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Apple released iOS 8.1 for iPad, iPhone, and other iOS devices on October 20. As of about 1 pm Eastern time, iOS 8.1 is live and ready for you to update on your iPhone, iPad, or other iOS device. Ready to download it? Check out our guide to downloading iOs 8.1.
One of the most hotly anticipated aspects of the iOS 8.1 update is Apple Pay. This new payment system can be used in one of two ways. You can use Apple Pay by waving your phone in front of a cash register that supports Apple Pay, but only if you have an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus (the Apple Watch, due out next year, can also be used in this way).
If you haven’t bought a new iPhone yet, you can still use Apple Pay in another way. On any Apple device that supports TouchID, you can use Apple Pay to complete payments within participating apps. That means you can use an iPhone 5s, the new iPad Mini 3 or the new iPad Air 2 to pay for things in an app using Apple Pay.
Forbes notes that other big changes in iOS 8.1 include support for Continuity features that enhance productivity between Macs running OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 devices. Other new features include Instant Hotspot control, iCloud Photo Library, and enhanced SMS support across all your Apple devices.
While many iOS users plan to update to iOS 8.1 on release day, others plan to wait. Earlier versions of the iOS 8 family were plagued by serious bugs, so many Apple fans are going to wait for reports back from users on iOS 8.1 before upgrading themselves. Additionally, downloading new iOS updates the day they come out can often take a long time, since so many people are downloading the update at once. Before you upgrade to iOS 8.1, you might want to read Gotta Be Mobile’s 8 reasons not to upgrade to iOS 8.1 on release day.