Following Apple's iPhone 6 event on Tuesday, the company released the Gold Master of iOS 8, which will officially release to the public on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Apple's iOS 8 is more about under-the-hood improvements rather than a complete overhaul. New to the experience is support for third-party keyboards, an improved Spotlight, Health, iCloud Drive, and an even more advanced Messages app, which now allows users to quickly send videos and pictures, and even send a quick audio message. If you thought the changes to iOS 7 were huge, that was nothing compared to this year's update.
Probably the biggest additions are Health and Continuity; the first lets you keep a log of detailed stats, such as Nutrition, Sleep, Vitals, Fitness, Body Measurements, and more—all that will be pretty handy for the Apple Watch slated to launch next year. This commercial here sums it up best. Continuity, meanwhile, allows users to more easily work between their iPhone and Mac; calls can even come in to your Mac, meaning you don't have to search for your phone when you're browsing the Web or working on a document. There's also a Handoff feature, which makes it super easy to start working on a document on your Mac and immediately pick up where you left off on your iPhone.
There's a lot to go over, and we'll definitely have a more comprehensive review of iOS 8 when the final consumer version launches next week (the Gold Master is essentially the final version). To see the newest features and changes made from the last beta until now, check out the video above to see iOS 8 GM in action.
