iOS 8 first look video: Spotlight now searches iTunes, movie times, locations & more

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2014
With this year's launch of iOS 8, users will be able to access far more content through Spotlight search on their iPhone or iPad than they ever were before, including data from Maps, iTunes and Fandango.



As can be seen in the above video, Spotlight is less tethered to local content than ever before, offering quick links to services like the App Store, websites such as Wikipedia, and pulling in data like movie times. Spotlight also searches for recent news stories, iBooks titles, and can even recommend suggested websites.

The same new and improved search functions can also be found in the smart search field in Safari. But with their inclusion in Spotlight, users won't have to launch an app to access that information if they so choose.

As Apple continues to feud with its chief rival Google, many of the changes made in its iOS platform over the last two years have focused on bypassing the search giant completely. These latest changes only serve to further that effort, though Google does remain the default provider on the iPhone if users choose the "Search Web" result in Spotlight.

iOS 8 is currently in beta for developer testing. It is expected to launch on iPhone and iPad this fall. For more, see AppleInsider's other iOS 8 videos.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    macky the mackymacky the macky Posts: 4,801member
    Spotsetter! You forgot Spotsetter! Spotlight will also search Spotsetter toooooo!
  • Reply 2 of 13
    alcstarheelalcstarheel Posts: 554member
    This is definitely a long time coming. Finally a more extensible search right from the home screen.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    realcoolrealcool Posts: 32member
    That's amazingly convenient, can't wait to get it
  • Reply 4 of 13
    jakebjakeb Posts: 562member
    Love it. No more reason to think about where the thing you're looking for might be -- just search.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    mejsricmejsric Posts: 152member
    People are asking Apple to create a search engine to compete with Google. I guess this is it.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    1brayden1brayden Posts: 31member
    Thermonuclear doesn't have to mean total annihilation. Good moves on Apple's part
  • Reply 7 of 13
    daveinpublicdaveinpublic Posts: 633member
    Awesome! Love seeing new stuff on a daily basis. So glad my phone will get all these updates for free and on day one. Unlike android.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    renedekatrenedekat Posts: 4member
    Very nice, but it doesn't work on my iPhone 5s here in the UK. Just the same old Spotlight results as in iOS7
  • Reply 9 of 13
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member

    Lovely music in the video. I believe it was the default music for the slideshow on the very first iPad.

  • Reply 10 of 13
    darrandarran Posts: 5member
    renedekat wrote: »
    Very nice, but it doesn't work on my iPhone 5s here in the UK. Just the same old Spotlight results as in iOS7
    Same here mate. In the uk on ios 8 beta 1 this doesn't work. Compared to the US
  • Reply 11 of 13
    jasondwelshjasondwelsh Posts: 43member
    The Black Keys...great taste in music!!
  • Reply 12 of 13
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    This is great, but how about a search capability of the Mail app on IOS, so that it searches the ENTIRE email not JUST the subject heading, sender, or recipient?  That basic functionality seems absent from iOS7 and is sorely missing.

  • Reply 13 of 13
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member
    512ke wrote: »
    This is great, but how about a search capability of the Mail app on IOS, so that it searches the ENTIRE email not JUST the subject heading, sender, or recipient?  That basic functionality seems absent from iOS7 and is sorely missing.

    You're absolutely correct, apart from the fact that the functionality you wish for has been there for the past year.
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