Monday, December 22, 2014

Best iOS 8 sharing and action extension apps for iPhone

Sharing and action extensions, both part of Apple's Extensibility feature in iOS 8, make it easier than ever to get things done on iPhone and iPad. No longer do you have to switch to an app just to upload a photo to Pinterest or save an article to Instapaper, or hunt down 1Password or Bing just to copy a password or translate a web site. Now all that functionality comes to you, where ever you are, at the tap of the Share button. And these are the best iPhone apps implementing them.

Pinterest

Finding and sharing pins prior to iOS 8 wasn't all that much fun. You needed to copy the link to your clipboard and then go back into the Pinterest app and paste it back out. Now, whenever you want to pin something, you can do it right then and there simply by bringing up the share sheet and tapping the Pinterest button.

Evernote

If you use Evernote to store photos, text notes, checklists, and more, you'll appreciate how easy iOS 8 and extensions make it to easily add information to your account from anyone on your iPhone. Just tap the Share button in any app, including Safari, and tap the Evernote option. Title your note and choose a notebook, and your content will be there waiting next time you launch Evernote.

Pocket

Read-it-later services used to have to resort to complex JavaScript bookmarklets or hope for third-party integration to try and make links easier to move articles and links from your iPhone and into their service. Now, thanks to sharing extensions, almost anything can go from your phone to your Pocket in just two taps.

Instapaper

Find an article you like on the web and want to save it to read later? Don't worry about copying the link, jumping over to another app, and hoping it detects the link in the clipboard and offers to add it. Just tap the share button and the Instagram button, and let iOS 8 do all the work.

1Password

Back in the dark days before iOS 8, if you want to get your login out of 1Password and into another app, you had to switch between the two and use copy and paste to get you through. Now, whether you're in Safari or any other app, all you need to do is bring up the share sheet, tap the action extension, authenticate with Touch ID or passcode, and your passwords get autofilled. It's not magic, but it's close.

Transmit

Transmit lets you take any file on your iPhone and easily upload it to your FTP server of choice. All you have to do is go to the item you want to upload, tap the share button, and watch it go. Whether it's an image in the Photos app or something in Safari, Transmit's extension will take it from where it is and put it where you want it to be.

Bing

The Bing action extension is nothing short of incredible. It lets you translate any web page in Safari to any language it supports, and all with just two taps. Gone are the days of having to copy and paste links or text into web-based translators. Now that translator is ready and waiting for you where ever you go.

If you want on the fly translation inside Safari for iOS, be sure to download the Bing app.

Day One

Day One is among the best journaling apps for the iPhone and its iOS 8 extension makes it even better. With it, you can share images and add descriptions right from the Photos app, or send text, links, or other data to Day One from where ever you are, without ever having to hunt down and launch the actual app.

Your favorite apps that take advantage of sharing and action extensions?

If you've come across some great apps that take full advantage of sharing and action extensions, be sure to let me know in the comments what they are and what makes them great!








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