Apple demoes iOS 8 voice messaging ability

Nov 27, 2014 13:49 GMT  ·  By

iOS 8 comes packed with a lot of new features, including voice messaging that works in a seamless and intuitive manner. There’s a good chance not many people are actually using the feature, and even less so in the way Apple portrays it.

Apple started airing a bunch of new iPhone ads this month and viewers aren’t very impressed. We can’t say we like these ads any better, but that’s a story for another time.

“Hey man, have you tried the new voice text in the new iPhone 6?” – “Yeah, it's amazing!”

The conversation between the two voiceovers is highly unnatural. Two dudes would only talk like that if their mothers were around. And the focus on the iPhone is too evident.

That being said, Apple does a great job showing people how to use the feature. It’s actually very clever, it’s seamlessly embedded in the Messages app, and it’s a breeze to operate.

Apple says on the marketing pages of iOS 8, “Look forward to doing amazing new things with the app you use most. In iOS 8, Messages has fun, useful, even surprising features that will change the way you think about messaging. Messages in iOS 8 makes it easy to capture any sound — your voice, a song, or a big laugh — and make it part of the conversation.”

To send a voice message, users simply touch and hold the microphone button at the top right-hand side of the keyboard, record their message, then swipe to send. Sending a video message involves similar steps.

Apple increases Messages focus

In recent years, Apple has noticed that people tend to be using apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger on a regular basis. So it was only natural to add some of their key features inside its own Messages app.

Unlike WhatsApp, however, Messages works on all Apple devices, including those without a SIM card and even Macs. Messages connects iCloud users with iMessage, turning every chat bubble blue and avoiding carrier costs. Unfortunately, iMessage isn’s the most reliable messaging service because of cloud-side issues. At the same time, neither is WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Watch the ad below as well as the photo gallery we set up for you to say a few more things about iOS 8 and Messages. When you’re done, share your thoughts with us in the comments section. Do you also think Apple is overdoing it a little with these ads?

iOS 8 Messages (7 Images)

Voice messages
Voice messages promoVudeo messages
+4more