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What’s New in iOS 8

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If you want to see what’s new in iOS 8 you can see the changes in our iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough. This is a comparison of iOS 8 and iOS 7 on the iPhone and iPod touch.

This iOS 8 walkthrough shows the new iOS 8 features, small visual changes to the new iOS 8 update. We’ll show you how they compare to the older software you are used to.

The iOS 8 release date arrived on September 17th, and after a rough week of installing iOS 8 the process is simpler now. The iOS 8 update is free and available for the iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad mini Retina and the iPod touch 5th generation. You may not want to update the iPad 2 or iPhone 4s. You will also find iOS 8 on the iPhone 6, but it ships with the phone, not as an update.

Check out our iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough to see the new iOS 8 features coming this fall.

Check out our iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough to see the new iOS 8 features coming this fall.

You’ll notice in this iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough that the new iPhone update does not look much different than iOS 7. Apple made big changes to the look and design of iOS 7, and with the iOS 8 release we see enhancements and features added that include small visual changes, but the bulk of the update is focused on adding new features.

After looking through what’s new in iOS 8 you’ll notice that Apple is adding a lot of new iOS 8 features to make messaging better, track your health and manage photos. It’s also very clear that Apple is catching up to Android in some areas with a better keyboard and other changes that former Android users will love.

Read: How to Upgrade to iOS 8

You can click on any of the images below to jump to a specific iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough slide and see how that section of the software compares. The iOS 8 screenshots are on the left, and iOS 7 on the right.

iOS 8 vs iOS 7 Walkthrough - Home Screen

iOS 8 vs iOS 7 Walkthrough - Home Screen

We start our iOS 8 vs iOS 7 walkthrough with the iPhone home screen, which is where you'll start your iOS 8 experience after an update this fall. 

These screens are incredibly important as you see them anytime you turn on the iPhone or need to choose an app to launch. There is no way around using them, so Apple needs to make sure they work just right. 

As you can see in the iOS 8 vs iOS 7 comparison above, there is no change between the home screen in the new iPhone software. Apple changed the status bar and some other small visual changes in iOS 7, but there are no updates for iOS 8.  

We could see Apple change the home screen slightly for iOS 8 for the iPhone 6. The new iPhone will feature a larger 4.7-inch display with a higher resolution. This is something Apple may use to add more icons to the screen. Or they could stick with the current layout, it's tough to tell.  

35 Comments

35 Comments

  1. rishikarkrishna

    09/18/2014 at 9:39 pm

    Rubbish. It still says 4.48 hrs to download

  2. Finally

    09/26/2014 at 9:57 am

    FINALLY!

  3. Chuck

    10/03/2014 at 9:12 am

    Overall I am not happy with the 6 plus.. I intend on taking it back to my cellular carrier before my 14 day grace period ends.. Apple should not release product when there are still this many issues( the biggest to me being i cant use any wifi, i am better off using 3g) very dissapointed and will never buy another apple product again.. Android is leaving apple in the dust

    • vaopocrl

      11/01/2014 at 8:06 am

      troll, android is useless SO for useless nerds like u

      • Carl valasquez

        02/19/2015 at 1:50 pm

        Troll. Android is better than ios. Better features and performance. Apple has apps that run a bit smoother, and imessage is faster but it lacks personality and customization. It’s horrible. Androids you can do anthing to your liking.

  4. Robert Arnzen

    10/05/2014 at 10:43 am

    You can no longer delete a part of a message string. Delete All seems to be the only option. Why?

  5. Anonymous

    10/06/2014 at 1:43 am

    Press and hold a message than select “more…” you will be able to delete any message inside a string.

  6. GSOH

    10/06/2014 at 3:00 am

    best typo – I don’t think paying for apps makes you a god!

    iOS 8 brings Family Sharing, which lets users share apps, music and movies purchased with other members of the family. Just add them and then use the same credit card across the accounts and you are god to go.

  7. Dorkovitch

    10/07/2014 at 7:31 am

    Guess you got lucky with your experience. Mine has been horrible. Took the 8.0 update on my 5s without any issues. Saw all the issues with 8.0.1 so skipped that and applied 8.0.2 because it “fixed” all the reported problems others were having only to have them now start on my phone. Phone has been a useless paperweight ever since then. WiFi drops constantly, flipping over to LTE all day long and skyrocketing my Cellular Data consumption. Battery is draining considerably faster as a result. Had to turn off Cellular Data for all of my Apps to curb the problem, rendering them useless half the time. The only thing that temporarily fixes the issue is rebooting the phone which is SO convenient. No acknowledgement from Apple this is a problem. STAY AWAY FROM THIS UPDATE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

  8. Michaelson Richard

    10/09/2014 at 6:53 am

    Great comment. Glad I read it because I was seriously considering upgrading my 5S to the 8.2 software. Now I’ll wait.
    Thanks Dork

  9. Zamad

    10/11/2014 at 8:34 pm

    This new software update iOS 8.0.2 really disturbed everything in my iPhone 5s. Everything slowdown and I am not able to do any thing properly what a bad software I experienced ever in iPhones. I would suggest do not shift from iOS 7 to iOS 8

  10. mario

    10/14/2014 at 3:51 am

    lol. i’m still happily on ios 5 :D

    • wass90

      10/23/2014 at 2:02 am

      what ios 5 :O???

      • Emily D

        12/21/2014 at 8:04 am

        I have an iphone 3g and ios 4.2.1 so….

  11. wass90

    10/23/2014 at 2:03 am

    guys i update to ios 8.1 but my phone is not openin just shows the apple icon :(( what should i do??!! help pelase

    • jclalzona

      10/24/2014 at 10:29 am

      mine showed the apple icon with an incomplete status bar. had to restart and connect to itunes on my mac and after 2 failed updates, had to restore factory settings then update then restore from a backup.

  12. Anonymous

    10/26/2014 at 11:09 am

    This article is talking about iOS 8.1, which is later than 8.01, etc. It sounds remarkable!! But the 2 downfalls are huge!!😳😮 1. It’ll need MORE space for photos/videos?! I’ve already maxed out in a couple of weeks on my current iOS! 2. If it doesn’t work when downloaded, you might have to use iTunes & a cable (& you won’t be able to go back to your previous iOS??!!)??!! Can you be more specific please? & ow that sounds awful! But FINALLY it says the camera will have a timer, it’s needed that for 10 yrs!! FINALLY it’ll save all the photos & videos…not just 1000. Duh why didn’t they have this before?? So I’m still stuck with the dilemma…do I download iOS 8.1 or stay at whatever I have now? Whatever I have now sucks sooo much but it’s better than losing it all & needing iTunes & a cable to restore it (oh wait I can’t restore it because it won’t use a previous iOS?!) & it’s better than needing a new phone to store all the photos & videos (which I did previously but then my phone was stolen so now I’m back to the iPhone 4s when I had a iPhone 5s before)(oh which by the way the med. info feature sounds great unless someone steals my phone again & then has all my info!!)

  13. karunanidhi

    10/26/2014 at 5:59 pm

    i cn’t instal ios 8 on my iphon5c getting very delay to download

  14. stu

    10/27/2014 at 5:50 am

    Plugged my iPhone 4s into iTunes on the Mac and updated to 8.1. Works well.

  15. gifty

    11/13/2014 at 6:02 am

    it takes too long. I have been waiting for 5hours now. Please help I don’t know what to do

  16. Dhillon

    11/18/2014 at 7:37 pm

    Can I instal iOS 8.1 in my old iphone 4 16gb…. Wts review on that … Now my iphone is updates iOS 6 …. So plzz say what I do

  17. Adnanjan

    01/04/2015 at 8:42 am

    Why was my iPhone 5 battery times short on wifi

  18. Rahim Malek

    01/31/2015 at 6:08 pm

    There are some iPad 2 accessories even those sold on Apple Store that do not work once you upgrade to OS 8. So think first before you do.

  19. Vataya

    02/03/2015 at 5:51 pm

    I ve been waiting since 3:30 and it still going

  20. U R Blind

    02/13/2015 at 3:49 pm

    IOS 6 was best, FAST, SMALL

  21. R U Blind

    02/13/2015 at 3:54 pm

    IOS 6 did NOT cause blindness IOS 7 and 8 do. IOS 6 fast and small IOS7 and 8 slow and hogs. Cook did NOT learn from Msoft like Jobs. IOS6 users left in the cold. Next device most likely Samsung. Every new IOS creates user frustration NOT user relief. 16 gb iPad is great even if Apple trying to make it useless.

  22. R U Blind

    02/13/2015 at 4:00 pm

    The 16 GB iPad 2 is best Apple will ever be, IOS6 is best apple will EVER be. They are trying to make their user base frustrated and it is working. Moving to Samsung And so will everyone else, you can dress casual but that diesn’t mean you know what you are doing. No making good devices wi useless will not make you more money it will make samsung and microsoft more money. Im on the wY out of apple soon, thy hate their users.

  23. beck

    03/10/2015 at 1:46 am

    Thank you, this website has been SOOOOOOOO helpful! i.e. I spent 30 mins on the phone to AppleCare today, coming away with likely having to factory reset my iPhone 4S, but thanks to your guys pages/vids about speeding up iPhone 4S on iOS 8.1.3, I am saved! Truly, thank you so much :)

  24. kim

    03/15/2015 at 7:44 pm

    When I first started it said 2 hours now it is up to 3 it is taking forever to download the ios 8.2

  25. Lee Walkowski

    03/20/2015 at 5:30 pm

    Very confusing. Which is 7 and which is 8? It seems to be on the left one time and on the right in the next shot.

  26. Richard Nixon

    05/17/2015 at 12:12 am

    After reading the article I was nearly convinced to finally switch from iPhone 4 to iPhone 6, but after reading the comments I’m not quite as convinced. As a matter of fact, I’m a little unsure about staying with Apple at all. Although I paid for a lot of apps and music through the years, the songs I can keep using but any apps would be dead. I am noticing a lot of slow and lost connections with my old phone, which I thought was my Internet or wifi. Recently I loaded Periscope and just about every feed had issues and I like watching streams of news and movies, but even app updates sputter out. What to do?

  27. Jonathan Pearson

    09/14/2015 at 3:35 am

    If I am going to buy an Apple iPod 5g this year, how long will I be able to use it for before it needs to be updated and my apps start to not work? Thanks.

  28. Sam

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    I think that everything posted made a lot of sense.
    However, consider this, suppose yyou wrokte a catchier title?
    I mean, I don’t want to tell you how to run your blog, however what if you added a post title
    that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean What's New in iOS 8 is
    a little boring. You might glance at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they create post titles to grrab people interested.
    Yoou might aadd a related video or a pic oor two to grab readers interested about what you’ve got to say.
    Just my opinion, it would make your website a little bit more interesting.

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