Submitted by Marshall Walker on
As promised Apple (NYSE: AAPL) has launched its first major update to iOS 8.0. iOS 8.1 is now available as an over the air update on the iPhone 4s and later and iPad 2 and later. Users can download the new software by navigating to Settings > General > Software Update. The update requires 1.6GB of free storage to install.
iOS 8.1 includes Apple's new mobile payment system called Apple Pay. The new feature is only supported by the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3 and the Apple Watch. Only the iPhone 6 models with NFC and Apple Watch when paired with an iPhone are capable of making in-store payments at Apple Pay terminals. iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users can use Apple Pay and Touch ID to make online or in-app purchases on their tablets.
iOS 8.1 also brings back the Camera Roll in Photos and launches the iCloud Photo Library beta and Text Message Forwarding. Users can enable the new iCloud feature in Settings > iCloud > Photos. This allows you to automatically store your entire photo library in iCloud and access them from any iOS device.
Text Message Forwarding pushes text messages sent to your iPhone to your Mac running Yosemite and your iPad running iOS 8.1. This only works if all your devices are running on the same Wi-Fi connection or if they're connected via Bluetooth.