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Bringing back the magic: Linking the iPad and iPhone in iOS 8

Apple is all about making its products work with one another. A key announcement at the WWDC explains how the company plans to do that with its two biggest products.
Written by James Kendrick, Contributor
iPhone iPad calling
Image: Apple live stream

Apple unveiled the next versions of OS X and iOS at the WWDC in San Francisco. A key strategy behind both OSes is the integration of the two to give customers the advantage of using Apple products. It's clear the company wants its customers to leverage having multiple Apple products.

One of the features in the upcoming iOS 8 is the ability to link the iPhone and iPad. Not much detail is available yet about the functionality, but Apple showed it briefly during the WWDC keynote.

An incoming call was shown on an iPhone that popped up on the linked iPad. The call could be answered on the iPad just as it could on the iPhone.

See also: Five things Apple should to do to rekindle the magic

This is exactly the functionality I said was necessary in a recent article on ZDNet. It makes no sense to me that owners of both the iPhone and iPad couldn't utilize the latter when it makes more sense.

From the earlier article:

Phone call rings in on the iPhone, and also on the iPad in front of you. A swipe of a finger and you're engaged in the call on the iPad. Finish up and hit the end call button, then pick up with whatever you were doing on the iPad before the call.

This scenario is exactly what was shown by Apple of the feature coming in iOS 8. The iPhone stays in the pocket or bag, perhaps even on the charger. Calls can be answered on whichever device is handy, the way it should be.

CNET: WWDC 2014 full coverage

This sounds trivial but from the perspective of user experience this is huge. Not only will this make Apple products more useful, it will further ingrain them in the lives of owners. The iPad will become a more integral part of daily life by assuming such basic functionality as using it for phone calls. Owners of both products from Apple will be using them for even more things that they do every day.

Many folks own both an iPad and iPhone, and the more they use this new feature of iOS 8, the more satisfaction they will get owning Apple products. This is such a basic feature that before long owners won't even think about it, they will simply use it. They will feel good doing it, and that's what Apple is all about.

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