.

The biggest new feature appears to be a revamped Music app that includes a streamlined version of iTunes Radio. It comes amid rumors that Apple is set to debut a new music streaming service sometime around WWDC 2015 this June.

The developer release of the iOS 8.4 beta comes just under a week after Apple released iOS 8.3 to the public, so the company appears to be intent on keeping up momentum through the spring.

While today's beta release is developer-only, iOS 8.3 went through a period of invite-only public beta testing, so it's possible that iOS 8.4 may do the same.

A lot of us depend on iMessage to communicate with friends, family, clients, and colleagues. That means not every message we receive is attached to someone in our contacts. If you keep finding yourself buried in tons of iMessage threads, some less important than others, here's how to filter out messages from those you don't have saved.

Keep in mind that filtering unknown senders also disables notifications for those senders. If you depend on messages from clients, you may want to consider whether or not you want this option enabled. For example, if you frequently receive important messages from unknown numbers, this may not be the best option for you.

However, if you prefer not receiving notifications for anyone not in your contacts, continue on.

How to filter out iMessages from unknown contacts

1. Launch the Settings app
2. Tap on Messages.
3. Turn On the option for Filter Unknown Senders.
4. In the Messages app you'll now see a tab at the top to view unknown senders.

We've not been able to duplicate the problem on any of our devices, but after helping several people, we have come across what looks to be a working Touch ID fix for those affected. Best of all, it's a simple one!

How to fix Touch ID not working in iOS 8.3

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap on Touch ID & Passcode
3. Enter your Passcode or Password
4. Toggle iTunes & App Store to OFF
5. Press the Home button to return to the Home screen.
6. Reboot your iPhone or iPad. (Here's how)
7. Enter your Passcode or Password at the Lock screen
8. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad
9. Tap on Touch ID & Passcode
10. Enter your Passcode or Password
11. Toggle iTunes & App Store to ON

That should fix any issues with using Touch ID to authorize App Store or iTunes Store purchases.

For in-app use, remember you may have to enter a password in the specific app before Touch ID will work again in an extension (because your iPhone or iPad rebooted during update). For example, you'll have to launch the 1Password app and enter your Master Password at least once before the 1Password action extension will work with Touch ID in other apps.

With any luck, that'll get Touch ID working again for you in iTunes and App Store, and you'll be happily authorizing away! If you're having the problem, let me know if this fixed you up!

The third major update for iOS 8, 8.3 adds a number of improvements, including over 300 new and diverse emoji characters. Also added in this update are a number of performance fixes. You can check out the full list of changes below:

This release includes improved performance, bug fixes, and a redesigned Emoji keyboard. Changes include:

Improved performance for:

• App launch
• App responsiveness
• Messages
• Wi-Fi
• Control Center
• Safari tabs
• 3rd-party keyboards
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Simplified Chinese keyboard

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixes

• Fixes an issue where you could be continuously prompted for login credentials
• Addresses an issue where some devices disconnect intermittently from Wi-Fi networks
• Fixes an issue where hands-free phone calls could become disconnected
• Fixes an issue where audio playback could stop working with some bluetooth speakers

Orientation and rotation fixes

• Addresses an issue that sometimes prevented rotating back to portrait after having rotated to landscape
• Improves performance and stability issues that occurred when rotating the device between portrait and landscape
• Fixes an issue where device orientation appeared upside down after pulling the iPhone 6 Plus from your pocket
• Resolves an issue that sometimes prevented apps from rotating to correct orientation after switching apps in multitasking

Messages fixes

• Addresses issues that caused group messages to sometimes split
• Fixes an issue that sometimes removed the ability to forward or delete individual messages
• Resolves an issue that sometimes prevented a preview from appearing when taking a photo in Messages
• Adds the ability to report junk messages directly from the Messages app
• Adds the ability to filter out iMessages that are not sent by your contacts

Family Sharing fixes

• Fixes a bug where certain apps would not launch or update on family members' devices
• Fixes a bug that prevented family members from downloading certain free apps
• Increased reliability for Ask to Buy notifications

CarPlay fixes

• Fixes an issue where Maps could come up as a black screen
• Fixes an issue where the UI could be incorrectly rotated
• Fixes an issue where the keyboard could appear on the CarPlay screen when it shouldn't

Enterprise fixes

• Improves reliability of installing and updating enterprise apps
• Corrects the time zone of Calendar events created in IBM Notes
• Fixes a problem that could cause web clip icons to become generic after restarting
• Improves reliability of saving the password for a web proxy
• Exchange out-of-office message can now be edited separately for external replies
• Improves recovery of Exchange accounts from temporary connection problems
• Improves compatibility of VPN and web proxy solutions
• Allows use of physical keyboards to log into Safari web sheets, such as for joining a public Wi-Fi network
• Fixes an issue that caused Exchange meetings with long notes to be truncated

Accessibility fixes

• Fixes an issue where using the back button in Safari causes VoiceOver gestures to not respond
• Fixes an issue where VoiceOver focus becomes unreliable in draft Mail messages
• Fixes an issue where Braille Screen Input cannot be used to type text in forms on webpages
• Fixes an issue where toggling Quick Nav on a Braille Display announces that Quick Nav is off
• Fixes an issue keeping app icons from being moveable on home screen when VoiceOver is enabled
• Fixes an issue in Speak Screen where speech will not start again after pausing

Other improvements and bug fixes

• Introduces a redesigned Emoji keyboard with over 300 new characters
• iCloud Photo Library has been optimized to work with the new Photos app on OS X 10.10.3 and is now out of beta
• Improves the pronunciation of street names during turn-by-turn navigation in Maps
• Includes support for Baum VarioUltra 20 and VarioUltra 40 braille displays
• Improves the display of Spotlight results when Reduce Transparency is turned on
• Adds Italic and Underline format options for iPhone 6 Plus landscape keyboard
• Adds the ability to remove shipping and billing addresses used with Apple Pay
• Additional language and country support for Siri: English (India, New Zealand), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Swedish (Sweden), Thai (Thailand), Turkish (Turkey)
• Additional dictation languages: Arabic (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and Hebrew (Israel)
• Improves stability for Phone, Mail, Bluetooth connectivity, Photos, Safari tabs, Settings, Weather and Genius Playlists in Music
• Addresses an issue where Slide to Unlock could fail to work on certain devices
• Addresses an issue that sometimes prevented swiping to answer a phone call on the Lock screen
• Addresses an issue that prevented opening links in Safari PDFs
• Fixes an issue where selecting Clear History and Website Data in Safari Settings did not clear all data
• Fixes an issue that prevented autocorrecting "FYI"
• Addresses an issue where contextual predictions did not appear in Quick Reply
• Fixes an issue where Maps did not enter night mode from hybrid mode
• Resolves an issue that prevented initiating FaceTime calls from a browser or 3rd-party app using FaceTime URLs
• Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented photos from properly exporting to Digital Camera Image folders on Windows
• Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented an iPad backup from completing with iTunes
• Fixes an issue that could cause Podcast downloads to stall when switching from Wi-Fi to cellular networks
• Fixes an issue where remaining time on timer would sometimes incorrectly display as 00:00 on Lock screen
• Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented adjusting call volume

iOS 8.3 was the first version of the operating system to be added to Apple's invitation-only AppleSeed testing program. This meant that more users were able to test the update and send feedback to Apple before public release than previous versions. Hopefully, this practice will lead to more stable software going forward.

Apple has also released OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, which includes the new Photos for Mac app, giving you access to your iCloud Photo Library right on your Mac.

• How to upgrade your iOS device over the air
• How to upgrade your iOS device using iTunes

Literally nothing. Everything just freezes up and seems to hang for a while. Eventually the confirm delete dialog box pops up, but it takes way longer than it should. Instead of letting you quickly delete an app and get on with using your device, it just feels like everything is locked up and you're stuck. If you're experiencing this problem on iOS 8 here's the good news — there is a workaround, and we're tacking it on this week's iOS Help.

Not everyone seems to experience this issue but those that do seem to typically have the following things in common: Those who experience hanging typically have the following things in common:

• Lots of apps installed on your iPhone or iPad (200+)
• Lots of apps running in the background
• iOS 8.0 or higher

Luckily, there is a way to stop the freezing issue from happening, at least until Apple issues a permanent fix.

How to stop your iPhone or iPad from freezing when deleting apps

This issue seems to result from a way iOS handles memory. Closing all open apps from the multitasking section of iOS before trying to delete an app solves the problem. If you don't know how to do that, just follow these steps:

1. Double tap your Home button on your iPhone or iPad to bring up multitasking.
2. Swipe all open apps up in order to close them.
3. You can touch and throw away up to three apps at once to save time

Once all the apps have been closed, try deleting an app again. The freezing should be gone.

Special thanks to Ratkat on Twitter for pointing out this workaround!

iOS 8.2 brings support for the upcoming Apple Watch. This includes the Apple Watch app, which will let you pair your watch to your phone, as well as download apps for it. The initial beta release of iOS 8.2 included the WatchKit SDK, which allows developers to build apps for the Watch.

Below is the full list of changes found in iOS 8.2:

This release introduces support for Apple Watch, and also includes improvements to the Health app, increased stability and bug fixes.

Apple Watch support

• New Apple Watch app to pair and sync with iPhone, and to customize watch settings
• New Activity app for viewing fitness data and achievements from Apple Watch; appears when Apple Watch is paired
• Available on iPhone 5 and later

Health app improvements

• Adds the ability to select the unit of measurement for distance, body temperature, height, weight and blood glucose
• Improves stability when dealing with large amounts of data
• Includes the ability to add and visualize workout sessions from 3rd-party apps
• Addresses an issue that may have prevented users from adding a photo in Medical ID
• Fixes units for vitamins and minerals
• Fixes an issue where Health data wouldn't refresh after changing data source order
• Fixes an issue where some graphs showed no data values
• Adds a privacy setting that enables turning off tracking of steps, distance and flights climbed

Stability enhancements

• Increases stability of Mail
• Improves stability of Flyover in Maps
• Improves stability of Music
• Improves VoiceOver reliability
• Improves connectivity with Made for iPhone Hearing Aids

Bug fixes

• Fixes an issue in Maps that prevented navigating to some favorite locations
• Addresses an issue where the last word in a quick reply message wasn't autocorrected
• Fixes an issue where duplicate iTunes purchased content could prevent iCloud restore from completing
• Resolves an issue where some music or playlists didn't sync from iTunes to the Music app
• Fixes an issue where deleted audiobooks sometimes remained on device
• Resolves an issue that could prevent call audio from routing to car speakers while using Siri Eyes Free
• Fixes a Bluetooth calling issue where no audio is heard until the call is answered
• Fixes a timezone issue where Calendar events appear in GMT
• Addresses an issue that caused certain events in a custom recurring meeting to drop from an Exchange calendar
• Fixes a certificate error that prevented configuring an Exchange account behind a third-party gateway
• Fixes an issue that could cause an organizer's Exchange meeting notes to be overwritten
• Resolves an issue that prevented some Calendar events from automatically showing as 'Busy' after accepting an invite

During their announcement of Apple Watch in September 2014, Apple said that the Watch would be compatible with several iPhone models. In addition to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Watch is expected to be compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s.

Follow the links below for instructions on upgrading your iPhone or iPad, either over the air or through iTunes.

• How to upgrade your iOS device over the air
• How to upgrade your iOS device using iTunes

Apple sped up the animations before release, but for some they still felt too slow. Since iOS 8 didn't fundamentally change the animations curves, that perception has lingered. Recently, to highlight the difference between pre-iOS 7 and post-iOS 7 animations, Omni developer William Van Hecke made a video:

Van Hecke attributes the difference to a change in interruptibility — Springboard previously allowing you to act before an animation finishes versus now making you wait until the animation finishes before you can act.

It's my understanding, however, that iOS animations have never been interruptible. They simply ended quickly pre-iOS 7 and now, post-iOS7, they ease out.

Whether shorting the animation tails or making the animations interruptible is the best way to reverse the feeling and the perception of slowness Hecke refers to, I don't know enough to say. Either way, and to his credit, Van Hecke filed the issue with Apple's bug reporter:

More information on the animations from former UIKit engineer Andy Matuschak:

The iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite beta 2 updates are part of Apple's ongoing efforts to address diversity, and it's extending beyond organization and into software, with a much wider array of cultures and ethnicities for face and hand symbols.

Emoji have become popular because they're efficient, sometimes amusing, but mostly humanizing. They allow for the inclusion of emotion and feeling beyond what plain text can transmit. It's for that very reason that emoji need to be inclusive — so that people everywhere can see themselves reflected in their use.

The way it works is like this: The iOS 8.3 or Yosemite keyboards starts off with a "neutral" (i.e. classic yellow) emoji. Tap/click and hold and you get five alternate skin tone options. These are based on the Fitzpatrick scale for standard dermatological representation, as adopted by the Unicode Consortium.

In addition to the flags and skin tones, there's also greater gender diversity for families, new electronics, and more. No word yet on some of the more controversial elements of the new Unicode standard.

iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3 are still in beta, so it's possible that the exact number, style, color, and character of the new emoji will change between this beta and its release — expected some time this spring.

It's great to see Apple using its popularity and power to push for more and better inclusivity. Hopefully it's just the beginning, and for all platforms.

• How to enable emoji on your iPhone or iPad

3:30pm: Updated with implementation details and OS X 10.10.3 integration.

This how-to is part of our iOS Help feature, where every week I try and help you fix the problems you're having with your iPhones and iPads. If you have a question or need help with something iOS related that you just can't figure out, I encourage you to drop a question in our iMore forums or email ioshelp@imore.com!

This week's question comes to us from William:

William, you definitely aren't the only person having issues with keyboard shortcuts, particularly after updating to iOS 8. Whether they're just not syncing or you find them disappearing from a particular device altogether, here are some suggestions on how to get them back in working order again!

1. Turn off predictive text

Some folks have had luck simply turning off the predictive text feature in the Settings app. It's more of a workaround than an actual solution, but it's the easiest one to rule out first. To turn off predictive text, just follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Keyboards.
4. Turn Off the option for Predictive.
5. Reboot your iPhone or iPad and try using keyboard shortcuts again.

If keyboard shortcuts are back to normal, you're good to go. If not, continue on.

2. Toggle Documents & Data on and off

If you don't have iCloud Drive turned on and you're not on iOS 8.1 or above, you will still see a Documents & Data option under iCloud. If you are on iOS 8.1 or newer, you will not see Documents & Data, so skip to step 3 now.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on iCloud.
3. Tap on Documents & Data.
4. Turn Off the option for Documents & Data.
5. Reboot your iPhone or iPad and turn the option back On.
6. Test to see if your keyboard shortcuts are now working.

3. Toggle iCloud Drive on and off

If you are using iCloud Drive already, complete this step.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on iCloud.
3. Tap on iCloud Drive.
4. Turn iCloud Drive Off.
5. Reboot your iPhone.
6. Turn iCloud Drive back On and test keyboard shortcuts.

If they still aren't working, continue on.

4. Sign in and out of iCloud

A last resort is to completely sign in and out of iCloud. You'll want to do this on all devices linked to your iCloud account, one at a time.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap on iCloud.
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and tap Sign Out.
4. Tap Sign Out in the popup menu.
5. Tap *Delete from My iPhone** in the second popup menu.
6. Type in your password to disable Find My iPhone if you're prompted and tap Turn Off.
7. Once you are signed out of iCloud, reboot your iPhone or iPad by holding down the power and Home button until you see the Apple logo.
8. Sign back into iCloud in the Settings app.

What worked for you?

We hope one of these suggestions gets your keyboard shortcuts working again William. And for anyone else out there having issues with keyboard shortcuts, give these a try and let us know in the comments what worked for you!

Apple has just released iOS 8.1.3 for iPhone and iPad devices. The over-the-air update has a number of fixes and improvements, including one that should cut down on the amount of storage needed for future software updates.

Here's the change log for iOS 8.1.3, the download for which should be around 240MB, depending on which device you're downloading it on.

• Reduces the amount of storage required to perform a software update
• Fixes an issue that prevented some users from entering their Apple ID password for Messages and Face Time
• Addresses an issue that caused Spotlight to stop displaying app results
• Fixes an issue which prevented multitasking gestures from working on iPad.
• Adds new configuration options for education standardized testing.

If you'll recall, the iOS 8.1.1 update returned some 500MB of free space to users. The free space needed to implement the many major under-the-hood changes that comprised iOS 8 did cause some grief for many updaters, so hopefully after installing iOS 8.1.3 we won't have to resort to less civilized means of updating when the next update comes along.

Update: The installation for iOS 8.1.3, by all accounts so far, has been exceptionally quick and easy.

Non-interruptive as well:

And space-saving:

The stability of Apple's platforms has been the subject of a lot of debate recently. Whether you agree with it or not, there's a growing sentiment that the quality of Apple's software has gone downhill in recent years, and that some form of "Snow Leopard moment" is needed to get it back on track. Our own Peter Cohen tackled the issue back in November:

Marco Arment brought a ton of attention to it, and made some excellent points both on his show, ATP, and on John Gruber's The Talk Show, as did many, many others.

I also loved Rich Stevens' take on it in last week's pixel project comic:

It reminded me of something I wrote two years ago called Seeing Apple through rose colored blasters:

Being passionate and advocating for change is exactly what Peter and Marco were doing. Unfortunately, keeping it in context is what people re-blogging them often missed. Ashley Nelson-Hornstein, however, missed nothing:

On Daring Fireball, Gruber expressed something similar:

For historical context, Gruber also linked a 2004 Ars Technica piece by Eric Bangeman about the last time Apple was caught in such an era:

OS X 10.0 to OS X 10.5 included the transition from classic Mac OS to NeXT-based technologies, the adoption of Aqua, an entirely new interface and design language, and the switch from PowerPC to Intel. It also set Apple up for the current leap forward — increasingly light, increasingly power-efficient mobile devices.

That era was famously capped off by Snow Leopard, when Tevanian's successor, Bertrand Serlet, convinced Steve Jobs to let them spend the majority of OS X 10.6 tightening the screws on everything they'd done before. There was 64-bit, Grand Central, and OpenCL under the covers, but mostly there was a focus on refining projects that had already been put in place by Leopard. Marketing came up with the "no new features" hook, figuring going all-in was the best way through, and engineering, without even bothering with a wine name, made it happen.

What we're in now is another period of transition. iOS 7 included an entirely new interface and iOS 8, a major functional upgrade. OS X Yosemite included a bit of both. They also set Apple up for the next leap forward — increasingly decoupled, increasingly interchangeable end-points.

Take the Apple Watch by way of example. It's going to rely on extensibility so that the iPhone can project information and apps onto its screen. And because that screen is small, it's going to rely on continuity so it can handoff any activity that requires more involved interaction back to the iPhone.

Those technologies (or something like them) had to be in place for the Apple Watch (and other future devices) to ship. Sure, Apple could have taken longer to roll them out and they could have moved the watch from this year to next, but then we'd have spent another year hearing about how Apple was no longer innovating, how they were falling behind, and how they were doomed.

Instead, iOS 7, iOS 8, and OS X Yosemite shipped almost every major feature, and set up almost every new device, people had been asking for. The greater scope and scale meant greater turbulence, but it also promised greater rewards. So far the gamble has paid off with the big and bigger screens of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but it will have to pay off again with the Apple Watch this spring.

Yes, there's been pain. It's arguable whether or not it's any more pain than last year, the year before, the year before that, the year before that, and so on. But it's inarguable that there's been pain. People at Apple know that. They and their families and friends use the same hardware and software we do. Whether or not the right people were paying attention to the right measures, recent events have at the very least made even those who might not have realized the sentiment aware of it now.

After all, what's a great leap forward without a great stuck landing?

Will iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 have as significant design and functionality changes? My guess is not. My guess is that, as in the past, we'll begin moving back into a phase of stabilization. Though my guess is that we'll still find a lot to — rightly — complain about.

Three months ago we reviewed iOS 8, arguably the most jam-packed versions of the iPhone and iPad operating system we've seen since the introduction of the App Store back in 2008. Since then we've gotten updates — up to iOS 8.1.2 on the production branch and iOS 8.2 beta 2 on the developer branch. We've gotten bug fixes, performance enhancements, and even more new features. But with the good comes the bad. With new possibilities come new frustrations and with new workflows come new bugs. So, how has it held up? How are we liking iOS 8 now, some three months later?

Continuity

Peter: I'm impressed with Continuity when it works, and angered when it doesn't — which is still much more often than I'd like. Of all of iOS 8's new features, Continuity is arguably the most important for Mac users, because it enables us to make better use of both our devices than we can separately. I want Apple to iron the bugs and inefficiencies out here and get the fundamentals right. This is such important technology. Apple can't afford to screw it up.

Ally: Continuity is the missing piece between iOS and OS X and when it works, it's amazing. The keyword here is when it works. I've had fairly good luck with it myself but I know that isn't the case for everyone. Hopefully over time the bugs and kinks not only get worked out, but developers find new, creative, and amazing ways to meld together workflows that make it even more valuable.

Ren: Echoing Ally and Peter: When Continuity works, it's a fantastic little tool. I still haven't integrated it fully into my day-to-day routine, but I find that I'm using it a little bit more each week. I don't really use Continuity calling all that often, but Handoff's been a big winner for me, especially when it comes to Pixelmator. I've been a longtime Photoshop user, but being able to quickly swap Pixelmator canvases from iPad to Mac via Handoff has convinced me to give the indie app a daily spot in my workflow.

Rene: I'm spoiled. My job affords me the incredible luxury of working with almost entirely new Apple stuff, and all Apple stuff. As such, Continuity has worked really well for me. I use Instant Hotspot all the time, and it's a giant leap ahead of personal hotspot. Likewise, Relay. My green-bubble friends are now with me everywhere (hi Phil!). AirDrop has been incredibly convenient, and Hand-off I just want for iTunes and media already.

Widgets and extensions

Ren: I haven't been using widgets and extensions all that much on the Mac, but they've been game-changers on iOS. I love my Notification Center's Today view widgets (though I have far too many): There's ETA, which gives me a list of frequent destinations and average travel time with traffic; Dark Sky's next hour forecast; Clips, which allows me to save snippets from my clipboard for use whenever; Sky Guide with its planetary charts; Fantastical's excellent calendar preview; iTranslate's auto-clipboard translation… there are too many to name. On the extension front, I've mostly been using photo and video extensions, though Workflow has introduced a few new custom extensions to my day.

Peter: I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't used widgets or extensions nearly as much as I should have since iOS 8 was released. The two that have become the most frequently used include Fantastical 2, a superb alternative to Apple's own Calendar app; and ESPN SportsCenter, which helps me keep track of all the sportsball things.

Ally: I've become somewhat of a widget fanatic since iOS 8 was launched. It's also urged me to use the Notification Center Today view a heck of a lot more than I ever did prior to iOS 8. Actually, I rarely used Notification Center unless it was to quickly view incoming messages. Now with Fantastical, Dark Sky, TeeVee 3, and many other great apps that show me info at a glance, I know what's going on in just a single swipe and I couldn't be happier to have the option.

Rene: Extensibility has transformed the way I use iOS. Previously, any time I wanted to do anything else, I had to leave what I was doing and the app I was doing it in, go to another app, do something else, and then find my way back. Now, I pull swipe a widget, do a quick calculation, and swipe it away. I edit a photo using filters from 3 apps all in one place. I use an action extension right inside Safari or share from any app I'm in to any service I want. Rather than hunting around my iPhone or iPad for functionality, it now all comes right to me, wherever I am and whenever I want it. It's a whole new age.

QuickType and Keyboards

Ren: I love the idea of third-party keyboards, but so far I've mostly just added GIF keyboards to my roster. I haven't really been able to work Swype or SwiftKey into daily use — not enough time in the day to devote to a new way of using a keyboard — though I keep meaning to set aside a few hours to really give them a go. GIF keyboards, though, I've been loving. My current favorite is PopKey, though Riffsy's GIF Keyboard is also pretty great. And I recently started playing around with Slated, which offers an auto-translation of anything you type — the grammar may not always be perfect, but it's an awesome way to keep another language in the forefront for either learning or communication with someone whose first language isn't English.

I use QuickType… when I remember to. My virtual typing is so fast these days that it's hard to sit still long enough for the engine to give me recommendations. But when I'm doing something one-handed, I find it very useful indeed.

Peter: To be frank, I haven't found a lot of use for third-party keyboards. In fact, I find them more of a distraction than a really useful tool. After some futzing around with some of the ones that Ally and my other colleagues recommended, I ended up removing them all together.

QuickType, on the other hand, is something I find very useful. I find iOS 8's suggestions to be quite often on the money, and it saves me a lot of time to tap the suggested word instead of writing it out.

Ally: I've found QuickType to be more convenient and easier to use than older versions of auto-correct. I actually don't really think about it often and just find myself using it. But I guess that's the point.

As for third party keyboards, I think at this point I'm so used to the iOS stock keyboard, it's a hard habit to break. When I use a third party keyboard, I find myself using either Minuum or Text Expander. I use a lot of snippets so Text Expander makes sense when I'm writing on the iPad. Minuum makes using the iPhone 6 Plus one-handed somewhat bearable, so I switch to it here and there when I need to.

Rene: I like the idea of custom keyboards a lot. Different ways to type will suit different kinds of typists, and if you can get the keyboard you want on the iPhone or iPad, that's a win. I do think Apple needs to improve the installation process a lot. I'd like to tap and hold the keyboard change key (globe icon), see a + sign to indicate a new keyboard is available, and then install it right there, like you can with widgets in Today view. That'd be much easier.

That said, I still find myself using Apple's keyboard most of the time, and ignoring QuickType as I do. Much like Ren, I'm so used to it after all these years, I just type first and notice suggestions later.

iCloud Drive and storage providers

Peter: iCloud Drive is great if you want to sync data between your Macs and iOS devices. And that's exactly how I use it. iCloud Drive doesn't replace Dropbox for me, which is a much more effective cross-platform sharing technology that I use with friends and coworkers. I think there's room for a lot of different solutions when it comes to cloud storage, because people are always thinking up new ways to use it. And I don't think iCloud Drive is going to replace them all, because of Apple's platforms-specific focus.

Ally: I have yet to pry myself away from Dropbox, mainly due to how many people I already collaborate and share with. Mobile Nations is a cross-platform company and we have so many people using so many devices, solutions like iCloud Drive just won't ever make sense in that capacity.

That being said, I do use iCloud Drive for personal files and find it to be a super simple way to keep files I'm working on in sync between devices. I can work on a how to in Napkin from my MacBook Air, hit the save button, and pick it up again right where I left off on my iMac. Then again, I've been able to do this with Documents in the Cloud for quite some time. I haven't yet migrated a ton of files to iCloud Drive and still think I'll wait for that until I have a Files.app option on iOS.

Ren: I'm with Ally here. Dropbox for life.

I do want to trust iCloud Drive, but the implementation is just too shoddy right now. Files.app would fix a lot of concerns I have, but at the same time, I know Apple's trying to move away from people messing with the storage of their documents. The problem is that people (me) still want to have access to their files — moving them, storing them, sharing them — and I don't know if obfuscating everything is the right way to go about doing it.

But iCloud's document sync, as Ally described, is pretty nifty. I love not having to worry about saving or transferring my documents and files between Mac and iOS. Unfortunately, it's not implemented in every app I use, only some of them, and when the experience breaks down, it's a bit of a bummer.

Rene: For years I've been begging Apple for Files.app and DocumentPicker. This year I got the latter, but not the former. I still want a Files.app for the same reasons I'm glad to have a Photos.app, but I'm also incredibly impressed with storage providers. Like Ally and Ren, I use Dropbox a lot, and with storage providers, Dropbox can be a first class citizen on iOS, on equal footing with iCloud. Yes Apple still has bugs to fix with their online services, and with the file sharing system, but we're well on our way to that mattering less than ever.

Messages

Ren: All hail SMS relay. I can't count the number of times SMS messages had gone unanswered in the past because my phone was across the room, or I looked at a message and didn't want to answer it on my phone because it would require too much typing. It's a nice little addition, and it takes away the whole SMS second-class-citizen feeling.

I also really love the new details screen; not only does it make finding old attachments easy, but I use the quick buttons for sharing and sending location all the time when meeting with friends. By largely taking Find My Friends out of the app, location sharing becomes a lot less "creepy neverending locator" and a lot more of a useful utility.

And though I don't get stuck on too many never-ending group threads, Do Not Disturb has proved essential for the few I have been on. It makes it easier to keep named group conversations around, too, for occasional coordination.

Peter: Some long overdue improvements with group message naming and the ability to leave group chats, or just activating do not disturb for those times you don't want to be bothered. But the big game changer for me is SMS relay, which makes it possible for me to text with all those folks using non-iPhones without leaving my Mac. I love that feature most!

Ally: I can now be friends with green bubble people again. If I haven't responded to your texts in years, I apologize. Due to SMS relay, we can now be friends again.

Rene: I both love and hate the new Messages. Many of the new features are fantastic, including the Details view, the group message naming, do not disturb, and leave conversations are superb.

But the instant sending stuff scares me. I'm not of the sticker generation. I'm not comfortable with touch-and-release to send. I really, truly want to have to confirm before that unintentional half-selfie leaves my phone, or that careless soundbite hits the air.

Photos and Camera

Ally: Photo extensions are literally the best thing to ever come to the Photos app. I use them all the time, particularly Afterlight and Camera+. Manual camera controls have also brought some of the best camera replacement options we've ever seen. All of which enhance what we can do with the great camera we carry around in our pockets. I frequently find myself checking the photography section of the App Store since iOS 8 and I never fail to find awesome filter, editing, and camera apps that are new, wonderful, and unique in their own way.

Ren: God, yes, photo extensions. They're fantastic and give the Photos app so much more flexibility for editing, tweaking, meme-ing, the works. I'm so happy they exist — though I'm still waiting for that Waterlogue extension!

Manual camera controls and the iPhone 6's slow-motion are my two iOS 8 photographic winners, though. I use Manual all the time to get the correct exposure on pictures I wouldn't otherwise be able to shoot, and I love trawling the App Store for new camera apps. Regarding video: I didn't think I'd be able to do as much with it as I have. The iPhone 6's video sensor is pretty good, but paired with iOS 8's software rendering it's one of the best in its class. 240FPS slow-motion is clear even at low light levels, and digital video stabilization has seen large improvements over iOS 7 and the 5s (at least in my tests). Pair it with an app like Hyperlapse, and you're looking at Steadicam-esque stabilization — from a phone!

Peter: With iOS 8, I've finally stopped fighting the iPhone to take a good photo, because I can use manual camera controls when I know I can do better than the software. I'm still waiting for the end-to-end workflow Apple promised with Photos on the Mac, due sometime in 2015, but I'm already happy with the improvements.

Rene: Manual camera controls by themselves were worth the iOS 8 update. While the iPhone takes the very best everyday photos in mobile already, being able to override it when I really do know better — getting that long exposure or that shifted focus or that custom balance — means I can use it for more than just the everyday. I can use it for the extraordinary.

Complementing that are the new editing tools in Photos.app which let me default to the grossest Magic Wand if I'm in a rush, or go totally granular for color and light if the mood strikes me.

iCloud Photo Library, when it comes out of beta and hits the Mac, will hopefully complete that circle as well, making all my photos and videos available on all my devices all the time. That, I really want Apple to nail.

Health and HealthKit

Peter: There was so much hype about Health before iOS 8's release, and it really hasn't lived up to it. This isn't as yet a transformative app; there's too much siloing of information in the health care field for that to happen, unless you're lucky enough to be affiliated with one of the few institutions that's working with Apple to gateway their own electronic systems to Apple's HealthKit technology. For the rest of us, it's a novelty to get our exercise apps synced and so on, but seems to have few truly useful applications yet.

Ally: I've yet to really use HealthKit. Actually, it's buried in a folder on my second page of apps. Typically, this is where apps go to die. Instead, I've found third party apps like the Up by Jawbone app still serve my needs better. Maybe that'll change with the Apple Watch, but only time will tell.

Ren: I'm with Peter and Ally here — HealthKit's delay and super-soft launch really took the wind out of its sails. I'm sure we'll see more when the Apple Watch comes to market, but until then, I don't see much use in it personally; I don't think I've launched the app since I upgraded to iOS 8.1 and entered in my medical information.

Rene: Health ended up being far more complicated than I expected. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a difficult thing. Right now I have step and stair climbing information in Health, but I want more. That means better support from apps and accessories, but it also means some additional help from Apple. Staring at those long lists is just so imposing right now. I don't know how it could be simplified — and won't dare use the dreaded wizard word! — but if anyone can do it, Apple can.

Family Sharing

Peter: I've yet to set up Family Sharing, which is ironic, since I have a wife and three kids and we all share media content. I suppose I really should, but at this point it'll require a lot of retraining of habits we developed during the years when Family Sharing wasn't around, and that's just more effort than it's worth for us all right now.

Ally: We set up Family Sharing in our home and for the most part, it works just as advertised. We've experience some annoying issues along the way and some bugs, but nothing that makes us not want to use the service. The best part for me is being able to access and download each other's movies. No longer do we have to swap Apple IDs to avoid having to pay two times for a movie that is shared in one household.

Rene: I've helped friends set up Family Sharing and while the initial process required the development of some new habits — it forces you to stop doing a lot of the workarounds that lack of Family Sharing in the past forced you to come up with — it's been smooth ever since. The only drawback has been apps that either accidentally or intentionally don't play nice. Developers need to opt in, and when they don't, Apple needs to make shunning them easier.

Ren: Not having any use for Family Sharing, I can't really speak to its merits. I do know that my mother and father have been using it a ton at home to watch movies and download apps, however.

Siri and Spotlight

Ren: Siri has certainly gotten faster (especially when paired with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus), and the "Hey Siri!" feature ensures that it gets a whole lot more use while I'm driving. Not having to press any buttons to trigger my device is great, and Siri's increased speed makes looking up locations a whole lot more painless. I still get a ton of ridiculous dictation errors, however, especially in a car with plenty of road noise.

Spotlight's actually gotten worse for me in iOS 8 — which is a shame, because I use it all the time to launch applications that aren't on my first Home screen. There's some sort of strange bug that comes and goes: You'll pull down on Spotlight and everything will be fine, but if you change that query, the results screen will disappear entirely, and searching a new query just brings you a blank interface. I'm not sure what error is going on behind the scenes here, but it's a disappointment, especially in a feature that used to work so flawlessly.

Peter: "Hey Siri" helps me do things with my phone while I'm driving that I couldn't otherwise, and even comes in handy around the house. Siri is faster than it was with iOS 7, and it's also a big advantage to actually see how Siri translates my speech into action.

Ally: I don't think iOS 8 has changed much for me in terms of how I use Spotlight and Siri. I think muscle memory still tells me to launch Safari to search for things. When it comes to Safari though, I find myself using the suggestions quite often.

Rene: Streaming Siri is a huge improvement. Instead of talk, wait, worry, work or fail, I now talk and see it working almost immediately. That's greatly increased my confidence in the system. (And watching words change as the sequential inference post-processes them is a sight to behold.) "Hey Siri" is nice, but I'd like to be able to customize my activation phrase so as to reduce the chances for accidental or unintentional triggering.

Spotlight was greatly improved in iOS 8. I'd still like it to become a full-on text-based front-end for Siri's contextually awareness, but tying it into maps and suggested search results is already a step in that direction.

Mail and Safari

Peter: I find myself frequently using Handoff to open a web page on my iPhone or iPad that was open on my Mac, or vice versa — it's a really useful feature that I thought might be a novelty, but has worked itself into my workflow. Mail's improved contextual awareness is quite helpful when it comes to sorting my schedule.

Ally: I love Safari's new search suggestion feature and use it regularly. iOS 8 also encouraged me to switch back to the native Mail app. The fact that Mail can pull out context and create events and upload important info in just a tap to my calendar, that's awesome and invaluable to me. I also like being able to set alerts for specific threads. I don't however use Handoff for mail with my Mac since I still prefer third party mail apps on the Mac over the native option.

Ren: Agreed with Ally on Mail. Mail's additional context-aware highlights are super-useful, especially when it comes to work emails, and per-alert threads are a godsend. I do use Handoff, and I really like being able to start an email on my phone and swap over to my Mac — I find I use it a lot at the beginning of the day to begin triaging emails over breakfast, then finish up the drafts at my computer when I sit down.

Rene: If Safari would quit reloading even single tabs when I switch away from it for more than a few seconds, we'd be best friends for life. Everything about it has gotten better, from the way tabs are handled to the favorites screen to private browsing to… well, you get the idea. It's clean, it's fast, and I feel like I have better control over my privacy than any other browser currently provides. Plus, with iCloud, iCloud Tabs, iCloud Keychain, and all the other ancillary services, I'm never more than a tap or two away from everything I need, from any device I need it from.

Mail remains Mail to me. The new features are nice, but they had me at universal inbox. I do wish search was better, but that's true of Apple search in general. It needs to be sloppier, it needs to understand nearest neighbor and next-best result. It needs to be better.

Apple Pay

Ren: There are many things (cough-Continuity-cough) I wish were stable enough to follow Apple's old "It just works" mantra. Apple Pay is, amazingly, one of them. Yes, there are issues with some retailers — CVS, you're dead to me — but for supported stores, Apple Pay is stupidly simple. I've used it to buy groceries, get tea at Panera, pick up gas, and more. I can't wait until more stores support it, because I could really get used to not bringing my wallet around. (Though Apple still needs to solve the digital driver's license problem before I can truly go wallet-free.)

Peter: I've only had a chance to use Apple Pay a few times, but it's worked out very well each time I've tried it. Apple Pay is still new enough that it's a novelty for the cashier to see it work, and often elicits a conversation about what I'm doing. I just wish Apple Pay use was more widespread, and that Apple wasn't fighting for dominance with CurrentC, an as-yet-nonexistent but competing system that's the reason why CVS and Rite Aid shut down their NFC payment terminals.

Ally: We only have about three places where I live that accepts Apple Pay but that hasn't stopped me from using it wherever I can. Each time the process is smooth and painless. I can't wait for a day when I can actually leave my cards at home and not worry about whether or not Apple Pay and NFC payments are accepted where I'm headed.

Rene: Can we please have it in Canada already?

The bottom line

Ren: iOS 8 teased a ton of wonderfully promising features when it was first previewed in June, and I'm glad to say that most of those features work just as well as advertised. iOS 8.0 was definitely a little buggy at launch, but the company has made good strides to improve upon it with iOS 8.1, 8.1.1, and 8.1.2 — now if only they would fix poor Spotlight!

I am a little concerned with Apple's back-and-forth over iOS 8 tools like extensions, Notification Center widgets, and iCloud Drive. The company's created such wonderful tools for developers to use, but it's still not quite sure how developers should be using them — I'm hoping this trend goes away, because I'm not thrilled to see great developers being stifled by sporadically-applied rules.

Peter: iOS 7 looked different but under the hood, there wasn't a huge sea change to how things actually worked. iOS 8 is the second half of the story — adding a ton of new functionality and paving the way for the future. It's made all the eligible iOS device I use it on much more integrated and powerful.

Ally: iOS 8 brought with it lots of new and exciting features. More importantly, it's the most Apple has opened up iOS to developers, since ever. To me, this was the real news of the year, not the iPhone 6 Plus or the iPad Air 2. Hardware is only as good as the software that runs it. And in this case, bugs and all, Apple still hit it out of the park. I'm excited to see what amazing things developers do with iOS 8 in 2015.

Rene: When iOS 8 launched back in September, it felt like it was the biggest release since iOS 2 (iPhone OS 2) back in 2008. And it was. From the built-in features to all the new apps and all the new things they can do, my iPhone and iPad have never been as useful, as powerful, or as integral to my life.

Bugs still needs to be fixed, yes, and App Store review absolutely needs to get their Extensions act together, but given the recent high profile reversals, and the fixes afforded by iOS 8.1.1 and iOS 8.1.2, it looks like both of those things are well underway. Three months later, there's no longer any reason for anyone to even consider not updating. This is the iOS you've been waiting for.

Apple has released a new iOS 8 to the public, this time iOS 8.1.2. The update is available for download over the air on your device or through iTunes. This update is supposed to correct an issue that may have caused ringtones purchased through iTunes to be removed from devices.

You can restore your lost ringtones by going to this link, which redirects you to iTunes. From there, you can recover any of your lost tones. To update to iOS 8.1.2 over the air, go to Settings > General > Software Update, and select Download and Install. The update comes in at around 28MB on the iPhone, and 25MB on the iPad.

If you upgraded your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8.1.1 only to find that your ringtones or text tones had gone missing, you aren't alone. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common problem around iOS update time. However, there are a few ways you can try and get them back, and even better — something you can do to help prevent lost ringtones and text tones from ever bothering you again!

1. Sync with iTunes

The easiest solution is to sync ringtones and text tones back from iTunes. Of course, that only works if you've synced them to iTunes in the first place. However, if you normally plug your iPhone or iPad into iTunes in order to sync movies or other content, or you use iTunes to back up, your tones should be there.

1. Plug in your iPhone or iPad.
2. Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC.
3. Click on your iPhone in the top navigation.
4. Under the On My Device section, click on Tones.
5. Check the box for Sync Tones.
6. You'll get a prompt asking you to agree to removing and replacing your tones.
7. Make sure that your tones are all in the list of tones before clicking Sync or Apply.
8. Let iTunes sync and then check to see if your tones are back.

If your tones are there again, you're good to go. If not, continue on.

2. Restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup

This particular issue doesn't seem to be caused by the tones actually being removed from your iPhone or iPad, but more of a glitch where they don't show up. Some users have reported that performing an iCloud restore seemed to bring their tones back. You'll need to back up one last time, wipe your device, and then restore from an iCloud backup. If you aren't sure how to do either of those things, you can follow our directions in the following order:

• How to manually trigger an iCloud backup on iPhone or iPad
• How to wipe all your personal data off of an iPhone or iPad
• How to restore your iPhone or iPad from an iCloud backup

3. Don't purchase again, they may still disappear

Unfortunately ringtones and text tones aren't like tv shows, books, music, and movies. You can't simply download them again from your purchased section. A few people have that after simply trying to purchase them again, the ringtones and text tones only disappeared a few hours later again. So whatever the issue is, it's not with the actual purchase itself.

However, if you already tried to re-purchase only to find your items mysteriously disappearing again, you can request a refund through iTunes. If you don't know how, you can follow our directions:

• How to request a refund for an App Store or iTunes purchase

How to prevent ringtones and text tones from getting lost again

While iCloud backups should technically keep your ring and text tones safe from harm, bugs and glitches happen. The safest possible way to keep your ringtones safe is to simply transfer them to iTunes. This way if anything ever happens to your device, or you have to restore, you always know that your purchased tones are safe.

It's as simple as plugging your iPhone or iPad into your computer, launching iTunes, and clicking on the Back Up Now button as shown in the photo above. That's all there is to it. iTunes will import the tones so they're available in the future, should you ever need to manually re-sync them like you did in step 1.

Your favorite and recent contacts are now easier to get to than ever, thanks to their inclusion on the iPhone and iPad app switcher screen. Double-click the Home button and they're right there at the top, ready and waiting for you to tap. But what if you don't want your contacts showing up there? What if you want to keep your private contactsfrom prying eyes? Luckily you can turn favorites, recents, or both right off!

How to remove favorite and recent contacts from the multitasking screen

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Tap on Show In App Switcher under the Contacts section.
4. Toggle Off the options for Phone Favorites and/or Recents.

If you ever want to re-enable either option, just follow the same steps again, and toggle them back On.

I personally prefer just having favorites show up so they stay static in the app switcher and don't continuously change, but you can set it up any way you like.

When you launch a new app for the first time, you'll often get a popup asking you for permission to access your location, contacts, calendars, photos, etc. Some people, however, are getting the popup multiple times. Over and over again. If you're running iOS 8 and you're getting multiple popups, don't worry — here's the fix!

How to stop multiple app permission popups

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Reset.
4. Tap on Reset Location & Privacy.
5. Type in your passcode if you have one.
6. Tap on Reset Settings to confirm.

After you do this, all location and privacy permissions will be reset. You'll have to re-authorize everything again the first time you launch an app that needs access to your location or other default apps, but it's a small price to pay in order to stop the popups from happening continuously.

I've done this on two devices and afterwards I only had to authorize things one time for them to stick. If you are having the same issue, give this a try and let me know if it works for you or not!

Apple Pay doesn't just make it easy to purchase items in-store and online, but also to keep track of your purchases. You can view recent transactions in Passbook, and, depending on whether or not your credit card and bank support it, a longer transactional history in Settings. Here's how!

How to view recent Apple Pay transactions with Passbook

1. Launch the Passbook app on your iPhone or iPad that you use Apple Pay with.
2. Tap on the card you'd like to view recent transactions for.
3. Any recent transactions should appear directly underneath the card.
4. Tap the Info button in the bottom right corner of any card to view more transactions.

The area beneath Passbook cards seems to only show transactions from the last 24 hours. If you haven't made a transaction in the last 24 hours, it shows the last transaction you made.

How to view detailed Apple Pay transactions with Settings

You can view a more detailed transaction history in Settings, if your credit card and bank support it. (If not, it will be blank.)

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad that you use Apple Pay with.
2. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
3. Tap on the card you'd like to view a transaction history for.
4. You should see current transactions in the main view if your cardholder supports it.

If your bank as a stand-alone iOS app as well, you may also be able to tap on the Open button next to the app name in order to view complete account details, make payments, and more.

NSFW is a weekly op-ed column in which I talk about whatever's on my mind. Sometimes it'll have something to do with the technology we cover here on iMore; sometimes it'll be whatever pops into my head. Your questions, comments and observations are welcome.

Everyone's had that experience where you're promised something, and when you get it, what you get doesn't live up to your expectations. That's the way I've been feeling with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.

Every operating system release has growing pains, and Apple has boxed itself into a corner especially this year by rolling out two new OSes that are so closely mated to one another. When it works, it works spectacularly. The problem is that it's so damnably inconsistent.

Getting my Mac and my iPhone to work with Handoff features has probably been the single biggest pain point. Instant Hotspot took me days to get working. It ultimately did start working once I changed the name of my phone (changing it back again still allowed connections) — clearly a bug.

AirDrop is supposed to work seamlessly between Mac and iOS device now, but "seamlessly" isn't the word I'd use — there are random dropouts and sometimes devices are just not able to see each other. What's worse is that Mac-to-Mac AirDrop transfer, which worked just fine before, is now sporadically unavailable. My wife and I spent an hour troubleshooting an AirDrop issue between our two machines the other night before I just gave up and asked her to send me the files a different way.

Thank goodness Dropbox still works.

iOS 8 got off to a rocky start, too. We all recall the iOS 8.0.1 debacle.

I've read pages and pages of complaints and problems from customers who have installed Yosemite and iOS 8, and have all sorts of problems, ranging from Wi-Fi issues to trouble connecting to Microsoft Exchange servers, problems with Handoff and more. And some of you have e-mailed me to let me know of the difficulties you're seeing; posted to discussion threads on our articles and elsewhere. So I know this isn't isolated.

I won't go as far as some to declare these releases the worst or the buggiest that Apple has ever released; that's ridiculous. I've lived through much worse. But it is annoying, when you're given a bill of sale and an expectation of how your gear should work, and the software isn't able to deliver.

Certainly doing a "clean install" can eliminate some of the problems that we're collectively having, but that's a painful and traumatic process on the Mac, at best. And it shouldn't have to be that way.

I'm an early adopter. I expect problems, and I'm not naive enough to think that everything that Apple ships is going to be flawless. I also recognize that operating systems are incredibly complex things comprising millions of lines of code.

But Yosemite and iOS 8 are fraught with enough difficulties for enough users that I feel like neither of them are fully baked.

Apple made the decision a few years ago to adopt an annual upgrade cycle for its operating systems. That's brought tremendous innovation to the Mac and to iOS in a relatively short amount of time, but it's also brought a lot of pain for users. Here's to hoping that Apple can iron out the problems with iOS 8 and Yosemite in less time than it took them to get us a reasonably stable release of Mavericks.

Following the release of the first Yosemite 10.10.1 beta, Apple is rolling out the iOS 8.1.1 beta to developers. The update features a host of bug fixes as well as stability and performance improvements for older devices like the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4s.

The update comes two weeks after the launch of iOS 8.1, which introduced Apple Pay support, SMS forwarding to Yosemite, iCloud Photo Library Beta and more.

The 8.1.1 beta, classified a build 12B432, is now available for download from the iOS developer center.

Source: Apple

Since upgrading to iOS 8, many users have reported issues when it comes to syncing music with iTunes. For some reason, all their music is gone and no matter how many times they try and sync, no music ever gets transferred. Here's what worked for us!

Before continuing, you will want to make sure that you don't have iTunes Match enabled in Settings > Music. If you do, keep in mind that it will always override whatever you have hard synced from iTunes. Actually, iTunes won't even let you attempt to sync music if iTunes Match is turned on. If that's the case, simply disable iTunes Match and try syncing again with iTunes like normal.

If you don't have iTunes Match or already know it's disabled, continue on.

How to fix music syncing issues with iTunes and iOS 8

1. Plug in your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher and launch iTunes.
2. Select your iPhone from the dropdown menu.
3. Select Music in the side navigation panel.
4. Uncheck the box for Sync Music and then click Apply or Sync.
5. Once the sync is complete, recheck the box for Sync Music and hit Apply or Sync again.
6. Unplug your iPhone or iPad and see if your music is back.

For most folks, this fix seems to be doing the trick. It worked for me on my iPhone 6 Plus that didn't seem to want to sync any of my music from iTunes. So give it a try and let me know whether or not it works for you! And if you've found another way to fix iTunes syncing issues in iOS 8, be sure to let me know that too!

Zip files—that is, single-file bundles that contain multiple items—are incredibly useful tools. On my Mac, I use zip files for all sorts of tasks: shrinking document sizes, transferring data from one place to another, and collecting various files together into a single bundle.

On the iPhone and iPad, zip files are a bit less convenient, due to iOS's lack of central file system. You can't currently open downloaded files in iCloud Drive, so you're left to rely mostly on third-party apps for viewing, unzipping, and compressing your own zip files. Here are a few of my favorite ways to handle zip files on iOS.

If you get zip files in an email or iMessage

It used to be that if you got an emailed zip file, the only way to handle it was to use iOS's "Open In" feature to send the file to a third-party app. Not so anymore: As of iOS 7, the Mail and Messages apps automatically decompress zip files after downloading, so you can view each component file within the bundle using the Quick Look feature. From there, you can individually select files to send to other apps on iOS, or send the entire zip bundle to a third-party app.

Mail and Messages are currently the only iOS apps that offers this Quick Look feature; Safari just prompts you with an "Open In" command, should you stumble across a zip file while browsing.

If you get zip files from anywhere else

If you're downloading a zip file from Safari, AirDrop, or in any other place on iOS that can't handle opening zip files, you'll more likely than not be presented with an "Open In" command. This offers you a list of zip-file-compatible apps; you can then choose which one you prefer by tapping it.

Of all the apps I've tested over the years, Transmit and GoodReader are my personal favorites for dealing with zip files, though Dropbox isn't bad if you just want to host a zip file for someone else to download. (The app won't unzip files, sadly.)

Goodreader and Transmit work very similarly, downloading the zip bundle to the app's local file repository. From there, Goodreader offers to automatically unzip your file, while Transmit requires a tap on the zip file and a subsequent tap on "Decompress" to unzip.

You can also zip folders in both GoodReader and Transmit. In GoodReader, select the folder and tap Zip; in Transmit, tap the checkmark in the upper right corner, select the folder or multiple files in question, then tap the Actions > Compress.

Zip like a pro

What about you, folks? Have you any need for zipping or unzipping files on your iOS device? Have a way to make this even easier? Let's chat in the comments.

Apple makes it easy to add any and all of your supported credit and debit cards to Apple Pay. If, however, you lose, cancel, or change a card for any reason, you'll need to remove it. Luckily, Apple makes it just as easy to to that.

How to delete a card from Apple Pay on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad that contains the Apple Pay card you need to delete.
2. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
3. Tap on the credit card you'd like to delete.
4. Tap on Remove Card — you'll need to scroll all the way to the bottom.

That's all there is to it! The card you removed will no longer be eligible for use with Apple Pay on that particular device. Keep in mind however that Apple Pay works on a per device basis so you'll need to remove that particular card from every device it's linked to individually. Alternately, you can remove all your linked cards from a specific device remotely if you need to via iCloud.com. You can follow our guide below if that suits your needs better!

• How to remotely delete all your credit card accounts from Apple Pay

Part of what makes Apple Pay so fast and easy for online purchases is that it knows exactly where to bill your and where to send your purchases. That saves you the effort of having to type them out each and every time you buy something. But it also means you need to keep them accurate and up to date. That way, when you buy all the things, they'll know just where to send them.

How to update and manage your shipping and billing info for Apple Pay

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8.1 or later.
2. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
3. Tap on either Billing Address or Shipping Address.
4. Enter any additional addresses you need to, but tap on one address that you'd like to set as a default for each.

That's all there is to it. Apple pay will abide by the settings you've chosen. If you ever need to change your billing or shipping, just repeat the same steps again. This is handy if you have work and home addresses that you choose for shipping equally. It'll save you some time when checking out so you can just select them instead of having to enter information every time.

One of the coolest features of iOS 8 was the inclusion of support for widgets in the Notification Center on iPhone and iPad, but making full use of that feature has landed at least one developer in hot water. James Thomson, developer of the popular calculator app PCalc, was the recipient of a message from Apple informing him that having a widget in iOS 8 that performs calculations within notification center was not something he could do, and that it must be removed. This is in spite of PCalc being a featured app in the App Store for its calculating widget.

This isn't the first time a developer's been told after an app's approval that they had to stop doing what they were doing. And though it is for the more-extensible OS X Yosemite, Apple itself has a calculator widget for the Notification Center on Macs.

It's frustrating to see developers like Thomson operating within the expected bounds of what the SDK supports, and having their apps approved, only to have somebody realize that they're working outside of the bounds of what Apple wants. PCalc isn't the only app that offers a calculator widget for Notification Center either, so we'd expect Apple to force those developers to remove the support as well. Unless Apple changes their mind, which they've been known to do.

Source: James Thomson (Twitter)

One of our favorite camera apps for the iPhone has received an update to deliver better image quality. Camera+ has now been updated to version 6.1 and allows discerning users to save images with lossless compression in the TIFF file format to retain better image details and have a higher quality photo as a result. The trade-off with saving a TIFF file, compared to a traditional JPEG, is that the TIFF format will consume more storage space on your phone.

In addition to the TIFF format, the new version of Camera+ also introduces an auto-flash mode for using the front-facing camera on your iPhone:

The new version will work on either iOS 7 or iOS 8 for those who have not taken the plunge and updated to Apple's latest mobile operating system.

What do you think of the lossless compression with the TIFF file format? Will you be using Camera+ more now to retain more details in your iPhoneography?

• $2.99 - Download now

Apple makes it incredibly easy to get started with Apple Pay by letting you quickly link it to your existing iTunes credit or debit card. Your bank still has to support Apple Pay, of course but, if they do, you can setup both online and in-store mobile payments with just a few taps.

How to link your iTunes payment method to Apple Pay in just a few taps

1. Launch the Passbook app on an Apple Pay-compatible iPhone or iPad.
2. Pull down from the top of the screen to reveal the plus sign — tap on the plus sign.
3. Tap on Set Up Apple Pay.
4. Log in to your iCloud account when prompted.
5. Tap on Use Card on File with iTunes.
6. Verify the 3 digit security code on the back of your credit card.
7. Accept the terms and conditions.
8. You're done!

That's all there is to it! Apple Pay may take a few seconds to activate your card for use but that's all you've got to do. You'll receive a notification when your card is ready to use!

If you're running iOS 8.1 on your iPhone or iPad and have OS X Yosemite on your Mac, you can now use your cellular connection for a new feature called Instant Hotspot. The main appeal is that it can automatically detect all your devices so you don't have to fiddle with tethering settings. However, some people have been experiencing connection issues or can't get the feature working at all. Here are some steps you can try in order to get Instant Hotspot working correctly!

Before beginning, remember that you must be running OS X Yosemite on your Mac and iOS 8.1 or newer on your iOS devices in order for Instant Hotspot to work.

1. Ensure your device is compatible with Instant Hotspot

In order to use Instant Hotspot, you need to have a compatible iOS device and a compatible Mac running OS X Yosemite. Be sure your devices meet this requirements.

• iPhone - iPhone 5 or later
• iPad - iPad 4 or later, your iPad must have cellular connectivity — this means wifi only models will not work
• iPod touch - iPod touch 5th generation only
• iMac - 2012 models or newer
• MacBook Air - 2012 models or newer
• MacBook Pro - 2012 models or newer
• Mac Pro - 2013 models or newer
• Mac mini - 2012 models or newer

If you're sure that your model falls within these requirements, continue on.

2. Assure you are on a compatible data plan with your carrier

In order to use Instant Hotspot, you'll need to be using a data plan with your carrier that supports tethering, since that's essentially what Instant Hotspot is. In order to do this, check with your carrier to make sure that you're on a plan that allows tethering. If you aren't, you'll need to change your plan before being able to use the feature.

3. Make sure both wifi and Bluetooth are enabled

You'll need to make sure you have wifi and Bluetooth enabled on both your Mac and your iPhone or iPad in order for Instant Hotspot to work. So be sure both are enabled on all your devices before moving on any further. If they are and you still can't get a connection, continue on.

4. Reboot all the things

Many times, a simple reboot fixes many problems and for some folks, this is all it'll take to get Instant Hotspot working. So completely shut down your Mac and reboot it. Then reboot your iOS device that you're trying to use Instant Hotspot with by holding down the Power button and Home button until you see the Apple logo.

5. Change the name of your iPhone or iPad

For some users, simply changing the name of their iPhone or iPad via the Settings app seems to get Instant Hotspot working. Follow these steps to change the name of your iPhone or iPad:

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on About.
4. Tap on Name
5. Type in the new name and tap Done on the keyboard.
6. Refresh your wifi connections on your Mac to see if your iPhone or iPad shows up now. If not, reboot all the things again and check one more time.

If it's still not working, proceed to the next step.

6. Reset network settings on your iPhone or iPad

Resetting the network settings on your iPhone or iPad can sometimes clear up issues with how your devices are communicating not only with your cellular carrier, but with other devices. Just remember that this will clear out all wifi hotspot passwords and connected Bluetooth devices as well, so you'll have to re-enter those.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Reset — it's located all the way at the bottom of the page.
4. Tap on Reset Network Settings.
5. Type in your passcode if asked.
6. Confirm you'd like to reset your network settings.

Were you able to get Instant Hotspot working?

After trying the above steps, were you able to resolve your issues with Instant Hotspot? If so, be sure to let me know in the comments what step worked for you! And if you didn't, or found something else that worked, let me know that too!

Apple Pay lets you use multiple credit and debit cards, so you can easily switch between them when you want to make a transaction. The default credit or debit card, however, is always the fastest and easiest to use. So, you'll want to make that card the default. Luckily, Apple Pay makes that fast and easy to do as well.

How to choose a default credit card for use with Apple Pay

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad that's compatible with Apple Pay.
2. Tap on Passbook & Apple Pay.
3. Tap on Default Card.
4. Tap on the card you want to use as your default.

That's it! Unless you manually change the card you're using when making a purchase, the selected card will always be used.

iOS 8.1 was released a short time ago. Among the hallmark features are the addition of Apple Pay support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, along with new features and functionality like MMS/SMS Handoff support on supported Macs. There's a lot of other stuff besides. Here's the complete list, according to Apple's release notes:

• Apple Pay support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (U.S. only)
• Photos includes new features, improvements and fixes
  • Adds iCloud Photo Library as a beta service
  • Adds Camera Roll album in Photos app and My Photo Stream album when iCloud Photo Library is not enabled.
  • Provides alerts when running low on space before capturing Time Lapse videos
• Messages includes new features, improvements and fixes
  • Adds the ability for iPhone users to send and receive SMS and MMS text messages from their iPad and Mac
  • Resolves an issue where search would sometimes not display results
  • Fixes a bug that caused read messages to not be marked as read
  • Fixes issues with group messaging
• Resolves issues with Wi-Fi performance that could occur when connected to some base stations
• Fixes an issue that could prevent connections to Bluetooth hands-free devices
• Fixes bugs that could cause screen rotation to stop working
• Adds an option to select between 2G, 3G or LTE networks for cellular data
• Fixes an issue in Safari where videos would sometimes not play
• Adds AirDrop support for Passbook passes
• Adds an option to enable Dictation in Settings for Keyboards, separate from Siri
• Enables HealthKit apps to access data in the background
• Accessibility improvements and fixes
  • Fixes an issue that prevented Guided Access from working properly
  • Fixes a bug where VoiceOver would not work with 3rd party keyboards
  • Improves stability and audio quality when using MFi Hearing Aids with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
  • Fixes an issue with VoiceOver where tone dialing would get stuck on a tone until dialing another number
  • Improves reliability when using handwriting. Bluetooth keyboards and Braille displays with VoiceOver
• Fixes an issue that was preventing the use of OS X Caching Server for iOS updates

Have you updated? Let me know in the comments!

Notification Center changes things up in iOS 8 and one of the newest abilities iPhone and iPad users have is the option to add widgets to the Today tab. This means that if app developers decide to include a widget with their app, you can access information they provide right through the Today tab in Notification Center. This information could be sports scores, weather data, and lots more. To get started, just enable the widgets you'd like!

How to add and remove widgets in the Today view of Notification Center

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher.
2. Tap on Today if it isn't already selected.
3. Scroll towards the bottom and tap on Edit.
4. Add and remove widgets as you'd like by tapping on the plus icons or the delete icons next to a widget's name.
5. You can drag widgets up and down to change the order in which they appear in the Today tab of Notification Center as well.

It's a good idea to check Notification Center periodically to see if some of your favorite apps have added support for widgets. If they have, an option to add it to the Today tab will show up. Simply add them and remove them on demand whenever you'd like!

If you've found some awesome apps that already support widgets in Notification Center, be sure to let us know which ones in the comments!

The Mail app has gotten even smarter in iOS 8 thanks to smart data detection notifications. If an email contains items such as addresses, phone numbers, or even things like flight information, the Mail app can make calendar and contact suggestions based on the context. For example, entering an upcoming flight into your calendar can now be done in as little as three taps. Here's how:

How to add events and contact info through the Mail app in iOS 8

1. Launch the Mail app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher.
2. Open an email message that contains either contact information or appointment details.
3. The Mail app should automatically detect information relevant information by presenting a notification banner at the top of the screen.
4. Tap on the banner to view your options.
5. Tap on of the actions you'd like to perform. In this example, I can choose to add any one of the flights in my itinerary to my calendar by tapping Add to Calendar on any one of them.
6. Once I'm done editing details if necessary, I can tap Add and I'm done.

If you have multiple events in one email, you can just repeat the process for each one you want to add. Unfortunately there isn't currently an option to bulk add all of them.

Requests to add contacts work much in the same way as event notifications. However, you'll get two button options — Ignore, and Add to Contacts. Pretty self-explanatory and works the exact same way as the event detectors laid out above. All in all, data detectors in the Mail app make collecting both types of information much less painful.

Give it a try and let me know how data detection works for you!

If you're running iOS 8 on your iPhone or iPad, it's never been easier to access the contacts you call and message the most. From most recent contacts to the people you've got marked as favorites, iOS 8 makes it quicker and easier than ever to get in touch with them.

How to access your favorite and most recent contacts in two taps with iOS 8

1. Double tap your Home button in order to launch the app switcher.
2. You'll see a list of your recent and favorite contacts along the top. Scroll from side to side in order to siphon through them.
3. Once you find the person you'd like to call, message, or FaceTime, tap on their contact bubble to expand your options.
4. Tap on the method you'd like to use to contact them.

That's it! Keep in mind that what contacts show in the app switcher can be customizing in Mail, Contacts, Calendars through the Settings app. If you use Favorite contacts frequently it may be more beneficial for you to disable recent contacts from showing so you always see a list of your favorites without having to scroll very far. You can also do the opposite and disable Favorite contacts if you choose.

Cycloramic is a new app for capturing panoramic shots with your iPhone 6. And rather than have you move your iPhone around to capture wide scenes, the best part about Cycloramic is that it will rotate the phone for you without any requiring assistance, giving gorgeous 360-degree videos and photos. As featured on the show Sharktank, Cycloramic's creators say that the app leverages the iPhone 6's internal vibration motor to help rotate the phone slowly to capture those panoramas. It's like setting your iPhone 6 on a turntable.

All you have to do to leverage this automatic rotation feature is prop your phone up between the prongs of your iPhone's charger, which is supplied by Apple when you bought your iPhone 6.

Through the vibration mechanism, you can get a 360-degree shot in about 12 seconds.

• Full HD: Generates full HD panoramic videos or photos, in landscape mode.
• Fast: it will rotate 360 degrees as fast as 12 seconds
• Reliable: Now works on uneven and not level surfaces, and at a better angle

And if you have an older iPhone model, you can always follow the guided system to stitch together your captures.

Here are some of the features:

• The easiest panorama guidance system.
• The fastest panorama capture (less than 3 sec for 180 degree panorama with the iPhone 6)
• up to 360-degree panoramas.
• Award winning photo editing and enhancement tools from Aviary: filters, frames, stickers, adjustments (crop, rotate, contrast, brightness, etc.) and more. The photo suite can also be used on your regular photos taken outside of Cycloramic.
• Immersive viewer.
• Video Conversion: Convert any photo into a video (240p, 360p, 480p, 720p or 1080p resolutions).
• Panorama Photo to INSTAGRAM Video converter.
• Share to Facebook, Twitter, INSTAGRAM (photo and video), email, sms and camera roll.
• ... And for the iPhone 5/5S, the revolutionary Handsfree Mode.

What do you think of not having to rotate your iPhone 6 yourself to capture panoramas? Is Cycloramic an app you think you'll use a lot?

• $1.99 - Download now

One of the most annoying bugs I've experienced thus far with iOS 8 is an issue where notification banners don't seem to want to disappear from the top of the screen. No matter how purposefully I flick them away, they just sit there silently mocking me. From a quick web and Twitter search, I don't seem to be alone. However, I've managed to find a temporary solution that should get rid of particularly persistent notification banners.

How to make stuck notification banners in iOS 8 go away

When a banner gets stuck in iOS 8 at the top of the screen and flicking doesn't seem to rid you of it, press the Home button once instead. I've been experiencing this issue since day one of beta one and unfortunately as of iOS 8.0.2, I'm still experiencing stuck notification banners.

Hopefully this is an issue Apple addresses in an update, but until then, pressing the Home button once when a banner is stuck should make it finally roll away. If you're running iOS 8, how often are you seeing notification banners get stuck on you? Have you found a pattern to what banners are sticking and what ones aren't? Let me know in the comments!

Whether you have a 16 GB iPhone or iPad, or you simple store a ton of stuff, deleting old iMessage images and MMS is a great way to reclaim storage space — sometimes gigabytes of it at a time! Luckily, Apple makes it easy to do!

How to clear out old iMessage images and MMS on iPhone or iPad

First, lets get rid of any and all old iMessages clogging up your storage.

1. Launch Messages on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the conversation containing the images you want to delete.
3. Tap on Details at the top right.

4. Tap and hold on one of the images you'd like to delete under the Attachments section.
5. Tap on More in the popup menu.
6. Select all the images and attachments you'd like to delete.

7. Tap on the Delete button in the bottom right when you've got them all selected.
8. Tap on Delete Messages in the popup menu to confirm the delete.

How to keep messages from piling up on iPhone and iPad

If you have a low-storage device, you may want to make sure iMessage auto-deletes everything after a specified period of time. Think of it as Snapchat-style cleanup!

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Messages.
3. Tap on Keep Messages under the Message History section.

4. Tap on either 1 year or 30 days, whichever you'd like.
5. Tap Delete in the popup menu to confirm you'd like iOS to delete any messages older than the specified time period. You can not undo this action.

How to make video and audio images expire even faster on iPhone or iPad

Video and audio messages are fun but also take up the most space. If that's where all your storage is going, you can set them to expire super fast.

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Messages.
3. Tap on Expire under the Audio Messages and/or Video Messages section.
4. Choose After 2 Minutes.

Your space saving tips?

If you've got any other great space-saving tips, let me know in the comments!

NSFW is a weekly op-ed column in which I talk about whatever's on my mind. Sometimes it'll have something to do with the technology we cover here on iMore; sometimes it'll be whatever pops into my head. Your questions, comments and observations are welcome.

iOS 8 has been out for a few weeks now, and I've been hearing a similar complaint come from quite a few users: They can't install it because it's too big. Is that their fault, or is it Apple's?

It's a problem that's trivial to work around if you have a Mac or PC with iTunes on it: Simply plug in your phone to the computer, launch iTunes, and tell iTunes to update the phone. The computer does the heavy lifting for you instead.

But that's not an intuitive way to do it, especially for the many (millions) of iPhone users who have never once connected their device to a computer. That includes many users who are actually afraid to connect their iPhone to a computer, thinking it will instead cause problems. (Will a virus or malware infect my phone? Will I lose my pictures?)

It would have at least helped if iOS told you somewhere along the way that you could do this, but to the best of my recollection, it doesn't. iOS 8 has rather more hefty installation requirements than iOS 7 did, which seems counterintuitive: After all, iOS 7 was the big physical makeover — shouldn't it have been the bigger download?

Nope. Apple rewrote a lot of underlying code in iOS 8. Because iOS 8 is such a major change in the way that iOS actually works,, its initial installation is rather more sizable than its predecessor.

When you do an over the air update, the iPhone needs to download it all, decompress it, and stage the installation so you're not left with a brick afterwards. And this takes up precious storage space on the phone.

For many of us, that's more storage space than we have available. We've filled our iPhones to the hilt with photos, videos we've shot, music, apps, and movies. The idea of keeping 5 GB free on a 16 GB phone (or in some cases, an 8 GB phone) seems absurd.

I'm sympathetic to the complaints, I really am. We have a natural tendency to fill up our spaces, virtual and real, with stuff. I don't blame Apple for its ambition, however, and sometimes that progress costs a bit of momentary discomfort for the rest of us. If Apple bears any responsibility at all, it's that they should do a better job of informing iOS device users of what their upgrade options are, instead of making it a binary situation: Either free up the space or GTFO.

Do you get mad at Toyota because your Corolla can't carry as much lumber and sheetrock as a pickup truck? It's equally unreasonable to expect that your 8 GB or 16 GB iPhone is going to download and install a huge operating system upgrade the same way that a 32 GB, 64 GB or (now) 128 GB iPhone can manage. People who buy iPhones with low storage capacity need to understand that their devices are inherently more limited in some operations than devices with more storage capacity.

Apple, for its part, should do a better job of letting people know what their options are, but in the end, this is squarely a case of caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. Buy an iPhone with more storage capacity than you need, and be prepared to either offload the stuff you've put on the phone temporarily or find another alternative like iTunes when big updates happen.

Did you get caught without enough free space to install iOS 8? Did you dump stuff or go the iTunes route to get it installed? Sound off in the comments — I want to hear from you.

Prior to iOS 8, you only had two options when it came to sharing your location with App Store apps, share or don't share. That meant if you wanted an app to use your location while you were actively using it, but never in the background, you couldn't have both without changing settings. Now, you can have the best of both worlds by just changing a few settings.

How to restrict apps to only use your location while they're open

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher.
2. Tap on Privacy.
3. Tap on Location Services.
4. Find the app in the list you'd like to change location settings for and tap on it.
5. Choose which option you'd like that app to abide by.

Keep in mind that some apps may not show all three options. This is most likely because the developer has not yet implemented the while using this app option. If they do, you should see the option. It's not clear whether or not Apple will eventually require developers to use this setting. Personally, I don't think it's a bad idea. Do you?

Normally when you're walking around with a WiFi-enabled device, if it's not connected to a network, it's broadcasting probes in order to try and find known networks. These probes would be sent using your phone's WiFi MAC address, which is a unique and normally persistent value. This means that anybody monitoring these probes, say in a department store for example, can persistently track you through a store and across multiple visits. This information isn't tied to your personal identity, but a lot of information about your shopping habits could be gleaned from this data by analytics companies, and some users aren't thrilled about not having a say in this. And remember, this isn't just an iPhone thing, this is a WiFi thing. This is what devices do. But Apple decided they could do better.

How it's supposed to work

Starting in iOS 8, devices are supposed to randomize their MAC address when broadcasting these WiFi probes. The OS is responsible for creating random, locally administered MAC addresses. The hope is that so long as you aren't connecting to wireless access points, your device can't be used to track you anymore. Because these are WiFi probes, their range is limited. Somebody wanting to track the presence and movement of your device would need to be in relatively close proximity. One place we've seen devices like this used is in department stores to monitor the shopping habits of customers. With a new random MAC address periodically being generated for your device, there would no longer be a persistent token for passive monitors to track your device with.

How it seems to work

Unfortunately, it looks like Apple's changes to the behavior of these probes isn't quite what we had hoped for. A couple of weeks ago a representative from an indoor navigation and location analytics company, GISi Indoors reached out to us saying that they had been testing this change of functionality in every iOS 8 beta, and had yet to see it work. We fired up Wireshark to take a look for ourselves.

Sure enough, we saw our device gleefully firing out WiFi probes using its real MAC address, and we weren't alone. Security researcher, Hubert Seiwert responsible for the tool iSniff saw the same behavior. Initially it looked as if MAC randomization didn't work at all, which was confusing because Apple has made a point to publicize this feature.

After a lot of digging and a lot of late nights monitoring Wireshark captures, it looks like Apple has shipped this feature as advertised, but not quite as expected. In the WWDC session on user privacy, the slide said "The MAC address used for Wi-Fi scans may not always be the device's real (universal) address". They didn't say it would never be a device's real MAC, only that it may not always be.

Last week, analytics company AirTight Wireless published extremely detailed reports of their testing of iOS 8 MAC randomization and found similar results. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly encourage you to go take a look. Their testing seems to be very extensive, though their findings didn't completely align with ours.

In our testing we found that in order for the MAC randomization functionality to work, supported iOS 8 devices must meet two criteria. First, the device must not be connected to WiFi, which makes sense. Second, the device must be asleep. AirTight concluded that Location Services and cellular service also have to be disabled, but after taking a close look, I don't think this is the case. I think what's happening is the "device must be asleep" requirement makes it difficult to tell what's going on when monitoring this traffic.

On an iPhone 6 running iOS 8.0.2, I was able to observe WiFi probes being sent with a randomized MAC address with Location Services and cellular service enabled. The problem is if you have a cellular connection, your phone doesn't tend to stay asleep for very long. Even if your screen is asleep your phone may not be as it, for example, receives a new email via push. Even if you have notifications turned off, your phone wakes up when that email comes in, despite the screen staying off.

Unfortunately, the requirement of the phone being asleep makes this feature nearly useless, albeit within the description of what Apple advertised at WWDC. In order to get random MACs to be used I had to turn off notifications for multiple apps, turn off push email, and stay up late at night when there was a greater chance of my phone getting to sleep, uninterrupted, for more than a minute or two. Even under these circumstances, I would only encounter one or two rounds of probe beacons (which seem go to out every couple of minutes) with a random MAC before seeing my phone blast a bunch of probes with my real MAC. My best guess is this would happen when some process of push had woken the device up. With cellular data turned on, only about 50% of the probes I saw go out had a randomly assigned MAC.

Rendering this feature even more useless, when the probe requests went out with a random MAC, the probes contained SSIDs of 5 networks that the phone had previously connected to. This means even when my MAC is random, the SSIDs it's broadcasting can act as a fingerprint for my phone. My MAC can be different every time probes go out, but if it broadcasts the same set of 5 network names every few minutes, it may still be possible for monitors to track my device.

Should we be worried?

Ultimately this feature wasn't something Apple had to do, it's something they decided to do to help user privacy. While it was a great idea in theory, the execution seems to have fallen short of anything really useful. Users aren't any worse off than they were with iOS 7, and this information still doesn't tie directly to a person, but it does give companies (and individuals) the ability to track an anonymous person without their consent. This is primarily only useful to stores, marketers, and analytics companies for analyzing trends and habits of consumers, but ideally it's something users have some control over. This data effectively amounts to information about us, and we should have the final say in who can use that data. Hopefully Apple can make adjustments to when MAC randomization occurs to increase the scenarios in which an iPhone's real MAC address is used. While not practical for many, people looking to avoid being tracked in the meantime can disable WiFi or enable airplane mode.

When it comes to arranging the application shortcuts on my phone's home screen, I'm a folders addict. I hate scrolling horizontally through pages and pages of apps. Occasionally I try and allow apps to spread out across more home screen panes, but eventually my OCD kicks in and I spend hours re-organizing everything until I'm down to fitting it all neatly on the default home screen view, with my most frequently-used apps at the bottom so they're easily within reach of my thumb. Accomplishing this typically means I need to use a lot of folders.

This isn't just an iPhone behavior for me. I seem to do the same thing whether I'm using an Android phone, BlackBerry or Windows Phone (though in the latter case I want to minimize vertical scrolling; thankfully Microsoft recently added support for Live Folders in Windows Phone 8.1 which has helped to further compress things). The power user and productivity monster in me needs to optimize the home screen layout so locating the apps I want to open is as efficient a process as possible, whether I'm holding the phone in one hand or two.

How Apple Ruined Folders For Me

In my opinion, Apple took a step backwards in iOS 7 when they reduced the number of viewable apps in a folder from 16 to nine. To give Apple credit, with this same update they did add pagination to folders — thus allowing a user to place up to 135 apps in a folder if he or she really wants to (15 pages x 9 apps per page). From my experience though, I've never found this functionality to be all that beneficial beyond serving as a graveyard of forgotten apps.

Once an app is on page 2 or more of a folder, I tend to forget I even have it installed. Out of sight, out of mind, right? And for apps I do remember and want to use that are tucked away deeper than the first page of a folder, I can typically get to them much faster by searching for the app name rather than swiping through page after page in a folder. Given the choice, I'd always prefer to have more apps viewable within the first page of a folder than less.

Unfortunately, despite the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus growing in size with their larger displays, for iOS 8 Apple has so far chosen to keep the number of viewable apps in a folder the same as in iOS 7. I know I'm not alone on thinking this is rather limiting.

What makes the user experience even worse with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus compared to the smaller iPhone 5, is given that the folder is vertically-centered on the now-larger iPhone 6 displays I have to use reachability mode nearly every time I open a folder when navigating my phone one-handed (especially the 6 Plus). It's an aggravating, almost comical experience, especially given that I'm a Folder junky and am tapping into folders regularly. For an often occurring situation such as opening a folder, having to use reachability on such a frequent basis seems like a band-aid solution, and not a very good one.

What I find perhaps even more frustrating is that Apple didn't completely overlook Folders on iOS 8. On the iPhone 6 Plus, if you hold the phone in landscape and navigate into a folder that has more than nine apps in it, you'll see a partial view of the second page of apps. It's a nice touch, but from my experience so far on the 6 Plus its one that I'll rarely use. When navigating the home screen, I am almost always using the phone in portrait.

Had Apple overlooked Folders completely in iOS 8, I maybe wouldn't even have been prompted to write this opinion editorial. However, when I saw they made the decision to improve the landscape layout of Folders but not address the usability of Folders in portrait, I just had to say something.

How Apple Can Make Folders Better Again

From my perspective as a consumer and not one of guys or gals writing the code, the solution to my Folder woes seems very straight forward. Ideally, Apple should add a system setting for Folders where I can set preferences. One option should be to choose the vertical alignment of folders on the phone, either: middle (as it is today), top or bottom. We know bottom alignment is already baked into the OS, considering this is the view you get once you double tap the home button for reachability.

A second user preference I'd like to see on the Folders settings page would be an option for number of apps to display per page. Nine apps could remain the default, but an option to show 12 or even 15 apps would be awesome.

If Apple doesn't want to go the user-customization route, at a minimum I believe iPhone users would be better served by changing the default vertical alignment to be at the bottom of the screen and increasing the default number of apps to 12. The need to double tap to enable Reachability every time I open a folder would go away, and I'd actually have access to even more apps than there are today.

To me, it's a no-brainer that Apple do this. Agree? Disagree? Be sure to weigh in with your iOS Folder thoughts in the comments!

iOS 8 was released on September 17th and millions of iOS device users upgraded. That included iPhone 5 owners on T-Mobile who hoped to use Wi-Fi calling, only to find out their phones aren't supported. What's going on?

What's Wi-Fi calling?

Wi-Fi calling enables the iPhone to make and receive phone calls over Wi-Fi, instead of having to depend on a signal from a nearby cell tower. For many T-Mobile customers this is a godsend; the company's cell network does a notoriously poor job of penetrating buildings and working in rural areas, because of the GSM radio frequencies T-Mobile uses.

Wi-Fi calling has been supported by other non-iOS smartphones sold by T-Mobile for some time, but with the addition of the feature to the iPhone, T-Mobile has upped the stakes: It's begun advertising Wi-Fi calling heavily, and says all the smartphones it currently sells supports the feature. T-Mobile has even started offering a "Personal CellSpot" device — a 802.11ac Wi-Fi router especially enhanced to prioritize Wi-Fi calls — to customers looking to maximize their call quality.

Wi-Fi calling is also coming to customers of EE in the U.K. It's coming to other carriers too, but T-Mobile is the first to offer the feature.

• How to use Wi-Fi calling with iOS 8

Disappearing feature

Wi-Fi calling works on the iPhone 5c, 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, but the iPhone 5 has been left out. Left out, that is, of the general public release of iOS 8. Because Wi-Fi calling worked on the iPhone 5, for T-Mobile customers who had access to iOS 8 betas.

Wi-Fi calling was added to iOS 8 beta 3, which was released in early July. Between then and now, Apple removed Wi-Fi calling support in iOS 8 for the iPhone 5 model. The iPhone 5 is the first iPhone model T-Mobile sold and officially supported.

Adding to T-Mobile users' frustration is that their customer service and tech support staff routinely told them both before and after iOS 8's release that the iPhone 5 did support Wi-Fi calling. In fact, I verified this: Earlier this week I called T-Mobile customer service and tech help. When I inquired about Wi-Fi calling, reps in both departments assured me the iPhone 5 was supported. There was also widespread confusion about this on T-Mobile's support forums.

Apple has posted a Knowledgebase article explaining Wi-Fi calling in greater detail. No mention is made of the iPhone 5 anywhere in the document.

I asked T-Mobile PR for an explanation. Here's what they had to say.

But why?

We're unlikely to get a straight answer from anyone on the record about why Wi-Fi calling doesn't work with the iPhone 5 in the public release of iOS 8. I am reluctant to speculate too wildly about what happened between iOS 8 beta 3 and now. Sometimes features and functionality are exposed in beta software that don't make it into the final release, for whatever reason.

What's more, T-Mobile came on board with the iPhone more than mid-way through the iPhone 5's run — Apple updated the iPhone 5 with support for T-Mobile's network shortly before the iPhone 5 went on sale at T-Mobile stores in April, 2013. (I've written before about the hoops I had to jump through to get my iPhone 5 working right on T-Mobile's network.)

I don't want to call the iPhone 5 an edge case for T-Mobile, but I suspect its population of iPhone 5 users is significantly smaller than users of more recent models which do support Wi-Fi calling.

Bottom line

As it stands now, if you're on T-Mobile and want to use Wi-Fi calling, you'll need an iPhone 5C or later, plain and simple. So if you have an iPhone 5, it's one incentive to upgrade to a newer model.

Even though you can't get Wi-Fi calling to work on your iPhone 5, T-Mobile may be willing to work with you in other ways to improve your indoor reception. They offer a 4G LTE booster that can dramatically improve reception in your house, for example — I've used one for months (with an iPhone 5S and iPhone 5), and I went from one spotty bar in the house to four solid bars most of the time.

• T-Mobile's Personal CellSpot, Wi-Fi Calling, and 4G LTE Booster explained

Are you an iPhone 5 user on T-Mobile? Frustrated by the lack of Wi-Fi calling? Using this as an excuse to upgrade? Sound off in the comments!

One of the main reasons I've used third party mail apps such as Mailbox for such a long time is because the stock iOS Mail app has never made it easy to use archive and trash simultaneously. Sometimes I don't want to archive an email, I want to delete it. And other times I want to archive but not delete. If I can't have both options conveniently at my fingertips, that doesn't work for me. Luckily, iOS 8 brings swipe options that actually let archive and trash play nice together for the first time. You've just got to change a few settings first!

Note: All email services are different but this method should work with any service that lets you have the choice between trashing and archiving messages. I've tested it and have been using Mail this way with both a Google Apps account (Gmail) and an iCloud account since early betas of iOS 8. So I can verify Gmail and iCloud work well with the below method.

How to use trash and archive options at the same time in iOS 8 Mail

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Tap on any of your accounts that you want to use trash and archive options with under the Accounts section — if you're using iCloud mail, scroll to the bottom instead and tap on Mail under Advanced and skip to step 5.
4. Tap on Account at the top.
5. Tap on Advanced at the bottom.
6. Under Mailbox Behaviors, make sure you have options set for Deleted and Archived boxes to where you want them.
7. Under the Move Discard Messages Into section, choose Archive.
8. Tap Account at the top to return to the previous menu.
9. Tap Done at the top of the next screen to save any changes.
10. Tap the back button in the upper left corner to return to the previous menu.
11. Tap on Swipe Options under the Mail section.
12. Set Swipe Right to Archive.

While this seems a little funny, it does work. You'll notice when you choose Archive, a small note will appear underneath that reads —

This means that since we've set up archive as the default option in step 7, choosing archive for swipe right will actually allow it to become a trash option instead. This means swiping right offers trash functionality now and swiping left offers archive options. Voila! You can now use both in one quick swipe in one direction or the other!

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you! Does it make the default Mail app for useable? Let me know in the comments!

Apple has released iOS 8.0.2. It's available now via Settings > General > Update or over Lightning to USB tether to iTunes on your Mac or PC. This comes just one day after the iOS 8.0.1 update left iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers unable to use Touch ID or connect to cellular networks. Apple promised a fix within days and delivered it with a day. Apple also once agains apologized for the bugs:

I've completed the update on my personal iPhone 6 Plus and both Touch ID and cellular data are working fine. We'll test the rest of the fix list shortly and let you know if anything comes up.

If you still have 8.0.1 waiting to install and you're not seeing 8.0.2, go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage and delete it. If you get a verification error, update via iTunes instead.

Otherwise, if you install it, let me know what it fixes for you, and if any issues pop up.

Even though they look the same, there are some big differences under the hood between the second and third generation Apple TV. Users are starting to feel the pinch: The newest Apple TV software release isn't supported on the second-gen Apple TV. Does this spell the end of the line for that model?

A brief history

Apple's first-generation Apple TV came on the scene in 2007. Designed like a flattened Mac mini, the original Apple TV had inside a 40 GB or 160 GB hard disk drive. You could mirror your entire iTunes library on it, giving yourself access to music, movies, and photographs that you could show on your TV.

Essentially a little computer, the original Apple TV used Intel Pentium hardware inside paired with an Nvidia graphics chip. It operated a special version of OS X and used an interface reminiscent of Apple's Front Row software, an early attempt at a media center control system for OS X.

It was an interesting experiment but with a high price tag - $299 to start, $399 with more storage capacity, and a penchant for being warm enough to practically fry eggs, the Apple TV was a niche product that garnered interest from Apple enthusiasts but few others.

The next generation

2010 was a big year for Apple. The company rolled out the iPad that year, and the iPhone was already into its fourth generation. That September Apple rebooted the Apple TV concept, offering a rather radical reimagining of the concept. Instead of making a dedicated-purpose home entertainment PC — essentially the role of the original Apple TV — Apple turned the new Apple TV into a streaming media box.

Inside the tiny new black Apple TV was an A4 processor — the same kind used in the iPhone 4 and the iPad. It had no internal hard drive, with 8 GB of flash storage to cache streaming content, and 256 MB of active memory. It also got rid of analog video connectors, requiring HDMI to carry a video signal to a host television. It was also much less expensive — $99.

Apple continued that design of the Apple TV going forward: The 2nd generation model was replaced in 2012 with a physically identical third-generation version that uses the A5 processor and has twice as much memory. It can operate at a higher resolution — 1080p, as opposed to 720p on the older box.

Turning the corner with iOS 8

Last week Apple pushed out a new build of the Apple TV software — version 7.0. The new release sports a more flattened interface and a different typeface used throughout, and also adds a new channel — Beats Music, Apple's recently-acquired premium music streaming service.

That update hasn't been pushed out to second-generation Apple TVs. They're relegated to version 6.2.1 instead. And it's unlikely that they will get the update. Here's why:

The second and third-generation Apple TV runs a variant of iOS, and the new Apple TV 7.0 software is the first release based on iOS 8. iOS 8's minimum system requirements exclude the original iPhone 4, which uses the same microprocessor as the second-gen Apple TV.

That's also why the third-gen Apple TV also gets features like Family Sharing and Ask to Buy (which allows kids to ask their parents to buy content they want). These are features pegged to iOS 8, specifically.

Living on the bleeding edge

Going forward, Apple may update the second generation Apple TV with bug fixes and other minor enhancements. New channels are even a possibility, as evidenced by the recent addition of FX Now, though the addition of Beats Music only to 7.0 sets a bad precedent. Chances are that we've seen the last of any major improvements for the second-gen Apple TV, however.

Third-gen Apple TVs have other unique features that the second-gen unit doesn't get, besides higher resolution support and the ability to run Apple TV software 7.0. Tap to setup is a feature unique to third-gen Apple TVs, for example: You can configure them using an iOS device running iOS 7 or later.

But If you thought you were off the hook just because you have a third-generation Apple TV, guess again.

There's a new feature in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite called Peer to Peer AirPlay which lets you stream content from a Mac (running Yosemite) or an iOS 8 device to a nearby Apple TV without first connecting to the Apple TV's host Wi-Fi network.

This is a big boon for businesses that may want to offer up Apple TV-connected projectors for guests, but don't want to give them network access, for example. Same goes for your home — someone wants to show you a slideshow of their recent trip to the Caribbean, but you don't have to let them on your home Wi-Fi for them to share it with the party in the living room.

Only one problem: Apple says the feature will only work on the most recent third-generation Apple TV. The "Rev A" box which came out in March, 2013. That model uses a different graphics subsystem than the original third-gen Apple TV.

Having the Apple TV use a common platform for other Apple products (iOS) makes it easier for Apple to add new features over time. It's unfortunate that second-gen Apple TV customers are finding themselves with a product that's increasingly end-of-the-road, and even many third-gen Apple TV owners will find themselves with a product that doesn't work with the same feature set as the very latest one.

But that's the price of innovation, and we all have to decide when it's the right time for us to buy into a new technology understanding full well that if it's successful, it'll be incremented and improved until whatever we're using is out of date.

What's your take?

For my part, I'm still using a second-gen Apple TV and I'm pretty happy with it. Our main use for it is to watch Netflix and Crunchyroll content, and to stream music. So I'm holding off on replacing it with a new box for now. I'm hoping that Apple is working on a newer Apple TV with even more features than the current model has.

How about you? Are you using a second or third-generation Apple TV? Or does the Apple TV not interest you at all? What would it take for Apple to make a set-top box you'd use? Let me know in the comments.

Apple has now pulled its iOS 8.0.1 software update from circulation, after a ton of reports hit the Internet that said the first update to iOS 8 crippled Touch ID and cellular service on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

While the iOS 8.0.1 update was supposed to fix a number of bugs that had been discovered in iOS 8 since it launched a week ago, the code apparently is causing more problems than it solved for all those new iPhone 6 owners. Other iOS devices such as the iPad and older iPhone do not seem to be affected.

If your iPhone 6 device still shows that it is available for download, it is highly recommended that you do not download the software. If you have already downloaded and installed iOS 8.0.1, we have a way to restore your device to iOS 8.

Apple has just released iOS 8.0.1, a bug fix update for iOS 8. Unfortunately, while the full binary installed from iTunes worked fine, the bit-differential file installed over-the-air via Software Update has left some iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with Touch ID and cellular connection issues. Apple has since pulled the update, but that doesn't help affected iPhones. It's possible Apple can fix and re-issue the update quickly, or a workaround will be found shortly, but if you've already updated, and you're affected, here's what you need to do:

Update: Apple has released iOS 8.0.2 to address the errors. No need to downgrade any more.

1. Turn off Find my iPhone via Settings > iCloud
2. Download iOS 8 for iPhone 6{.nofollow} or iPhone 6 Plus{.nofollow}
3. Make sure you're on the latest version of iTunes. Go to About and then Check for Updates or visit iTunes.com.
4. Launch iTunes on your Mac or PC.
5. Connect your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to iTunes via Lightning to USB cable.
6. Hold down Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) click on "Check for Update".
7. Choose the iOS 8 firmware file (.ispw) you downloaded in step 2.
8. Let iTunes do its thing
9. Once you're back up and running Turn Find my iPhone back on.

If you can't turn off Find my iPhone or are otherwise having trouble, put your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus into DFU mode first and then Restore with iTunes. (You can restore again from your last iCloud backup later to get your stuff back.)

If you still have 8.0.1 waiting to install and you want to get rid of it, go to Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage and delete it.

At this point you should be back up and running again with full Touch ID and cellular service. Yes, this is frustrating and annoying but it's also the fastest way we've found to get back up and running if you've already updated to iOS 8.0.1 and are experiencing issues.

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you!