The newest operating system for iPhone and iPad has been out a few weeks. I downloaded it the 3rd day after it arrived, and for the most part, I've been pleased with the changes. I won't call the changes "improvements" because I'm not sure they are all better than iOS7.
I do like the fact that the nice folks at Apple decided to use black print instead of the stylish medium gray print they had on iOS7. While the gray was pretty, it was impossible to see. I like the new keyboarding options too, including a more intelligent "word anticipating sub-routine.' The new system tries to "guess" what you are going to type next, and much of the time, it's right. The downside is it sometimes guesses wrong and the result is amusing or embarrassing or somewhere in between. With the new keyboard system, it's imperative to proofread your work. (I remember telling my students to proofread their papers...it was true then and it's true now.)
I'm still undecided if I like my iPad and iPhone being so connected. I know how to work each stand alone unit, but now, when my iPhone rings, so does my iPad. I'm not sure that is necessary. What is that doing to battery life on both devices? I'm sure it's eating power as we speak. In addition, when Yosemite, the new Mac OS comes out in a few days, all Mac devices will be inter-connected.
That leads to another issue...power! The new health app is a power eater. Something that is going to count the steps you take each day is going to be on all the time...and when you look at battery usage, you might find it's using 60% or more of the power you use each day. That's a lot of power to tell you how many steps you walked.
Siri has gotten a little bit better. I use Siri a lot. She's my "go to timer" when I cook. I ask her to find folks and places, and she does a pretty good job. Now, if you are plugged in, you can say "Hey Siri" and she will answer you back. This is useful if you are in your car, charging your iPhone. Even though the latest research by AAA says that even hands-free cell phone use is distracting, there are times when it's necessary to use the phone when you are driving. I've also discovered that if Siri does not understand the name I'm asking her to find, I can now spell the name and she will find it. In the past when I've tried that, she has gotten flustered and found really stupid non-related words. Siri seems to be better "connected" to Safari. Now I can ask her to call a local business and first she will check my contact list then she checks online. She's a very useful tool. (I still use the original voice, but you can change the voice if you wish.)
If you need to call one of your favorite people, double click on the home button and your favorites appear at the top of your screen making them easier to call. If you don't like that feature, you can turn it off too. In fact, many of the features that were added can be turned off by finding them in settings and pushing the button from green to white.
For me, the best change is the built-in photo editing application. Both the iPhone and the iPad are pretty good cameras, and now you can edit your photos better than before. You have far more control over color and light than with the previous version. It's not as wonderful as Photoshop, but it's darned good!
As I said, I'm pleased with the new iOS8. Given that, I've not downloaded it for an iPhone 4. I've read that it's best on iPhone 5 and 5S and iPad 4 and 5. When I get my iPhone 6 (not 6+) I'll be very familiar with it.
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