It is yet another big day for Apple as the company has unveiled plenty of new products to the world earlier today including iPad Mini 3, iPad Air 2, refreshed Mac Mini and 27-inch iMac with 5K display. Additionally, the company has also announced the availability of OS X Yosemite and for iOS users out there, the iOS 8.1 update.
The new update will not only brings together under-the hood fixes for the operating system but also several new features as well. This include the new Apple Pay feature which allows users to securely make payments via NFC. However, Apple Pay is only available on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus even after users updated their other devices with iOS 8.1 since the Apple Pay requires specific components that are only available on those two smartphones.
In addition to that, the iOS 8.1 update will also mark the return of Camera Roll albums to iOS and the arrival of iCloud Photo Library in the form of public beta. Utilizing iCloud as storage space, the service allows users to store and access their photos as well as videos through their any of their iOS devices as well as Mac and Windows PCs (via icloud.com).
Last but not least, the update will also include one of the new Continuity features called SMS Handoff which allow users to receive and reply SMS on their Mac provided that it has been updated to OS X Yosemite.
To be released on 20 October, the iOS 8.1 will be available through iTunes and as over-the-air update for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPod Touch 5th generation, iPad 2, iPad with Retina Display, iPad Air, iPad Mini, and iPad Mini with Retina Display. Naturally, it will come as standard on the new iPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2.
[Source: Apple, Ars Technica]
