We're expecting big things from Apple this year: the iPhone 5 will be with us at some point in 2011, and some rumours suggest we'll see the iPad 3 as early as this autumn.
But in the meantime there's a new version of iOS, iOS 5 here and it's been
revealed during tonight's
WWDC 2011 keynote.
Read on for our list of all the new iOS 5 features but for a video rundown of what's new, check out our pal T3's video below:
iOS 5 release date
The iOS release date is Autumn 2011 - probably to coincide with the
new iPhone.
iOS 5 compatibility
iOS 5 will work with iPhone 4 and 3GS (the latter is a surprise), iPad and iPad 2, and the iPod touch 3rd and 4th gen. We're also a little surprised to see it's going to be rolled out to the original iPad, but as it has the same hardware as the iPhone 4 we guess Apple doesn't have to cut it loose this time.
iOS 5 goes PC-free
Apple says it is "cutting the cable" with iOS 5 - just as well, as it claimed the iPad 2 was the first post-PC device earlier in the year. OS updates can be delivered over the air - you'll just received what's changed rather than the usual 600MB download - and devices can be activated without plugging them into iTunes. Ace.
You can also now create and delete iOS calendars and mailboxes too, so you really can devolve your device from your PC or Mac.
"You can activate on the device and you're ready to go," explained Apple's Scott Forstall.
"Software updates are now over the air. So you no longer need to plug in to update your software. And they're now Delta updates. Instead of downloading the whole OS, you only download what's changed," he continued.
"We said, why do people go back to a computer? Calendars, people create or delete them. You can do that now. Photo editing, you can do it on the devices. Even mail - you can create folders.
"So if you want to cut the cord, you can."
With iOS 5 and
iCloud, you just enter your Apple ID and password, and iCloud will seamlessly integrate with your apps to automatically and wirelessly keep all of your mail, contacts, calendars, photos, apps, books, music and more, up-to-date across all your devices without ever having to connect to a computer.
iOS 5 iMessage
There's now a
new messaging service - like text messaging or BlackBerry BBM - but between all iOS users. It's designed for those with iPads and iPod touches primarily, but is cross-device and integrates with the iPhone, too.
The new application supports a multitude of features, including the ability to send pictures, videos or contacts, and also start a group message too. Real-time notifications mean you won't have to wait to see if someone is going to reply.
This is a massive hit to RIM, which prides itself on BBM for BlackBerry. According to Apple, iMessage works both over Wi-Fi and 3G, and if you want to send a message all you have to do is tap the camera icon, pick a pic and you're away.
iOS 5 Notification Center
The new OS has a new system for Notifications. More than 100 billion Notifications have been pushed so far, says Apple, but the company acknowledges that they're annoying. So now there will be a Notification Center to aggregate all the Notifications - you can access it by swiping down from the top of the screen. It is not persistent, but looks a lot like Android. It's on the lock screen, as well.
iOS 5 Newsstand
Further to Apple's subscriptions model, you'll now be able to browse newspapers and magazines to download just as you can books and music. New issues you subscribe to are automatically downloaded.
iOS 5 Twitter support
Much rumoured beforehand, Apple has introduced Twitter natively into iOS 5, with a 'one click' option for applications to let you use Twitter functionality.
All you'll need to do is sign in through the Settings menu and any app can request integration with your Twitter account, meaning no more constant signing in to every new application you download. It's also fully integrated with the Camera and Photo apps, for example.
You can also tweet articles from Safari and locations from Maps.
iOS 5 Safari
A new reading mode has been introduced in Safari, which removes distraction and provides you with a single, scrolling story. Bye bye, ads! You can now also email the contents of the story as well as the link. There's also a Reading List option so you can save stuff to look at later. We bet Read It Later and Instapaper are well chuffed about that. There's also tabbed browsing and lightning-fast window switching.
iOS 5 Reminders
A reminders feature enables you to store Lists, assign reminders to any dates or even location-specific info. These sync across devices and with iCal.
iOS 5 Camera
There's now a camera button on the lock screen, while you can also use the volume button to take pictures - a great addition. Apple says its camera is one of the most commonly used pieces of hardware on photo-sharing sites like Flickr, and has updated the functionality accordingly.
Photo editing software for easy cropping and enhancement has been added in to iOS 5, and pinching to zoom will zoom in on images when you're trying to take a pic.
iOS 5 Mail
The app now has new elements like draggable addresses so you can pop them across from To to Cc or Bcc.
Flagging and full-searchable messages have been added in too, plus rich text formatting for easier interaction with your e-mails.
A built in dictionary makes it easier to keep your spelling under control, and for the iPad: a split keyboard.
Simply grabbing it with your thumbs and sliding upwards will split it in two, making it easier to tap out emails more speedily.
iOS 5 Game Center
Game Center now lets you browse and download games directly, as well as introducing Achievementpoints, There's also Friend Discovery. Gamer profiles have been updated to include photos as well, plus turn-based gaming is baked right into the application for more responsive gaming.
Want to look back at our predictions? Read our previous iOS 5 rumours below:
iOS 5.0 release date isn't until September...
iOS has been around long enough for a pattern to emerge: a springtime reveal and then a summertime launch with the latest iPhone. Not this time,
Techcrunch says: while iOS 5 is likely to be shown off
at the WWDC event in June, the iOS 5.0 release date will probably be in September.
...or maybe April
According to "trusted sources", a German blog claimed that iOS 5.0 would be released at
an Apple event in April. Apple had better get a move on, then.
iOS 5 now looks as though it's being tested in the wild. On 1 May 2011,
9to5 Mac said that it had received word from developers who found that their apps are being tested with iOS 5. And earlier, on 27 April 2011, a
tweet from app developer Future Tap said "Just received the first iOS 5.0 crash report. MKUserLocationBreadCrumb sounds interesting."
...and iOS 5.0 might not be on the iPhone 5
There are two possibilities here: either Apple is ripping up its existing annual schedule and keeping the iPhone 5 back until the Autumn too, in which case the iPhone 5 will be an iOS 5.0 device, or Apple is sticking to its annual release and we'll see an iPhone 5.0 in the summer without iOS 5.0. Our money's on the former: the superbly well-connected Jim Dalrymple says this year's WWDC is a software show,
not a hardware event.
iOS 5.0 has automatic app downloads
Automatic app updates appear to be coming to iOS devices in the iOS 5 update.
The rumour was kickstarted by a screengrab from iTunes which says, "If your device has Automatic Download enabled for apps, your updates will download to your device without having to sync."
iOS 5.0 specifications include better notifications
iOS's notification system for SMSes,
missed calls and app messages is rubbish, but Cult of Mac reports that
good news is coming in iOS 5.0: Apple is "working on a new notification system for iOS and will be buying a small company to build its technology into the operating system" - likely candidates include App Remix, whose
Boxcar does what iOS doesn't.
NEW NOTIFICATIONS: Rumours suggest Apple's buying App Remix to boost iOS's notification system
iOS 5.0 features include cloud music and photo sharing
Amazon's already launched its cloud-based music service, but Apple's offering is more ambitious than a few gigs of server space: 9to5 Mac says there's a photo-based social service called
Photo Stream in the Photos app and the much-rumoured, cloud-based iTunes service is likely to turn up alongside a revamped MobileMe.
Could iOS 5.0 also include Spaces
A patent filed by Apple
suggests that iOS 5 will see 'Spaces' come to the iPad. The patent application shows a touchscreen device with Spaces controlled by multi-touch gestures, which hints at the
gesture control that is only available to devs in iOS 4.3 becoming standard.
iOS 5.0 features include beefed-up speech recognition
iOS's voice recognition lags far behind Android's, but that might change with the release of iOS 5.0:
according to analysts at Soleil Securities, " Apple's IOS 5.0 for the next-generation iPhone will likely feature deep voice control into the operating system and likely be demonstrated in June. We believe that Apple's partner for the underlying voice recognition technology is Nuance".
SPEAK AND SPELL: Apple and Nuance are reportedly beefing up iOS's speech recognition features
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