Now that iOS 8 has been out for a while, you’ve had plenty of time to find new features that you like – but probably also some new features you hate. Don’t worry, though – a bunch of the new features Apple added can be easily disabled. Hate seeing those contact bubbles when you swap between apps? Head into Settings, then Mail, Contacts and Calendars to change the “Show in App Switcher” option to off – or to only show the contacts listed in your phone’s “Favorites” menu. Similarly, you can turn off enhanced searches in Spotlight. Don’t like that your phone shows results from iTunes, the App Store and nearby locations? Under the “General” section of the Settings app, tap on Spotlight Search and disable the options you don’t want. If you don’t want predictive text showing up above your keyboard, stay in that “General” section of Settings, then tap Keyboards. Here, you can disable predictive text and a few other features, and also quickly delete any third-party keyboards you no longer want on your phone.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.