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June 03, 2014

T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling Works on iOS 8

I think that people were expecting to hear a big announcement from Apple on Monday, something along the lines of a new iPhone. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, took the stage at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco yesterday to announce the latest features for iPhones, iPads and Macs. Those features came in the form of unveiling iOS 8, an update to the operating system.

Probably one feature that will get a lot of attention is the new HealthKit app. Among other things the app will monitor a user’s heart rate, sleep, weight and blood pressure information. HealthKit will also allow clinicians at the Mayo Clinic to send health information directly to a user's app, which can in turn send that data to a user's primary physician.

While the new operating system will have other apps such as HomeKit which would allow someone to control a wide variety of items with their iPhone or iPad, there are more subtle changes that can mostly be considered as requested fixes to iOS 7, such as interactive notifications, suggested words when typing, Apple is calling this their smartest keyboard ever, quicker access to contacts, widgets and inter-app communication.

Although one of the features was not actually talked about on stage, Apple sort of quietly announced that Wi-Fi calling would be part of iOS 8. In response, T-Mobile has confirmed that it will soon enable the experience for iPhone users on its network when iOS 8 is released later this year. Currently, T-Mobile offers this feature for Android devices.

Being able to use Wi-Fi calling will allow users to make and receive calls in addition to sending messages through a Wi-Fi connection rather than using their voice or data plan. The beauty of this feature is that it allows users to avoid unnecessary service charges and cut bill costs. It will also extend coverage to areas without traditional network coverage while still allowing users to use their regular phone number. This should also improve phone calls that are made indoors where the signal can sometimes find interference.

It was noted in T-Mobile’s announcement that the feature does not require an app or any type of activation, “Just connect to any available Wi-Fi network, check that Wi-Fi Calling is turned on on your capable smartphone and make a call (or send a text, email, etc.) as you normally would. That’s it.” That means that once iOS 8 is released later this year, iPhone users should be able to take advantage of the feature right away.

According to T-Mobile, 90 percent of its smartphones already offer Wi-Fi calling capabilities and that there are 17 million Wi-Fi Calling-enabled smartphones on T-Mobile’s network. In additional, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of around 5 million customers who are using Wi-Fi calling each month. The expectation is that once the feature is used in iOS 8, the popularity of the service will soar.




Edited by Maurice Nagle


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