iOS 8: Quickly Access Your Favorite Contacts with Home Button

One of the cool new features in iOS 8 is the ability to double tap the Home button and bring up not only the running apps but also your favorite and recent contacts.

I think this is going to be one of my favorite new features of iOS 8. The basic procedure is simple.

Start by double tapping the Home button.

  1. Double tap the Home button.
  2. Swipe the photos at the top to the right to view Phone app Favorites.
  3. Swipe the photos at the top to the left to view Recents.
  4. Tap a desired photo.
  5. Select one of the communication options.

After you tap a photo, tap desired comm. method

The reason I like this feature is because I was using Siri recently to try to dial someone, and Siri was having a rough time distinguishing between the very similar sounding names in my Contacts. No matter how clearly I spoke the desired name, Siri would pick the wrong one. So, it's nice to have new options when some techniques don't pan out.

This new iOS 8 method requires a few taps more than the Favorites in the Phone app, but it provides more instant flexibility in selecting the communication mode. Finally, I like that the photos are larger than in the Phone app's Favorite list, which helps when you're on the move.

This is not a giant step forward, but it does provide a fast, intuitive way to have that favorite person on virtual speed-dial. Having several favorite ways of doing something is a Good Thing™.