iOS 8 'Extensibility' Will Allow Widgets, Third-Party Keyboards

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Image: Apple

By Pete Pachal2014-06-02 18:57:23 UTC

Apple showed off some developer-centric features in iOS 8 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and notable one was Extensibility, which introduces the ability for apps to share some aspects of their abilities with another.

While the iPhone already has some inter-app functionality, Extensibility brings it to a new level. At the WWDC keynote, Craig Federighi showed how Safari could use a Bing Translate extension to change the text on a Japanese website into English. He then shared an item from the page via a Pinterest extension.

See also: Apple Reveals iOS 8: Active Notifications, Health App and More

Extensibility will also enable developers to create widgets for iOS, a feature common on Android. Widgets will appear in the device's notification center.

The new feature will also allow developers to build their own keyboards into their apps. At the demo, Federighi showed a Swype keyboard — one where you can select the next letter in a word by swiping across the screen instead of tapping — working on an iPhone.

Apple will also introduce new APIs in iOS 8, enabling developers to control more aspects of the iPhone/iPad's camera (like focus and white balance) and photo library (like total read/write ability), with the user's permission.

The TouchID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone can now also access passwords within the user's iCloud keychain. Apple said the fingerprints stored still never leave the device.

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Topics: Apps and Software, Dev & Design, extensibility, extensions, iOS, iOS 8, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, safari, Tech, WWDC

Image: Apple