iOS 8 rumours: Apple to ditch Game Center app, tweak Messages and Notifications Center

Apple’s iOS 8 or the the bigger update to iOS 7 will most likely be showcased at the company’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June, but rumours around the next iteration are already gaining momentum. One of the biggest leaks has been the HealthBook App, which is Apple’s full-blown fitness app that works in tandem with the iWatch.

Besides HealthBook, Apple has also been tipped to make some other major changes. According to 9to5Mac, iOS 8 could mean the end of the Game Centre and we could also see some tweaks in the Notification Center as well as the Messages app.

The report quotes sources as saying that “Apple is considering removing the Game Center application from iOS and OS X.” The app may be ditched, but the functionality will remain inside games, which means users just won’t have a front-end to check their achievements in all games, instead it would be inside the game’s interface. It’s all a little unclear, at the moment, since a previous leak did show the Game Center icon.

Other changes in iOS 8 include major tweaks in the Notification Center. The report adds that “the translucent drop-down menu for managing alerts may be simplified.” Currently the centre has three panels – Today, All and Missed. Apple could get rid of the Missed notifications tab in the next version of iOS.

As far as Messages go, Apple could add the ability for message threads to automatically be deleted in iOS 8. The report on 9to5 Mac says that the “options for auto-deleting of threads could be set to after a month or after a year.”

It must be noted that none of these features are final and some may not even be ready in time for the WWDC unveiling, but it sure looks like Apple is making some big changes in functionality, while not completely overhauling the OS.