Photo management has always been a pain point but iOS 8 looks to solve many of these with some new features.
Photos in iCloud
First up is the ability to store all of your images in iCloud, rather than locally on your device. They will then be available across all your devices and pulled down from the cloud when you want to access them. Apple also announced that 5 GB of storage would remain free, while 20 GB of iCloud storage will be dropping to just $0.99 a month, down from the current $40 per year for 20 GB. It’s still a shame that you have to pay for storage, especially when Flickr offer 1 TB for free, so we’ll see how well this is received when iOS 8 is released.
iCloud pricing options will be getting cheaper
Smart Search and Editing
As we all take so many pictures, finding them can be quite a chore. iOS 8 introduces new Smart Search suggestions. When looking for shots, the search can suggest based on location, date taken, or the album. For example you may want to find shots from January 2014 or from Yosemite National Park. The Smart Search will provide just those pictures when searching. More editing options have also been added to Photos in iOS 8. Alongside the Magic Wand tool, you can now alter the Light and Color levels. When you do a small box appears across the bottom that previews the change. There’s also now an option to straighten images when cropping if you didn’t quite hold the iPhone steady. Any edits are then instantly uploaded to your iCloud Library and you can access the changed images on your other devices too.
Search in Photos has received an upgrade in iOS 8
Add to favorites
Lastly a new Favorites option has been added with iOS 8. Tap on the Heart icon below any image and it’ll be added to your Favorites album. Overall, Photos has had a lot of new features added to it to make it feel more powerful and with better iCloud integration, iOS 8 should make keeping track of images even easier.
Check out more about iOS 8 here.