Apple on Monday showed off a revamped version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, which will ship to customers this fall and support the same devices as the last update.
Developers will get to check out iOS 5 today. It adds more than 500 new features, 10 of which Apple discussed during a Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote, including a notification center and the option to go PC-free.
First up, Apple has added a notification center to iOS 5, which combines all notifications, divided by apps, in one place - just swipe down from the top to reveal them. That includes missed calls, mail notifications, sports scores, Facebook updates, and more. The idea is to not have notifications interuppt your iOS activity. A text message you receive while playing a game appears at the top, but doesn't interrupt the game, and then disappears.
Tired of hooking up your iPhone to a computer? With iOS 5, you'll see a welcome screen rather than an icon urging you to hook up the device to a computer. You can set it up without a PC and updates will be delivered over the air.
To that end, you won't have to go back to a computer to create calendars; just create or delete from the iPhone. "If you want to cut the cord, you can," said Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iPhone Software.
Apple also unveiled iMessage, a messaging solution that will sync across iOS devices. Users can access delivery receipts, optional read receipts, and typing notifications so you know when someone is responding, a la BlackBerry Messenger. It's available over 3G and Wi-Fi and everything is encrypted, Apple said.
With iMessage, the message will come in at the top of the screen. Tap it and a keyboard pops up. A three-dots icon indicates that someone is replying; receipt is added to the messages log.
Apple's iOS will also include AirPlay mirroring, which will mirror the iPad 2 right to the TV, wirelessly, as well as Wi-Fi synching to iTunes.
Apple's iOS 5 also added a single place for all magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Users can auto-download to the home screen via background downloads. When you wake up, your newspaper will be ready for you to read, offline, with the cover showing the new magazine or newspaper. Apple currently has subscription options for publications like National Geographic, Spin, Vanity Fair, and Popular Mechanics.
Cupertino is also jumping on the Twitter bandwagon with a single sign-on for the micro-blogging site. Enter your name or password and it's configured for other apps, too. Apple's iOS 5 will also integrate Twitter with Camera and Photos. If you take a photo and want to tweet that photo, there's a sheet with thumbnail, character countdown, and location. Users can also tweet articles from Safari and locations from Maps, as well as integrate with Contacts.
On the Safari front, the Reader option will put a particular online story "front and center, with no distractions," Apple said. Reader will rip the story from the page and put a multiple-page story on a single page. The Reading List feature can save a story for later by adding it to Reader, which will be accessible across all iOS devices. Finally, there will be tabbed browsing, which will include "lightning fast" switching between windows, Forstall said.
Want your phone to be your personal assistant? Reminders will take our to-do lists and put them on your phone. They can even be tailored to your location. "Remind me to call my wife when I leave the office," for example. Reminders will also sync with your calendar and Exchange.
The iOS 5 update also touched on the camera. Do you need to take a photo immediately? Double click the home button and it'll bring up the camera, even if you have a passcode set. The volume up button can also be used to take a photo. The will be optional grid lines for rule of thirds, pinch to zoom, autofocus and autoexposure lock when you hold your finger over part of the scene, and you can edit photos directly on the iPhone - crop, rotate, and red-eye reduction.
On Mail, iOS 5 will add some customization options like bold, italics, control of indentations, and support for flagging. All messages will be on the phone and the server and you can swipe to the inbox. There will also be more enterprise support, like S-MIME. A lock icon will indicate that the content is encrypted.
A new variant for the keyboard, meanwhile, allows users to "grab handles" and split the keyboard, moving it closer to your thumbs.
GameCenter, meanwhile, will include the ability to add photos of your friends, compare yourself against them, and see friends of friends. Apple also added game recommendations, which you can purchase and download right from GameCenter. There is also support for turn-based games, like Scrabble, right in the OS.
Apple also revealed that it has sold 25 million iPad 2s. The company's Lion Mac OS X, meanwhile, will be available via the Mac App Store starting in July for $29.
Last week, comScore found that the continued popularity of the iPhone and Android-based devices helped Apple and Google maintain their lead over RIM in the first three months of the year, with iPhones snapping up 26 percent of the U.S. market.
Developers will get to check out iOS 5 today. It adds more than 500 new features, 10 of which Apple discussed during a Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote, including a notification center and the option to go PC-free.
First up, Apple has added a notification center to iOS 5, which combines all notifications, divided by apps, in one place - just swipe down from the top to reveal them. That includes missed calls, mail notifications, sports scores, Facebook updates, and more. The idea is to not have notifications interuppt your iOS activity. A text message you receive while playing a game appears at the top, but doesn't interrupt the game, and then disappears.
Tired of hooking up your iPhone to a computer? With iOS 5, you'll see a welcome screen rather than an icon urging you to hook up the device to a computer. You can set it up without a PC and updates will be delivered over the air.
To that end, you won't have to go back to a computer to create calendars; just create or delete from the iPhone. "If you want to cut the cord, you can," said Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iPhone Software.
Apple also unveiled iMessage, a messaging solution that will sync across iOS devices. Users can access delivery receipts, optional read receipts, and typing notifications so you know when someone is responding, a la BlackBerry Messenger. It's available over 3G and Wi-Fi and everything is encrypted, Apple said.
With iMessage, the message will come in at the top of the screen. Tap it and a keyboard pops up. A three-dots icon indicates that someone is replying; receipt is added to the messages log.
Apple's iOS will also include AirPlay mirroring, which will mirror the iPad 2 right to the TV, wirelessly, as well as Wi-Fi synching to iTunes.
Apple's iOS 5 also added a single place for all magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Users can auto-download to the home screen via background downloads. When you wake up, your newspaper will be ready for you to read, offline, with the cover showing the new magazine or newspaper. Apple currently has subscription options for publications like National Geographic, Spin, Vanity Fair, and Popular Mechanics.
On the Safari front, the Reader option will put a particular online story "front and center, with no distractions," Apple said. Reader will rip the story from the page and put a multiple-page story on a single page. The Reading List feature can save a story for later by adding it to Reader, which will be accessible across all iOS devices. Finally, there will be tabbed browsing, which will include "lightning fast" switching between windows, Forstall said.
Want your phone to be your personal assistant? Reminders will take our to-do lists and put them on your phone. They can even be tailored to your location. "Remind me to call my wife when I leave the office," for example. Reminders will also sync with your calendar and Exchange.
The iOS 5 update also touched on the camera. Do you need to take a photo immediately? Double click the home button and it'll bring up the camera, even if you have a passcode set. The volume up button can also be used to take a photo. The will be optional grid lines for rule of thirds, pinch to zoom, autofocus and autoexposure lock when you hold your finger over part of the scene, and you can edit photos directly on the iPhone - crop, rotate, and red-eye reduction.
On Mail, iOS 5 will add some customization options like bold, italics, control of indentations, and support for flagging. All messages will be on the phone and the server and you can swipe to the inbox. There will also be more enterprise support, like S-MIME. A lock icon will indicate that the content is encrypted.
A new variant for the keyboard, meanwhile, allows users to "grab handles" and split the keyboard, moving it closer to your thumbs.
GameCenter, meanwhile, will include the ability to add photos of your friends, compare yourself against them, and see friends of friends. Apple also added game recommendations, which you can purchase and download right from GameCenter. There is also support for turn-based games, like Scrabble, right in the OS.
Apple also revealed that it has sold 25 million iPad 2s. The company's Lion Mac OS X, meanwhile, will be available via the Mac App Store starting in July for $29.
Last week, comScore found that the continued popularity of the iPhone and Android-based devices helped Apple and Google maintain their lead over RIM in the first three months of the year, with iPhones snapping up 26 percent of the U.S. market.
