It is widely expected that Apple is finally going to release iOS 8 to the public next month. The new software was unveiled at WWDC 2014 earlier this year and since then it has been in a beta program that is not open to the public. One of the features added to iOS this time around is Family Sharing and it appears that the company has started to get the App Store ready in time for the new software’s launch after which this feature would go live for all users.
Apple has made some small changes to the App Store that allow shoppers to see whether the apps they’re buying will be compatible with Family Sharing in iOS 8. The small notices appear in the “Information” section that sits beneath an app’s description. Family Sharing is one of the lesser talked about features in iOS 8, and yet it could well be one of the most significant for a vast number of users. It allows up to six people to share things like photos, calendars, and location data — and more importantly, purchases they’ve made in the App Store, iTunes, and the iBookstore. That means that if you buy an app, a book, or a movie, your wife or your son or your parents can access them as well without paying for them again. Not everything Apple sells is eligible for Family Sharing, however, so the Cupertino company has made some changes to help you establish what is and what isn’t. The changes appear to be present in the App Store only for now, but we expect them to reach iTunes and the iBookstore as well before iOS 8 makes its public debut this fall. To find the Family Sharing details, just scroll down past an app’s screenshots and description to the “Information” section, and it should be sitting just beneath “Compatibility.”
