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iOS

5,001 'iOS' stories August 2010 - March 2014
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The world’s most advanced mobile operating system

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system that runs on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 13.

In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone and iPhone OS. During the event, Jobs referred to the operating system as OS X because it shared a similar Unix core compared to the Mac. When Apple launched the iPhone SDK a year later, they officially changed the name to iPhone OS.

In the summer of 2008, Apple added the App Store to iPhone OS with version 2.0, and this set the stage for the “app economy” that we still enjoy to this day.

Version 3.0 was released in 2009, and it included copy/paste, MMS support, Spotlight, mobile tethering, and push notifications for 3rd party apps.

In version 4, Apple finally renamed iPhone OS to iOS (with the iPad sharing the same software). The major features were multitasking and FaceTime.

iOS 5.0 introduced Notification Center, iMessage, Siri, and iCloud.

iOS 6.0 removes Google Maps in favor of Apple Maps and added the Passbook app (now known as Wallet).

Version 7.0 brought a dramatic redesign of iOS with a new font, flatter icons, a and new Photos app. The redesign was led by Jony Ive.

Version iOS 8.0, Apple finally allowed third-party keyboards and the ability to share files from different apps.

Version 9.0 included Apple Maps, an overhauled Notes app, and multitasking for iPad.

Version 10.0 included an SDK for Siri, Maps, and iMessages.

Version 11.0 included a new iPad Dock, Customizable Control center, drag and drop on iPad, and the Files app with third-party integration.

Version 12.0 added Screen Time features for managing your time on devices, the Shortcuts app, ARKit 2.0, and Memoji.

iOS 13 added Dark Mode, swipe-style typing, a redesigned share sheet, made app downloads 50% smaller, 2x faster app launch speed, Memoji Stickers and Memoji Makeup, HomeKit-enabled routers and HomeKit Secure Video, a new “Sign in with Apple” option for logging into third-party services, all-new Apple Maps, and much more.

Compatible Devices with iOS 13

  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE
  • iPod touch (7th generation)
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iPad Pro concept imagines an edge-to-edge 12.9-inch display in new renders [Gallery]

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 17 2014 - 12:27 pm PT
30 Comments

(Click for full size)

Earlier this month we posted a concept from Curved.de that showed its take on what new Apple TV hardware might look like accompanied by a touchscreen iPod-like remote. Today the site is back with another concept, this time for the much rumored larger iPad sporting a 12.9-inch display.

The site didn’t just pull the idea out of thin air, as there have been a few rumors in recent months suggesting that Apple could truly be gearing up to launch such a device. Rumors of a 12.9-inch display on a new iPad model started to get serious when The Wall Street Journal reported back in July that Apple was indeed testing larger screens for both its iPhones and tablets. The rumors continued with other sources of varying credibility reporting that a 12.9-inch model will arrive sooner rather than later and possibly as early as the first half of this year.

Apple is also rumored to introduce larger screen iPhones this year somewhere in the range of 4.5 to 5.5-inches.

A description of the concept from the publication is below:

  • The iPad Pro design is pretty close to its siblings, the iPad mini Retina and iPad Air. Curved corners and a flat back. Sound is provided from speakers that are placed left and right from the Lightning connector.
  • Touch ID is integrated in the saphire glass protected home button, which was introduced for iPhone 5s.
  • The screen is 12.9 inch wide and has a 4K-solution with 3,072×2,304 pixels (298 ppi), using LED-backlights and IPS-technology.
  • Even though it’s wider, it’s still as thin as the iPad Air: 7.5 mm.
  • The bigger screen with more pixels requires an A8 chipset with 64-bit-architecture.
  • Apps for the iPad Air are shown optimized by the iPad Pro. Dedicated apps – labelled with “Pro” – use the higher resolution and performance of the all new iPad Pro.
  • New pencils may fully employ all the features like pressure sensitivity. But don’t hold your breath for a multi button pen made by Apple.
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Google Play Game services brings multiplayer to iOS, lets devs offer cross-platform gaming

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 17 2014 - 7:27 am PT
2 Comments

From 9to5Google:

At this week’s Game Developers Conference Google is announcing number of new features coming to developers through Google Play Game services. Notable for iOS users is the fact that Google has decided to expand its multiplayer features to iOS devs. That means all iOS devs that integrate Google Play Game services into their apps (which already offers sign-in, achievements, leaderboards, cloud saves, and more) will be able to let their players across Android and iOS challenge each other to multiplayer matches.

The new features should become available to developers later this month. Google is updating its Play Games Unity Plug-in to support the new cross-platform multiplayer features as well as “introducing an early Play Games C++ SDK to support achievements and leaderboards.” Google notes the cross-platform multiplayer feature will support both its turn-based and real-time multiplayer modes.

This is Healthbook, Apple’s major first step into health & fitness tracking

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 17 2014 - 6:01 am PT
131 Comments

Seven years out from the original iPhone’s introduction, and four years past the iPad’s launch, Apple has found its next market ripe for reinvention: the mobile healthcare and fitness-tracking industry. Apple’s interest in healthcare and fitness tracking will be displayed in an iOS application codenamed Healthbook. I first wrote about Apple’s plans for Healthbook in January, and multiple sources working directly on the initiative’s development have since provided new details and images of Healthbook that provide a clearer view of Apple’s plans for dramatically transforming the mobile healthcare and fitness-tracking space…


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Opinion: When will iOS evolve beyond the static grid homescreen?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 14 2014 - 8:35 am PT
125 Comments
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Now that we’ve had our first look at at least an early take on iOS 8, what stands out most to me is how little the basic appearance of the iOS homescreen has changed over the years. On the left is iOS 1, on the right the recently-leaked iOS 8 homescreen.

Seven years apart, yet still essentially identical in form: a grid of static icons. Looked at in one way, that’s incredibly impressive: that a user-interface that worked in 2007 still works today. But it does make me wonder at what point the iOS homescreen will move beyond this format? 
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Screenshots of WhatsApp’s upcoming VOIP feature surface, design similar to iOS 7’s Phone app

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Mar 14 2014 - 8:11 am PT
1 Comment

Shortly after being acquired by Facebook for $19 billion dollars, WhatsApp announced that it was planning to integrate VOIP into its messaging app in the coming months. Today, iPhoneItalia has picked up images of what it claims are screenshots of the VOIP feature in action.

In line with the iOS 7 redesign the app received in December, the VOIP functionality closely reflects the design of iOS 7’s native phone interface. The interface uses the same circular buttons and blurred background image; even copying the circular ‘end call’ button from iOS 7.1.


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Digitimes likely way off the mark with sapphire production estimates

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Mar 14 2014 - 6:29 am PT
2 Comments

An aftermarket sapphire screen cover.

A report by Digitimes is circulating today which says that Apple partner GT Advanced Technologies can only supply around 9-16% of sapphire supply for Apple’s next generation iPhone due for later in the year. The implication being that Apple would have to rely on external suppliers to make up the difference.

However, this estimate is based off GT’s apparent forecast of between $188 and $348 million from sapphire sales. As $GTAT investor and analyst Matt Margolis notes on his blog, the company has never broken down their revenue figures for sapphire so it’s unclear where Digitimes has sourced this number from.


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iOS 8: Apple considers Notification Center + Messages tweaks, removing Game Center app

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 14 2014 - 6:00 am PT
69 Comments
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Besides adding new Maps, Healthbook, and iTunes Radio applications, Apple plans to enhance and refine the functionality of some of its current pre-bundled applications and features for iOS 8. Here is a list, provided by sources, of some of the refinements Apple is considering for select applications and system functions in iOS 8:


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Are you seeing the reported hit in battery-life since upgrading to iOS 7.1? [Poll]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 14 2014 - 5:10 am PT
117 Comments
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We know you like iOS 7.1, but with a lot of chatter about reduced battery-life, and the only test so far based on a small sample and having results falling within the margin of error, we thought it would be useful to get a sense of how prevalent the issue might be.

We recognize, of course, that there are a huge number of variables involved in battery-life. Even if your phone usage is reasonably consistent, a single extra phone call or a bit longer spent browsing the web can account for the relatively small differences most are reporting. A poll is not going to amount to a scientific study, but a decent sample size should at least give a reasonable indication as to the scale of any issue … 
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Contestants at Pwn2Own take down Safari, but said OS X security is better than other systems

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Mar 14 2014 - 4:23 am PT
9 Comments

<a href="http://www.pwn2own.com/photo-gallery/#prettyPhoto[]/13/">Pwn2Own</a>

As usual, the annual Pwn2Own contest featured many hackers targeting the latest operating systems and browsers from the major vendors, including Apple. Threatpost reports that the “Keen Team” focused Safari on Thursday and exploited it with relative ease.

The team took home a $40,000 bounty for their efforts on Safari, as well as a share in a $75,000 prize for co-engineering a zero-day Flash exploit. They say they will donate some of their winnings towards charities representing missing Malaysian Airplane passengers.

The group say that for Safari, they used two different exploit vectors. One vulnerability was a heap overflow in WebKit that enabled arbitrary code execution. The team then used this opening to use another exploit to bypass the application sandbox and run code as if it was user privileged.


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iOS 7.1 makes everything faster — including your battery drain

Avatar for Mike Beasley Mar 13 2014 - 8:55 pm PT
110 Comments
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iOS 7.1 may have only been released this week, but it’s already got it’s own “gate”-worthy issue: battery life is abysmal. Reports on Twitter and Apple’s support discussion forums indicate that users are seeing significant drain on their batteries after installing the new update.

[tweet https://twitter.com/horwitz/status/444305435265220608 align=’center’]


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Google drops its Drive storage pricing significantly, puts pressure on Apple to improve iCloud prices

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Mar 13 2014 - 12:19 pm PT
21 Comments

Google has just announced some new price plans for its Google Drive service. The new plans start at $1.99 for 100 GB (down from $4.99), $10 for 1 TB (down from $50) and 10 TB for $99.99. This storage is shared across Drive, Gmail and Google+ Photos.

It should be noted that Google bills customers monthly. Even so, these new price points make Apple’s iCloud storage offerings look awful in terms of value for money.

For iCloud storage, Apple currently charges $20 yearly for 15 GB, $50 yearly for 25 GB and $100 yearly for 55 GB (lumping in the free 5 gigabytes Apple gives to every user). Rather amusingly, Apple’s options do not even allow users to perform a 1:1 backup of their 64 GB and 128 GB devices — the top iCloud tier totals 55 GB of storage.

Whatever way you cut it, Apple’s prices are exorbitant in comparison to Google’s. Doing some basic arithmetic, for one gigabyte of cloud storage over a year, Google charges you 24 cents. Meanwhile, Apple charges you 1.8 dollars. This means Apple’s current rates are 7.5x more expensive than Google’s.


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Screenshots of iOS 8: Healthbook, Preview, TextEdit icons leaked

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 13 2014 - 8:06 am PT
65 Comments
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The above screenshot claiming to represent iOS 8 just showed up on a Weibo account. Even though the source of the images is absolutely uncertain, I have confirmed with several sources that these shots are legitimate. Earlier today, I detailed the new Preview and TextEdit apps shown above, and I previously discussed Healthbook. I’ll have more news on Healthbook in the coming weeks. Until then, you can check out a higher-resolution mockup of the Healthbook icon below. I’m not sure what the Tips icon is for, but it is probably a user-guide of some sort. Of course, it’s plausible that the icons are works in progress. More images below:


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iOS 8: Apple works to further push iCloud as the future of the file system

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 13 2014 - 6:00 am PT
43 Comments
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When Apple introduced both iOS and iCloud, its goal was to eliminate the classic file system found in Mac OS X and make synchronization so seamless between devices that it “just works.” Nearly three years after iCloud’s introduction, Apple is still moving closer to this goal. The company is working on a pair of new iCloud applications for iOS as well as improved tools for developers to build iCloud-infused applications, according to sources with knowledge of these initiatives…


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Google Wallet adds “Orders” feature to track online purchases using receipts from Gmail

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 12 2014 - 11:42 am PT
0 Comments

From 9to5Google:

Google announced today on its Google Commerce blog that it’s rolling out an update for the Google Wallet mobile apps that includes a new “Orders” feature for tracking online purchases. Google says the feature will let you stay on top of your online orders (including past purchases) as well as get notifications for status updates regarding deliveries. How will Google know what you’ve purchased? In order to track your recent online orders, the feature pulls receipts out of your Gmail account :

Once you activate Orders in Google Wallet, you’ll be able to see any receipts sent to your Gmail right in the Google Wallet app. We’ve also worked with primary package carriers in the US so that when your order status is updated, you’ll get notified of the update through Wallet. So whether your order is shipped, out for delivery, or delayed, you’ll never wonder about the status of your order.

The app also includes “products you’ve ordered, merchant contact information, and shipping details in the app” for your purchases and links to quickly contact retailers.

Google said the feature is rolling out to Android and iOS users in the US this week. You can activate Orders by tapping “Activate” under “Track your orders” or by tapping “Orders” in the app’s main menu.

Rovio’s next Angry Birds game is a turn-based RPG, called Angry Birds Epic

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Mar 12 2014 - 11:00 am PT
2 Comments

Rovio has announced details of its latest game in the Angry Birds series(Via Kotaku). The game is a turn-based role player, a significant departure from the mobile mini-game physics puzzler Angry Birds is known for. The game will feature turn-based combat and a crafting system — players can craft armor, potions and weapons. This item system will apparently be funded through a game currency, or via in-app purchases.

The game is launching in Australia and Canada this week (likely tomorrow), with more countries to follow. Rovio is touting it as the most ‘epic’ soft launch ever.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Nh92eGP8I]

Developers overwhelmingly liked the iOS 7.1 changes – how about you? [Poll]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 12 2014 - 6:38 am PT
68 Comments
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Back in January, when Apple released the third beta of iOS 7.1 to developers, we asked them what they thought of a whole bunch of specific changes, and whether they preferred the iOS 7 or 7.1 versions. Developers overwhelmingly favored the changes.

You can see below how developers voted on the specific elements. We’re asking you just to give an overall thumbs-up or down to the revamped user-interface … 
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iOS 8: Apple considers moving iTunes Radio to its own app to boost usage

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 12 2014 - 6:00 am PT
35 Comments
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In an effort to boost usage of its new streaming music service that launched alongside iOS 7 last fall, Apple is considering changes to iTunes Radio. The Cupertino company is now testing iTunes Radio as a standalone application with iOS 8, according to sources briefed on the plans. iTunes Radio first arrived as a feature within the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system’s Music application. As a tab in the already-existing Music app, iTunes Radio has not received a promoted presence on iOS, and this likely has deterred growth for the service in terms of advertising revenue and usage…


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Starbucks app adds shake-to-pay and tipping that lets you change your mind

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 12 2014 - 5:16 am PT
7 Comments

An updated version of the Starbucks app expected next week will add a shake-to-pay feature and let you add a tip of between 50 cents and $2, reports Engadget.

Shake-to-pay just means that if you’re on another screen of the app when you get to the front of the queue, you can simply shake your iPhone to bring up the barcode instantly.

The tipping function allows you to adjust the amount of your tip for up to two hours afterwards, presumably in case they manage to spill your second cup of Americano or the barista creates a particularly artistic piece of latte art for you.

The current free Starbucks app, incidentally, is Sleep Cycle alarm clock, normally $0.99.

iOS 7.1 hits nearly 6% adoption in North America during first 24 hours after release

Avatar for Mike Beasley Mar 11 2014 - 3:40 pm PT
17 Comments
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Following Apple’s launch of iOS 7.1, the first major update to the OS that featured CarPlay, iBeacon imrpovements, and more, mobile analytics firm Chitika has released some numbers regarding the software’s adoption rate. According to the company’s detailed report, the update saw a 5.9% installation rate during its first 24 hours of availability.

The numbers are a little bit BS because obviously a non-zero percentage of users were developers and Apple employees using the 7.1betas. Here are 9to5mac’s numbers for instance.

The data was collected from “tens of millions” of users in the United States and Canada, though the study doesn’t state the exact sample size. The full version of the report notes that the company typically employs a sample size of around 300 million devices.

That may seem low compared to the ridiculously fast adoption of iOS 7 last year, but Chitika reported similiar numbers for the previous update, iOS 7.0.6, which contained a critical SSL bug fix. Meanwhile, the entire set of 7.x updates has seen slowing growth in recent months, according to Apple…


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iOS 8: Apple polishes Maps data, adds public transit directions service

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 11 2014 - 6:00 am PT
58 Comments
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Apple is readying an upgraded version of its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Maps application for the next major release of iOS in an effort to battle Google for mobile maps supremacy, according to sources briefed on the plans. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Senior Vice Presidents Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi, and Maps head Patrice Gautier are using the new app to move toward fulfilling a promise to users that the iOS Maps application will eventually live up to the “incredibly high standard” of Apple’s customers…


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New in iOS 7.1: Big iPhone 4 performance improvements, better navigation audio, and more [Videos]

Avatar for Mike Beasley Mar 10 2014 - 7:46 pm PT
70 Comments
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Apple launched iOS 7.1 this morning after what seemed like an eternity in beta, making the first major update to the mobile OS since it was redesigned last year. Included in the update are several key features such as CarPlay, but also a collection of smaller tweaks and improvements that make system more convenient.

Among those features are two very important ones that haven’t really gotten enough press: huge performance improvements on the iPhone 4 and something called “HFP prompts” in the Maps application…


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iOS 7.1 builds for two new iPads 4,3 and 4,6 released, likely minor hardware revisions

Avatar for Mark Gurman Mar 10 2014 - 11:31 am PT
10 Comments
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<a href="http://ios.e-lite.org">Downloads on iOS-Elite</a>

Besides supporting all iOS 7 devices, iOS 7.1 brings support for a pair of new iPad models: iPad 4,3 (download link) and iPad 4,6 (download link). These models have not been announced by Apple, but they likely represent minor hardware revisions…


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