Apple

6,140 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - July 2013

See All Stories

Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

Microsoft hits Apple’s iPad with another TV ad about multitasking

Mark Gurman Jul 9 2013 - 3:07 pm PT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG0yZLEPN_Y&feature=youtu.be

Microsoft is continuing its Windows 8 vs iPad TV commercial series by airing a new ad squarely focused on the multitasking capabilities in Windows 8 (via Tom Warren). On Windows 8 tablet devices, users can work in two apps side-by-side. Microsoft demonstrates this comparison in terms of work: agents communicating about baseball player prospects to their offices. Interestingly, MLB.com digital head said this earlier this year: “There’s no other [mobile platform]. It’s Apple and it’s Android.”

Expand
Expanding
Close

Once again, Tim Cook to attend Sun Valley conference for tech/media execs

Mark Gurman Jul 8 2013 - 3:09 pm PT

Apple CEO Tim Cook will attend this year’s Sun Valley conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, according to a report from Reuters. This is not unprecedented as Cook made a surprise appearance at the conference last year.

Other notable executive attendees include Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sergey Bring and Larry Page, Disney CEO and Apple Directory Bob Iger, and News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch.

The conference is well-known as being a place where major deals, acquisitions, and partnerships will be formed. Time will tell if Cook plans to make any deals at this year’s event.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Video: Hands-on with the UI tweaks in iOS 7 beta 3

Michael Steeber Jul 8 2013 - 12:07 pm PT

We have already rounded up what’s new in iOS 7 beta 3 with a full change log and screenshots, and now we have created a full video hands-on to demonstrate the interface changes. As iOS 7 gets closer to shipping this fall, Apple continues to tighten up the user interface with subtle tweaks.

Video below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Digitimes: iPad 5 on for September while Apple still considers Retina iPad mini with even slimmer bezel

Chance Miller Jul 8 2013 - 6:43 am PT

In a new report, the hit-or-miss Digitimes shares some very unsurprising details about the next full-sized iPad: a slimmer bezel design and a single LED light tube to power the display. Back in January, we posted photos of shells for the next full-sized iPad, making claims of a slimmer, iPad-mini like bezel unsurprising.

As for a single LED light tube, the current fourth-generation iPad uses two tubes, and this makes the device slightly thicker overall than the preceding iPad design found in the iPad 2. It seems somewhat obvious that Apple would need to reduce the amount of lighting internals in order to reach a thinner form-factor.

While Digitimes shares some unsurprising tidbits, the site also shares some unrealistic claims: the new report says the fifth-generation iPad will include a larger viewing area and better battery life. In terms of a larger viewing area, we feel that it is unlikely that the iPad’s screen size will grow in this new fifth-generation model. If Apple were to ever make a larger iPad, it seems probable that this would be an entirely new model. It also seems likely that the Digitimes report is referring to the ratio of the 9.7-inch screen size to the overall face of the product due to the slimmer bezel. In that regard, yes, the iPad 5 will feature a larger viewing area than previous iPads with thicker front faces.

As for improved battery life, Digitimes, in the past, has mixed up new battery chemistry with end-results. For instance, the third and fourth generation iPads need much larger and versatile battery systems in order to power the high-resolution Retina display. Digitimes, before the third-generation iPad launched, correctly indicated that the new iPad would sport improved batteries. However, the iPad still gets 10 hours as the bigger batteries balance out with the new pixels. Perhaps a similar situation will occur with this next-generation iPad.

Nontheless, the site says the next iPad is on for September with production inching closer:

Although suppliers have not yet received a firm mass production schedule from Apple and are mainly shipping products for pilot production, the sources pointed out that pilot production is already able to satisfy demand for the initial launch. Therefore, the sources expect Apple to give its shipment estimates at the end of July or early August.

However, the iPad mini’s features seem a bit less certain:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Review: Just Mobile’s AluDisc for iMac and Thunderbolt Display

Mark Gurman Jul 7 2013 - 6:00 pm PT

Just Mobile is known for making accessories built from high quality materials, like aluminum, that nicely match the designs of Apple’s recent hardware products. However, some of their products seemed to have focused on function over form, rather than a mix of both. However, over the past few weeks, I have been using their AluDisc accessory for the Apple Thunderbolt Display, LED Cinema Display, and iMac, and I have found the accessory to be a nice, helpful addition to any workspace with those large Apple screens.

The AluDisc is a high-quality, seemingly well-built pedestal that allows you to easily and quickly rotate your display. During my daily workflow, I need to consistently pull USB and Thunderbolt cables out and in of the back of my Thunderbolt Display. Usually, to accomplish this task, I need to manually rotate my display. This is not a truly complex task, but the AluDisc actually makes this process extremely quick and easy. The disc can spins 360 degrees, making it simple to rotate my display.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Irish authorities won’t grill Apple & Google over offshore tax practices

Jordan Kahn Jul 5 2013 - 10:17 am PT

Unlike the U.S. and EU, Irish authorities won’t be forcing representatives from Apple and Google to answer questions on their tax practices after a motion to do so was voted down this week by the Irish parliamentary committee. The news, first reported by TheRegister, follows Apple CEO Tim Cook’s testimony before a U.S. Senate hearing in May and Ireland’s denial of “a special two-percent rate” at the center of controversy surrounding Apple’s over shore tax practices:

The subcommittee is already scheduled to hear from the OECD, the Department of Finance, tax authority the Revenue Commissioner and academics, but Doherty wanted the option to also call representatives from firms like Google and Apple, which have already been quizzed in Blighty and the US.

“Given the fact that multinational corporations have appeared at committees in Britain and the United States to give evidence about their tax affairs in Ireland, it is ridiculous that politicians here in Ireland would vote down a proposal for them to do the same here,” he said in a statement after the vote went against him.“If the committee is to do its job properly it is important that it is free to invite the relevant people and companies to provide all the relevant information.”

In late May, the EU Tax Commissioner called for an end to tax havens following Apple’s testimony before the U.S. Senate, while the U.K. and other EU member states have also questioned Apple and other large multinationals on their tax practies. Irish authorities planned to investigate the issue as well, but now it appears Apple and other companies won’t be dragged into the process.

Apple details Waze-like crowd-sourced route ratings and incident reporting for real-time traffic alerts in Maps

Jordan Kahn Jul 4 2013 - 5:48 am PT

According to a new Apple patent application published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider), Apple is looking into new mapping features that would integrate real-time, crowd-sourced traffic and navigation data through ratings and user reporting.

At first glance the features appear to be similar to those included in the community-based mapping app ‘Waze’, which is one of the reasons that Google just acquired the company last month. The patent application, titled “User-Specified Route Rating and Alerts,” describes a system for users to “provide ratings for routes, streets and/or locations.” In other words, users can rate a suggested route when getting directions in order to provide crowd-sourced feedback to Apple and in return Apple will provide the most efficient and accurate routes to other users based on the ratings:

Particular implementations provide at least the following advantages: Route determination is improved by accounting for real-world considerations and concerns of travelers. Real-time user-generated alerts allow for faster and more accurate notification of events within proximity of a user that might hinder the user’s progress as the user travels… In some implementations, rating database 110 can store information related to users’ ratings of routes and/or locations. For example, a user of mobile device 102 can interact with navigation engine 104 to provide ratings for routes and/or locations. The ratings information provided by the user can be transmitted to navigation service 106 through network 114. Navigation service 106 can store the ratings information in rating database 110 and route engine can determine routes based on the ratings information stored in rating database 110.

Apple also walks through a process of gathering user-generated alerts for routes including accident reports, road closures, etc. Apple plans on taking all the alert and route rating data and providing it to other users in real-time to improve route directions. In other words, if your device is detected to be in the same location as a user-generated alert, Apple will be able to push that alert to your device or suggest an alternate route based on the incident that’s been reported:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple granted new patent that could add touch controls to the bezel

Chance Miller Jul 2 2013 - 6:45 am PT

Apple has just been granted a patent for a new technology that could bring touch controls to the bezel of a device with a small display (via AppleInsider). The technology would be able to dynamically change between a place to simply hold onto the device with and an area for controls. Apple describes it as an “Electronic device, display and touch-sensitive user interface” and says the technology is centered around a layered stack of touch sensors and displays around the edge(s) of a device that could be selectively activated and deactivated.

For example, with the iPad mini, Apple wanted to get the 7.85-inch display in as small a package as possible, which meant a smaller bezel. A smaller bezel meant that it would be harder to hold without accidentally touching the display. To solve this, Apple developed a technology that was able to detect accidental touches versus intentional touches. This new patent could lead to a bezel that could only be present when needed and other times it could be used for controls or could even blend in with everything else and create a true full-screen appearance, ideal for gaming and consuming content.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Spotify for iOS gets ‘Discover’ feature, editable playlists, new icon and more

Jordan Kahn Jul 2 2013 - 6:09 am PT

Spotify updated its iOS app today with a few new features, one of which is a brand new ‘Discover’ experience that is rolling out to all users as we speak. As you might expect, the feature allows users to discover content based on their previous listening habits, and is of course a nice feature to have as Apple prepares to roll out its iTunes Radio service with built in Genius features.

Also included in today’s update for Spotify is a brand new logo and the ability to edit playlists directly on your iPhone. Spotify noted that “a shiny, new Now Playing view, featuring the ‘Up Next’ queue” is available now on iPhone and rolling out to all users soon.

A full list of what else is new and fixed in today’s release is below:

What’s New in Version 0.7.1

• New: Ever find yourself wondering what to play on Spotify? Introducing the new Discover experience on iPhone. (Coming soon to everyone.)
• New: A shiny, new Now Playing view, featuring the ‘Up Next’ queue on iPhone. (Again, rolling out to everyone soon.)
• New: Say hello to our new logo.
• New: You can now edit your playlists on your iPhone.
• Improved: We’ve changed the order of the iPhone search tabs. Now it’s Artists, Albums, Tracks. (iPhone/iPod only.)
• Improved: We’ve moved the … context menu button in the Playlist and Album views to the top right of the screen. It’s better there. (iPhone/iPod only.)
• Fixed: Ford integration now works correctly when your iPhone/iPod is set to a language other than English.
• Fixed: In your playlist folders, “All Tracks” will now show you the actual number of tracks.
• Fixed: We’ve sorted lots of crash issues too.
• Fixed: The unread messages in your inbox will now update correctly.
• Fictitious: This app shares 73% of its DNA with bees.

Apple expands ‘iWatch’ trademark filing world tour to Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey, Colombia

Mark Gurman Jul 1 2013 - 6:19 pm PT

<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2013/03/12/more-interesting-iwatch-concepts-imagine-ios-on-the-smaller-screen-curved-displays/">iWatch Concept Art</a>

In addition to filing a trademark for the name “iWatch” in Russia and Japan, Apple has requested a trademark for “iWatch” with Mexico’s Institute of Industrial Property. The Mexico-based filing was made public in recent days, but the request was originally filed on June 3rd. Apple filed the iWatch trademark under two categories relating to the hardware and software of mobile devices, according to the submitted documents. Apple’s submitted “iWatch” graphic in the filing:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple plans 137-acre, 20 Megawatt solar array adjacent to its new Reno data center in partnership with NV Energy

Chance Miller Jul 1 2013 - 5:30 pm PT

According to a new report from GigaOM, Apple is planning to build a new solar panel farm in Reno, Nevada in conjunction with NV Energy. Reno is also where Apple’s latest data center is located. The company already has two similar-sized solar farms in North Carolina to power its data center there, but this is the company’s first in Nevada.

The solar farm, dubbed “Ft. Churchill Solar Array,” will be able to proved between 18 to 20 MW in power, which is about the same as its plants in North Carolina, which both put out 20 MW in size. With this solar farm, however, Apple will be utilizing a new technology that includes both solar panels and mirrors that focus the sun’s rays up to seven times onto the panels.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Report: iPhone 5S will support super-fast LTE Advanced

Chance Miller Jul 1 2013 - 7:10 am PT

According to an alleged insider at SK Telecom, the South Korean carrier is in talks with Apple to release an iPhone with LTE-Advanced data speeds, with it most likely being the “upcoming iPhone 5S.” The carrier official said that SK Telecom approached Apple about the idea, rather than vice versa, but that the company still seems interested and the two are “in the middle of negotiations.” The Korea Times notes that Apple would most likely use a Qualcomm modem to take advantage of the technology.

In theory, LTE-Advanced could double the download speeds of normal LTE thanks to new carrier aggregation technology that allows downloads over multiple radio channels simultaneously.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple continues to grow as top smartphone vendor in US during May

Jordan Kahn Jun 28 2013 - 9:10 am PT

Research firm comScore is out today with its usual report covering U.S. smartphone subscriber market share for the three month period ending in May. Over the last three months Apple has gained in both categories including ‘top smartphone OEMs’ and ‘OS usage’, continuing its lead as the top smartphone manufacturer and growing its share of the market by platform.

The previous three month period had Apple at 38.9% of the market, making it the number #1 smartphone vendor in the US over second place Samsung. In May, Apple continues that lead by increasing its share 0.3 percentage points to 39.2% of the market. That’s significantly higher than the 23% Samsung grabbed despite growing 1.7 percentage points during the quarter. In a close race for third place is HTC with 8.7%, Motorola with 7.8%, and LG with 6.7%, all of which dropped less than a percentage point since last quarter.

When it comes to the market by OS usage, Android is still on top, growing 0.7 percentage points to 52.4% this quarter. Apple experienced slightly less growth at 0.3 percentage points to capture 39.2% of the market up from its 38.9% share last quarter. That means the majority of the growth, once again, comes at the expense of BlackBerry and Microsoft.
Expand
Expanding
Close

RadioShack to carry Virgin iPhone 5 tomorrow for as low as $499 with trade-in

Jordan Kahn Jun 27 2013 - 12:25 pm PT

Update: The no-contract, Virgin Mobile iPhone 5 and promotional discounts are now live on RadioShack’s website.

We reported last week that the iPhone 5 would be coming to Virgin Mobile tomorrow starting at $549.99 on its usual no-contract, $30/month unlimited plans. RadioShack will be one of the first to carry the device and is also planning to offer a number of promotional discounts to celebrate the launch.

RadioShack will start carrying the Virgin Mobile iPhone 5 tomorrow both online and in-store for $549.99 (that’s for the 16GB model), but will also be offering $50 for eligible trade-ins until the end of next month. On top of the same $50 trade-in for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, the retailer is also slashing prices on those two devices to $399.99 and $299.99 until July 6th.

Virgin Mobile will have both the black and white versions of the iPhone 5 available on its monthly no-contract plans starting at $35/month and its $30/month auto pay plan.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple’s iTunes Radio label royalities revealed, plans to add talk radio for sports, weather

Jordan Kahn Jun 27 2013 - 6:12 am PT

Leading up to the unveiling of Apple’s new iTunes Radio service earlier this month at WWDC, we reported on some small details regarding deals Apple had reached with the major labels necessary to get bring its Pandora competitor to market. Earlier reports claimed that Apple was paying Warner around 10% of ad revenue— that’s around twice as much as Pandora reportedly pays. Today, The Wall Street Journal provides us with some in-depth info on what Apple is paying labels and publishers after taking a look at the terms of the deal.

Apple will in fact be paying well over the 0.12 cents per listen Pandora offers the labels, as well as a percentage of ad revenue, and the payout will also increase during the service’s second year:

During iTunes Radio’s first year, Apple will pay a label 0.13 cents each time a song is played, as well as 15% of net advertising revenue, proportionate to a given label’s share of the music played on iTunes. In the second year, that bumps up to 0.14 cents per listen, plus 19% of ad revenue.

However, there are some exceptions. The report notes that Apple won’t have to pay royalties for songs that users already have in their iTunes library. That will apparently extend to “songs that might be on an album that a listener owns just part of.” Interestingly, Apple also won’t pay for songs skipped before the 20 second mark and those included in special promotions, but it can only skip paying royalties on two songs per hour for each iTunes Radio user:
Expand
Expanding
Close

‘There’s something wrong with those colors’

Jordan Kahn Jun 26 2013 - 11:53 am PT

We’ve heard some stories in the past of Steve Jobs’ involvement in the construction of the Pixar campus in Emeryville, California and the main building, now named “The Steve Jobs Building” in honor of its co-founder and former CEO. In it’s recent tour of the building, senior design project manager Craig Payne, who happened to come with Steve to Pixar from NeXT, told BuzzFeed another interesting story about Jobs’ attention to detail during the project:

“So Steve loves the Hills Brothers building in San Francisco, and he wanted to replicate that [brick] palette,” says Payne. “So we found a company in Washington state that agreed to match that as best as possible. It was like five different colors of brick. So they made a 10-foot-high by 10-foot-wide panel of the brick, and Steve said, ‘I love it.’ He even said, ‘I want to eat it,’ which is a funny comment. It was done. We found our brick.”

That is, until the brick started to be applied to the walls. “Steve looked at it and said, ‘There’s something wrong with those colors,’” says Payne. “Sure enough, they took the production brick and they built another panel next to the one that he approved, and one of the colors was off. We were in a real mess because we were at the point where the brick was going to be laid on the building. We went back to the brick manufacturer, and we were like, ‘That deep brown needs to be deeper.’ They sent, like, three more samples, and after the third sample they said, ‘We’re going to do one more, but that’s it, and if you don’t like it, we’re done.’ They were just at their wits’ end. So I was the sacrificial lamb. I flew up to Spokane. The brick came out of the kiln, the guy grabbed the brick and said, ‘Do you want it or not?’ I didn’t lose my job, so I guess I made the right decision.

You can check out the rest of BuzzFeed’s tour of the Pixar building here.

Apple Store Bellevue flooded after heavy rain (photo)

Ben Lovejoy Jun 26 2013 - 3:46 am PT

Photo: fox.com

Fox reports that the Apple Store in Bellevue was one of more than a dozen stores flooded in the Bellevue Square Mall after heavy rain.

And at least 14 stores at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila had minor flood damage when the storm drains could not handle all the water, the Tukwila Fire Department said.

There were no injuries. Damage estimates were not immediately available.

A clean-up operation is in progress, and the mall is expected to be open normally today.

Thanks, Tony.

Apple Online Store opens in Russia, establishes direct sales in key emerging market

Mark Gurman Jun 25 2013 - 11:26 pm PT

Today, Apple has finally launched a version of its official online store for customers in Russia. The online store is similar in style to Apple’s online stores in other countries. Customers in Russia are now able to order iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, accessories, and more directly from Apple to their homes. Apple is celebrating the launch by taking up Apple Russia’s homepage to announce the new store (image above)…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Cupertino to live stream public meeting on Campus 2 environmental impact tomorrow

Jordan Kahn Jun 25 2013 - 10:30 am PT

Update, July 2: The City of Cupertino just posted the recording of last week’s meeting (above).

Earlier this month Apple published a report detailing its economic impact on Cupertino from the construction of its brand new ‘Campus 2’, aka ‘Spaceship’ campus. Tomorrow, the public in and around Cupertino will get their chance to weigh in on Apple’s impact on the surrounding area with a public comment period. The City of Cupertino will be live streaming the event and is also allowing the public to submit comments through www.cupertino.org/applecomments.

Many of the comments submitted congratulate Apple on its new project, but others are concerned about the removal of trees and other environmental issues:

We are concerned about the fate of the trees in and around the new Apple Campus. A couple of months ago, we met a man who claimed he was an arborist hired by Apple and that he planned to chop down 6000 trees on the Campus and around the streets with replacements of new trees. We don’t know it has been confirmed by the Apple Campus 2 or not.

These trees have been living in our neighborhood for more than 40 years(?) – when we moved into this area in 1989, they were already quite big. And we enjoy so much of these beautiful trees – they give us shade in summer and they make our streets much enjoyable while walking along. Especially they improve our environment and give us clean air. Please let these trees happily live in our neighborhood with us and our children and children’s children. Many thanks

The meeting will take place tomorrow at 6:30 pm local time at Cupertino Community Hall and live streamed at www.cupertino.org/webcast. Cupertino linked to a full copy of Apple’s Campus 2 Draft Environmental Impact Report on its website.

Hack brings Russian subscription TV service ‘UnliMovie.tv’ to Apple TV, no jailbreak required

Jordan Kahn Jun 25 2013 - 8:31 am PT

Russian blog iGuides.ru points us to a new hack for Apple TV users that brings Russian subscription TV & movie service Unlimovie.tv to the device with no jailbreak required. The service, which is currently in beta, requires users to manually change the DNS on their device (easily accessible from within Settings) in order to access its digital TV service directly through Apple’s own Trailers app.

It isn’t the first hack of its kind: Just a couple weeks back, one of our favorite media servers, Plex, arrived on Apple TV without a jailbreak through what appeared to be a similar hack of the stock Trailers app.

The Unlimovie.tv service is currently in beta, allowing users to access a number of Russian digital TV channels for free, but the creators plan to officially launch the service in September through its paid subscriptions. That is, of course, if Apple doesn’t put an end to it in the meantime.
Expand
Expanding
Close

European iPhone marketshare falls 5% in Q1 2013 according to IDC, whilst competitors grew, but Apple remains in second place

Benjamin Mayo Jun 25 2013 - 7:10 am PT

Figures from IDC released today show that iOS smartphone marketshare fell 5% year-over-year in Europe, even though iPhone growth in the US was very strong in the same period.

Apple’s share fell from 25% in Q1 2012 to 20% in Q1 2013, representative of approximately 6.2 million unit shipments. IDC notes that European smartphone market grew overall at a rate of just 12 percent, the slowest increase the company has ever recorded. The weakness in demand evidently hit Apple, but competing Android manufacturers have seen substantial share gains in the slump. Close rival Samsung, for instance, saw shipments rise by 1.8 million units to account for almost half of the whole market. Sony was another benefactor, gaining six percentage points over the period when compared to last year.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung could settle in EU antitrust case over use of essential patents against Apple

Jordan Kahn Jun 25 2013 - 6:13 am PT

Reuters reports that Samsung is currently in preliminary discussions with EU regulators regarding a possible settlement related to charges that it abused its market dominance by blocking Apple from fairly using its essential patents in various ongoing patent disputes:

The talks came after the European Commission, which acts as EU competition regulator, told Samsung in December that it was acting unfairly by seeking injunctions against Apple over use of the essential patents.

“Samsung has been involved in settlement discussions for several months now. Samsung wants to settle,” said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

If Samsung does settle in the case, it could avoid as much as $17.3 billion in fines. However, it would presumably have to agree to license its essential patents on fair terms, which could have an impact on current cases related to the European Union’s 3G UMTS standard.

Hands-on video: Apple’s iOS 7 for iPad

Michael Steeber Jun 24 2013 - 1:04 pm PT

Earlier today, Apple launched new beta releases of both iOS 7 for iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad. We have provided full screenshot tours and change logs for the need software seeds. Additionally, we have created the video below that demonstrates how iOS 7 works on the iPad. We previously posted a video of how iOS 7 runs on the iPhone.

iPad video below:

Expand
Expanding
Close

From beta 1 to release: how each major iOS version has transformed

Michael Steeber Jun 24 2013 - 7:00 am PT

Following its introduction earlier this month, Apple’s newest operating system has fallen under criticism and scrutiny from both designers and casual users alike. Due to both the tight development timetable and the new design direction under Jony Ive, following the removal of former iOS SVP Scott Forstall last fall, iOS 7 is, understandably, the most controversial and intriguing iOS version yet.

In response to much of the negative criticism directed towards iOS 7, some have suggested that iOS 7 will change substantially before it is released to the general public. Looking back at previous versions of iOS reveals a long trend of subtle refinements to the operating system during beta periods, not dramatic changes. Let’s take a look at how each version of iOS has transformed:

Expand
Expanding
Close