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Apple makes online shopping easier with iOS 8

Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - 10:28 by Graham Miller

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This month Apple unveiled iOS 8, its new mobile operating system, which will be coming to a range of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch models later in the year. And one of the most interesting new features is based around making it quicker and easier to shop online from your smartphone.

Essentially, the software will make it possible for people to scan their credit and debit card information directly using the camera of their mobile or tablet. Taking a picture of your card will enable you to fill in an info form on an e-commerce site or app, meaning that there is less time spent having to copy out the long string of numbers.

It is somewhat surprising that Apple has not integrated this kind of capability into older versions of iOS, because all the feature does is use existing text recognition technology to convert the details on any payment card into data that an iPhone or iPad can then use to buy something online.

Plenty of consumers will know that when you get to the checkout of an e-commerce site, the streamlined nature of the process can hit a bit of a brick wall. This is especially true if you have never used a particular site before, because you will often have to enter all of your personal details again, to make a purchase.

Some people simply give up on a sale at this point and head back to a site they know, even if the price is not as good, because convenience is often a more valuable commodity.

Hopefully, Apple's new service in iOS 8 will address this issue and ensure that people are getting good value for money and a seriously intuitive experience of shopping online.