Reliable blogger Mark Gurman is stepping back from some of his earlier claims regarding rumored iOS 8 features like Healthbook and public transit in Maps.
Apparently, the blogger’s sources have had a change of heart, now cautioning that some of the headline features planned for iOS 8.0 (code-named ‘Okemo’) could be moved to iOS 8.1.
As a result, Apple could place a larger emphasis on the next major release of its desktop operating system for Macs, code-named ‘Syrah’ after the wine.
It is speculated that the company’s been allocating iOS user interface teams to OS X as Apple races to finalize a brand new OS X design in time for WWDC, which kicks off with a keynote on June 2…
Gurman writes that the new OS X 10.10 design will incorporate some streamlining while borrowing more features and design cues from iOS 7, resulting in more white space between UI elements, “sharper” window corners and “more defined” icons across the system.
Familiar OS X features like the Finder, multi-window multitasking and Mission Control won’t be removed to make OS X look more like iOS, he writes.
As for iOS 8, some of the headline new features Gurman previously broke – such as Healthbook, an improved Maps app with public transit directions and a car-finding feature (as evidenced in an Apple patent), a standalone iTunes Radio app, VoLTE calling support, TextEdit and Preview apps and more – are said to have been potentially moved to iOS 8.1.
Again, assumedly because concurrent development of major new iOS and OS X versions has spread Apple’s development teams thin. Sources now claim that Apple is “still racing” to enable public transit directions in iOS 8 Maps in time for WWDC 2014, but at the same time cautiously point out that this feature is “certainly in the mix to potentially be pushed back.”
“Some significant changes” to iCloud are on the table as well, Gurman writes. He also corroborated Bloomberg’s earlier report calling for a Siri song identification feature in partnership with Shazam.
Other rather obvious highlights:
- iOS 8 will leverage the A8 chip
- The A8 processor will focus on power efficiency and overall performance
- A “high-priority” iOS device that isn’t an iPhone is being worked on
- A feature called “multi-resolution support” will improve compatibility of both App Store applications and the general iOS operating system across multiple new iOS device resolutions
- The next Apple TV to take advantage of improved resolution support
- The next Apple TV has been pushed back, though product development “is now a priority”
- A thorough revamp of the Apple TV software in the works
- Both the revamped Apple TV software and iOS 8.1 release could launch in tandem in late-2014 or early-2015
So, what do you guys make of this?