Tips

The evolution of the mobile phone is odd when you think about it. We went from wanting smaller phones to wanting larger displays, and we chose text as our preferred means of communication over video and voice calls. So why did Apple add the ability to send voice messages in iOS 8 if people are just going text each other anyway? Some would argue that Apple added voice messages because it is a popular feature on WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger and other third-party messaging services, but I like to think of it as the end of the dinosaur known as Voice Mail.

How many times have you had a text conversation where you said, "I can't explain this in text... I'm going to call you". Or how many times have you wanted to leave someone a message but didn't want to deal with the long process of calling them and leaving a voice mail? This is where a voice messages comes in. Thanks to iOS 8, iPhone users can now quickly record and send a voice message without the need to call someone.

Here's a quick look at all the new features Apple has added to its default Mail app in iOS 8.

Swiping left or right on an email now brings up the more options. Swipe left for "More," "Flag" or "Trash," and swipe right to quickly mark an email as Unread or Read. You can also customize these options under Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Swipe Options.

In a rare publicity stunt Apple automatically uploaded U2's album Songs of Innocence to iOS users' iTunes accounts. A lot of people were not happy that Apple forced the album onto their devices and voiced their displeasure on social media. Apple has heard the complaints and on Monday released a free web tool for users to remove the album from their iTunes music library.

The tool is simple to use:

1. Click this link
2. Click the "Remove Album" button
3. Enter your Apple ID and password

The album will be automatically removed from your iTunes music library after you enter your Apple ID.

Bringing desktop file management to the iPhone is not a new concept. The tweak iFile is a familiar example of what is possible with a jailbroken iOS device. Media Downloader brings a new level of features to Safari users, making it possible to download media files and more.

Even complete web pages can be downloaded to the iPhone for later viewing without Wi-Fi or data service. Media Downloader is a browser app that grabs and stores a variety of media files to iOS, providing options to play files and open them in different apps.

Adding more power to the Spotlight search is a favorite pastime of jailbreak developers. While iOS 8 will bring more features to the Spotlight, jailbreakers can enjoy some of these upgrades now. In addition, there have been mods to integrate Spotify and multiple other apps and search types. These not only make search results more useful, but make it possible to launch apps directly.

Now the jailbreak tweak SpotFile promises to expand Spotlight search directly into the iOS 7 file system. Much like iFile, which provides access to iOS files, SpotFile brings similar functionality directly to Spotlight. When it comes to its capabilities, browsing the file system is only the beginning.