Apple (News - Alert) has rolled out a slew of new features to coincide with iOS 8.1. These features include the much anticipated Apple Pay, iCloud Photo Library, along with multiple continuity features. Apple Pay is available on the new iPhone (News - Alert) 6 and iPhone 6 plus, along with iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.

Apple’s new continuity features include SMS relay, instant hotspot, and Handoff. These new features let users easily switch between their iPhone, Mac, and iPad. The iOS 8.1 software supports SMS from any Apple device. This means users will no longer be inhibited with only the ability to iMessage from certain devices.

Another important continuity feature is the instant hotspot—it will allow users to connect to their phones, if they are close by, and use the personal hotspot on user’s iPad or Mac. The iPhone hotspot will appear on users Wi-Fi options. Along with this, the Handoff feature syncs all of your Apple Devices instantaneously, that way a note you are creating on your phone can instantly be picked up where you left off on your Mac.

The iCloud Photo Library gives users the capability to use iCloud storage space to manage photos across multiple Apple devices. This means that a photo you take on your phone can be edited and shared with an iPhone, iPad and iPod. The feature is not yet compatible with Mac software. The camera roll will also likely be returned because of negative reviews from users about the change to photo sections such as “recently added”.

Last but not least, the long awaited Apple Pay is now available. Visa, American Express (News - Alert) and MasterCard are among the cards that support Apple Pay. This mobile payment service lets users pay for goods and services at the supporting 220,000 stores.  Among the accepting stores are Macys, Whole Foods, Walgreens and Staples (News - Alert). The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus will be able to wirelessly pay for items in stores using near field communication (NFC) technology. The sale transactions are authorized with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and passbook. Older iPhones, like the 5, 5C and 5S have the ability to use Apple Pay, but users would have to pair it with the NFC-enabled Apple Watch.

iOS 8.1 also hopes to improve issues that were created with the early 8.0.1 update. Apple users have a lot to look forward to with these anticipated features and bug fixes.