Gadgetory

forget about the iphone 6 the most exciting iPhone news this year is iOS 8 Apple software update that will roll out to users this fall there are dozens of enhancements and tweaks and brand new features coming in this update but in this top five I'm going to boil it down to the handful that really matter starting off at number five airdrop apple gave us airdrop in iOS 7 is a way to let users transfer files switching their iPhones and their iPads and frankly to address Samsung's whole phone bumping ad campaign but to everyone shocked and frustration you couldn't actually use the feature to transfer files from your phone to your computer or the other way around you'd shoot a great video on your phone and then you'd want to edit it over on your computer and you have to email it to yourself like some kind of cave person well apples fix that now thus finally making airdrop useful a legitimate innovation comes in at number four hand off here's Apple's closed ecosystem working to your advantage you're on your macbook your iPad and a call comes in on your iPhone and because all your Apple devices can see each other your iPhone will hand off the call to whatever you're using you can answer calls in your macbook or reply to messages on your iPad or continue working on an email on your phone when your laptop is back at the office once everything is interchangeable maybe life will become a little easier probably not but maybe at number three actionable notifications right now your iPhone gets a text message and a little notification appears and then you tap it and then that takes you into the messages app and you compose your reply and then if you're me you tried really hard to remember what you were doing before that message came through but an iOS 8 you can message back right from the notification without jumping in and out of apps it makes so much sense that Android did it to two years ago come on out coming in at number two family sharing whether you're married with children or single with cats iOS 8 will let you share your itunes purchases with up to six family members that includes apps music videos I books everything no more juggling account logins to redownload the stuff that you already bought once you designate your fan members everyone's catalogue of itunes purchases can be shared across your devices even the embarrassing crap finally my vote for the number one feature of iOS 8 worth getting excited over a better keyboard not only with a new keyboard and iOS 8 offers selectable predictive text options like every other smartphone but it will now support third-party keyboard software that users can buy in the App Store you want to have one of those futuristic swipe keyboards go for it custom keys alternative layouts extra mo geez just do it your keyboard can now be just as obnoxious as anything Android has dreamed up I'm not sure if Steve Jobs would have gone for this one but if it makes it easier for me to curse on my iPhone I'm all for it so there you go five reasons to get excited about updating your iPhone software this fall more on the ins and outs of iOS 8 head over to cnet and for more top 5s from me top 5 cnet com Donald Bell thanks for watching