iOS 8 Tips

iOS 7 introduced filters, a cropping tool, red eye reduction and an auto-enhance tool to the Photo app's editing suite. iOS 8 has enhanced the Photo app's editing suite with several new features. Now you can straighten/rotate and fine tune by adjusting lighting and color levels all on your iPhone.

To edit a photo, simply tap the Edit button in the top right of the screen. Don't worry about ruining a photo, as you can always revert to the original later on.

Time lapse photography is a filming technique that uses a lower frame rate for capturing video than is used for viewing it, resulting in a video that appears to be sped up. For example, you might record people walking through a park at one frame per second and play it back at 30 frames per second, resulting in something akin to a Benny Hill chase. Basically it is the opposite of slow motion. This technique is ideal for capturing motion that is too subtle for the human eye to appreciate, such as star movement, flowers blooming or clouds developing. It is also good for seeing long term progress, like watching the construction of a skyscraper, from beginning to end, in just a minute or two. iOS 8 has added this functionality to the Camera app, so now you can make your own time lapse videos with your iPhone or iPad.

Creating your own time lapse video is quite simple. Open your Camera and scroll over and select the "Time Lapse" option. Now all you have to do is tap record.

Sometimes having to unlock your iPhone to access your Messages app can be a pain, so Apple has added a quick reply feature as part of its "interactive notifications" feature in iOS 8. This allows users to quickly reply to a message from the Lock Screen without having to unlock their iPhone. Here's how it works.

When you receive a notification on your Lock Screen swipe left on the message to reveal the blue Reply button. Tap the button then type your message in message box and hit Send. Your response will then be sent without having to unlock your phone.

There is a potentially life saving feature in iOS 8's new Health app - the emergency Medical ID. If you are ever in an accident, and let's hope you never are, that leaves you unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate, the Medical ID could prove invaluable to emergency medical workers. So, to err on the side of caution you should set yours up. It takes only a few moments, here's how to do it:

1. Open your Health app and tap on Medical ID in the bottom right corner.

Apple added the ability to share your whereabouts with other iMessage users in the release of iOS 8. You can choose to share your current location once via text message or share your location in every text sent for an hour, one day or indefinitely. Here's how to share your location with another person, or how stop sharing your location in case you accidentally enabled the feature:

Share your current location one time:

1. Open your Messages app.
2. Select the the message thread you want to use (This also works for group messages).
3. Tap the round i icon in the upper right hand corner.
4. Tap Send My Current Location.

This will send your current location to the person or to all the people using iMessage in that thread. The "Details" section is also where you can leave a group message, delete another person you added from a group message or change the name of a group message. From here you can also choose to share your location multiple times throughout the day.