Complete iOS 4.1 walkthrough

With iOS 4’s launch only days away, we thought it would be interesting to provide a complete walkthrough of the new operating system. iOS 4.1 will be a free upgrade to all iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPod touch 2G, and iPod touch 3G users. It will also come standard on Apple’s newly announced 4th generation iPod touch.

Bug Fixes:

As promised, Apple will be providing fixes for the three major well-known issues in iOS 4.0/4.01/4.02. The first, which for me is worse than the antenna issue, deals with the iPhone 4’s proximity sensor issues. Many users find they are accidentally inputing commands into the iPhones screen while on a phone call. 4.1 promises to rectify this issue.

The update also promises a fix for bluetooth connection issues as well as a bug that makes the iPhone 3G very sluggish while running iOS 4.0. Initial tests conclude that the update lives up to its word, especially in the Google Maps and Messages applications.

Enhanced Bluetooth audio playback:

As we reported back in mid-July, iOS 4.1 brings full AVRCP bluetooth playback. This enhanced bluetooth protocol allows for more audio controls via bluetooth such as skipping forward, back, and volume. Before iOS 4.1 only volume controls were supported by bluetooth car stereo systems and such.

Click ‘Read More’ to read the software walkthrough.

Game Center:

Game Center is Apple’s social gaming network that brings players of similar skill sets together in multiplayer games. The service initially introduced in April of this year is now ready for primetime with a slew of supported games ready to launch.

HD Video Uploading:

A long requested feature is finally available on iOS 4.1 and that is the ability to upload HD videos directly from your iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod touch. Though the feature only works on WiFi, it is better than having to sync to your computer in order to upload.

High Dynamic Range Photography (HDR):

One new feature that nobody really saw coming in iOS 4.1 was HDR. This photo mechanism snaps three stills and combines them to create the perfect photo depending on lighting, shadows, and other photo-altering elements. To enable HDR just click the HDR button on top of the Camera apps’ interface. You can choose whether the camera will save just the HDR version of the photo or the standard version as well. (Note: HDR Photography is only supported on the iPhone 4. Sorry iPhone 3G/3GS users)

FaceTime in Phone Favorites:

A new handy feature that Apple added to iOS 4.1 was the addition of FaceTime in phone favorites. You can now easily add FaceTime numbers and e-mail address to the favorites bar for quick access to you pal’s faces.

E-Mail Based FaceTime:

As you know the new iPod touch has FaceTime, yet they obviously don’t carry phone numbers. Because of this, Apple turned to E-Mail addresses as the point of FaceTime connection for their new iPod touch. Below is the interface for sending a FaceTime request to an E-Mail address.

Landscape Camera and FaceTime Call Controls:

Apple tends to port some of their portrait features to the landscape orientation from time-to-time and in iOS 4.1 they made FaceTime controls as well as the controls in the camera app easier to navigate in landscape.

$.99 TV Show Rentals in iTunes:

As you may know, Apple announced 99 cent TV show rentals for the United States in iTunes, and renting from your iOS device will be a go. Simply head to the TV Show section, then to your favorite show, then double click on an individual episode. From there you can now choose to own it, or rent it for 48 hours (you must watch it within 30 days) for less than a buck.

Ping support in iTunes:

Apple’s newly announced music social network will be making its way to the mobile iTunes, but doesn’t lose a beat. You can follow (stalk), comment, and read up your feed.

Disable Spell Check:

Here is another handy addition from Apple in iOS 4.1. For those who don’t like Apple’s spell check (this is different than auto-correction) you can disable it under Settings/General/Keyboard.

FaceTime and Multiplayer/Game Center Restrictions:

This one’s for all the awesome parents out there. You can place restrictions on your kid’s iOS device so they can’t FaceTime or play games with people over the internet. Simply go to the restrictions menu, set a password, and disable them like you see below.

AT&T Carrier settings shift to version 8.0:

iOS 4.1 now includes an updated version of the AT&T (not sure about other carriers) carrier firmware. This may or may not improve cellular service, data connections, and text message sending, but at least they’re trying.

Over the air Nike + Submissions:

Originally in the betas of iOS 4.0 was the option to submit your Nike + workout information to the Nike + website, over the air. After being pulled from 4.0’s official release for unspecified reasons, it is now back in 4.1. (Image Credit: When Will Apple?)

We hope you found this walkthrough extremely comprehensive and we hope it helped you learn what iOS 4.1 has in store for you when it launches next week. As always, if you have any questions we’ll take them in the comments.