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One new feature in iOS 8.1 is: Text Message Forwarding
Any text messages sent to a phone number on an iPhone will be forwarded to other iOS devices using the same Apple ID.
Go to: Settings > Messages
Enable Test Message Forwarding for other iOS devices. They have to be logged in to iCloud using the same Apple ID with the iPhone.
One thing I noticed is that at this point I cannot forward text messages to other (service-less) iPhones.
Apple will release iOS 8.1 on Monday, October 20, 2014 along with the deployment of Apple Pay.
There will be a lot of people holding off from updating to iOS 8.1 for many different reasons. Some would be worried if iOS 8.1 update would be a repeat of the botched iOS 8.0.1 Over The Air (OTA) update. A lot of people are holding off from updating to iOS 8 because the do not have enough free space on their iOS devices, which are mostly 16 GB model or less.
I have the habit of updating my iOS devices using iTunes instead of over the air; which what I did to update to iOS 8.0.1.
Wait a few hours after the release of iOS 8.1 before proceeding with the update if you’re worried about some show-stopping bugs. Update your iOS devices using iTunes too. Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes.