iOS

5,006 'iOS' stories August 2010 - January 2014

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)

WWE Wrestling Network coming to Apple TV, company executive suggests

Mark Gurman Jan 24 2014 - 2:18 pm PT

21 Comments

<a href="https://twitter.com/saschasegan/status/421117388235358208/photo/1">Image via Sascha Segan</a>

Earlier this year, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) held a press conference to announce that it will be bringing its wrestling content to television and mobile devices via a new WWE Network. At the event, WWE Chief Revenue and Marketing officer Michelle Wilson announced hardware partners and that the network will provide its content via a 24/7 stream that costs $9.99 per month.

As shown in the video below (5:30 in), Wilson said that the network would become available on a slew of devices, including iOS devices, Android devices, Rokus, Amazon Kindle devices, Xbox hardware, and PlayStations. Rounding out the list of supported devices, Wilson said, is “a connected device that I am not allowed to mention at this press conference…”

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Apple product database app Mactracker updated adding dozens of vintage systems

Michael Steeber Jan 24 2014 - 11:26 am PT

0 Comments

Mactracker, the definitive app for tracking Apple product information, received a substantial update today, on the Mac’s 30th birthday. Both the OS X and iOS versions have, for the first time, added Apple’s non-Macintosh computers to the database, including the entire Apple II line, and many early Apple monitors and accessories.

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Apple updates Keynote with new transitions, fixes issues with iMovie on OS X

Mark Gurman Jan 23 2014 - 1:44 pm PT

2 Comments

It’s software update Thursday for Apple. In addition to redesigning many elements of iWork for iCloud and tweaking Podcasts on iOS, Apple has pushed out a slew of software updates to its applications for OS X…

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Sources say new Apple TV box likely coming soon, App/Game Store possible

Mark Gurman Jan 23 2014 - 10:05 am PT

24 Comments

We’ve learned that Apple is making progress on its development of a successor to the current Apple TV and that the device is well into testing. We are led to believe that the new device, which is said to be a set-top box rather than a full-fledged TV set, will likely be introduced in the first half of 2014. We understand that the product will include a revamped operating system that will be based on iOS. Of course, release timeframes with these type of products can quickly change due to the content partners that are involved in such products…

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SwiftKey bringing its predictive gesture typing from Android to iOS w/ ‘Note’ app

Jordan Kahn Jan 23 2014 - 7:57 am PT

3 Comments

SwitfKey, the popular Android app that replaces the stock on-screen keyboard with a gesture-based, predictive typing system, will soon arrive in an official iOS app from the same developers. While details are slim, the screenshot above from @evleaks comes with the caption “SwitfKey Note,” which we assume is a note taking app of sorts by looking at the image. Since Apple doesn’t allow users to change the system-wide on-screen keyboard to third-party alternatives like on Android, we assume that the gesture and predictive typing features will be accessible only within the new Note app.
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iDevices top data usage charts, iPhone 5s users downloading 41 percent more data than Samsung S4

Ben Lovejoy Jan 23 2014 - 4:48 am PT

7 Comments

While Android devices have the greatest market share, the evidence that iOS users do more with their devices continues to grow. The latest survey by analytics company Arieso found that iDevices took six out of the top ten slots in terms of the amount of data downloaded by 2013 devices. All numbers use the iPhone 3G as their base, and exclude the iPad Air which was launched after the survey ended.

Unsurprisingly, the company found that our appetite for data grows with each generation of device, as they become increasingly capable. iPhone 5s owners, for example, download 19 percent more data than iPhone 5 owners.

But tellingly, iPhone 5s owners download 41 percent more data than the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung’s current flagship handset (a figure that increases to 54 percent in developing markets). A previous study showed that iPhone users spend more time using their phones than do Android owners.

In a separate analysis by the UK consumer association Which?, the iPhone 5c was found to have the greatest amount of usable storage space after built-in apps were accounted for. Comparing the 16GB models of eight leading smartphones, the 5c was found to leave users with 12.6GB of storage, with the 5s at 12.2GB taking third place behind the Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy S4 took bottom place, with just over half of its 16GB space available to the user.

Via TechCrunch

Beats Music responds to launch issues, says free trial length to be doubled

Mark Gurman Jan 22 2014 - 3:23 pm PT

0 Comments

Since Beats launched its Beats Music streaming music service earlier this week, the launch has been plagued by reliability issues and new customers not being able to sign up.

Responding to these complaints, Beats CEO Ian Rogers has sent out an email to customers with an explanation:

Huge thanks to everyone for making our launch day yesterday so successful. We’ve been blown away by the love that made us the #1 Music App in the iTunes Store.

Due to the extremely high volume of interest in our service some users are experiencing issues. Most people are unaffected but our priority is to give everyone a great experience. We prepared for issues like these, have a plan, and are going to hold off on letting more people in while we put this plan in action.

For those of you that claimed your name in the lead up to launch, we still have your username reserved and we’ll be in touch with your invite. We appreciate your support.

Everyone who registers this week will get an additional seven days added to their trial.

We’re staying focused on bringing you the best music experience from the people who know what song comes next. Stay tuned, and thanks for being excited about Beats Music.

Ian Rogers
CEO

Notably, for people who register this week, free trials will be extended by seven days. That is essentially the trial being doubled as the free trial was initially seven days.

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Developer activates Apple’s upcoming iOS in the Car system, shows different interface

Mark Gurman Jan 21 2014 - 10:57 am PT

6 Comments

Ahead of Apple’s launch of iOS in the Car later this year, developer Steven Troughton-Smith has seemingly activated the feature inside what we presume is the iOS Simulator. iOS in the Car allows an iOS 7 user to connect their iOS device to their car’s built-in center console display. On the console, they can use Apple Maps, read Messages, make phone calls, and control music…

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The worst password of all is no longer ‘password’ according to hacked accounts chart

Ben Lovejoy Jan 20 2014 - 4:27 am PT

16 Comments

You might have thought that it would be hard to come up with a worse password than ‘password,’ but according to a chart compiled by SplashData from hacked accounts, it has been edged out by ‘123456’.

The far more secure ‘12345678’ (33 percent more secure!) retains its position as number three, while a new entry in sixth place goes as far as ‘123456789’. Sadly, ‘letmein’, a password I always felt deserving of classic status, dropped seven places to achieve a mediocre ranking of 14.

Apple introduced iCloud Keychain as part of Mavericks and iOS 7.0.3, and if you’re not already using it, you can read our how-to guide. If you’re using older versions of OS X or iOS, we also ran a how-to guide on using a password manager to have unique, secure passwords for each website.

Via re/code

Feedly for iOS updated w/ speed reading feature, redesigned iPad UI, night theme, more

Chance Miller Jan 18 2014 - 12:09 pm PT

2 Comments

Feedly has just updated its iOS app to version 18.0.5 with a handful of new features. For those unfamiliar, Feedly is a service that aggregates conent from a variety of sources, including news sites, YouTube, RSS feeds, and more. The biggest feature in this update according to the developers is a new speed reading functionality. The feature allows users to quickly move from one inlined article to the next by simply tapping on the edge of the interface.

Also new in this update is a redesigned iPad interface, focused on speed and stability, as well as a new night theme that essentially changes all the white interfaces to a darker color. The full change log is below:

Spotlight feature:

Speed reading

Other new features:

New iPad design

New night theme

Faster image processing

New mark all as read card with reading stats.

Crash fixes

The Feedly update is available now on the App Store.

Starbucks quickly adds additional ‘safeguards’ to its app in response to public furore over application security

Benjamin Mayo Jan 17 2014 - 2:59 am PT

0 Comments

Starbucks has quickly pushed a bug fix update for its app to the store to help address the security flaws found in its iPhone application earlier this week. Researchers originally found that the app stored passwords in plain text. Earlier, Starbucks’ CIO promised in an open letter that an update would follow in response to these findings.

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Imgur MemeGen app launches on iOS, lets you make your own memes

Mark Gurman Jan 16 2014 - 12:16 pm PT

1 Comment

Photo sharing site Imgur has added its popular MemeGen tool to iOS via a new app on the App Store. The app actually launched late last year, but Imgur has only begun promoting it today. The application has three main tabs across the bottom: Browse, Create, and Recents. Browse allows fans of meme photos to browse new or popular images. Create allows you to harness the power of your iOS Device’s camera and photo library to create your own memes. The interface for doing so is simple. Recents allows you to keep all of your created memes at your fingertips. The app is free on the App Store.

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Skype for iPhone adds two-way HD videocalls and lockscreen chat notifications

Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2014 - 6:21 am PT

0 Comments

The latest version of Skype for iPhone adds support for two-way HD video calls (for iPhone 5 and later), and receipt of chat messages on the lockscreen even when the app is closed.

Microsoft also says that chat messages will sync more rapidly across devices.

The app was last updated with a flatter, cleaner look for iOS 7 in October last year, and is a free download from iTunes.

Starbucks confirms that its iOS app stores passwords in plain text

Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2014 - 4:17 am PT

7 Comments

Starbucks has confirmed a finding by security researcher Daniel Wood that both username and password in its iOS app are stored in plain text.

It’s not the big deal some are making it out to be – to make use of it, someone would need physical access to your unlocked iPhone, in which case you likely have bigger things to worry about than someone being able to order tall skinny lattes on your dime. Additionally, as Engadget observes, a far easier hack by someone with access to your phone would simply be to take a photo of the on-screen barcode used to authorise payments.

All the same, it is pretty poor design on the part of a payment app from a major company, and it’s surprising that Starbucks apparently has no plans to fix it with an updated app.

Review: Lacie Fuel, the wireless portable drive for all your iDevices

Ben Lovejoy Jan 15 2014 - 5:36 am PT

16 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9HTQybOxcI]

Wireless drives have been around for a little while now. There’s the Seagate GoFlex Satellite, and the Kingston W-Drive SSD, for example. They generate their own wifi networks, and you can then stream content from them to either a Mac or, more usefully, an iOS device.

Lacie has taken that concept a stage further, by adding the ability to upload content from iPhones and iPads also, and with 1TB capacity, you’re unlikely to find yourself running short of space.

I tested it with a MacBook Air, iPad and iPhone, and was generally impressed …

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Stylish screensaver recreates the iOS 7 lock screen experience on your Mac

Benjamin Mayo Jan 14 2014 - 1:18 pm PT

13 Comments

Want to bring iOS and OS X even closer together than they already are?
Christian Heudens has recreated the iOS 7 lock screen to your Mac as a free downloadable screensaver. The thin fonts look great on a Retina Display. It’s a neat way to give your Mac a bit of individuality and make your experience across your Apple devices even more consistent.

The developer has done a good job of replicating the feel of iOS 7, using the same starry wallpaper by default and font style. The screensaver adds a zoom effect to the background too, which is a sophisticated yet subtle addition.

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Nearly a fifth of all grand larcenies in NYC involved Apple products

Ben Lovejoy Jan 13 2014 - 4:41 am PT

4 Comments

Thefts of Apple products made up 18 percent of all grand larcenies in New York City last year, reports the WSJ, citing NYPD figures. Of the 47,000 grand larcenies occuring in the city last year, 8,465 involved Apple products.

Many of the thefts happen on public transportation, where most people are buried in their devices and aren’t paying attention to their surroundings, said Joseph Giacalone, a retired New York Police Department detective. “It’s easy pickings,” he said …
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iOS/Android market share vs. installed base visualized

Ben Lovejoy Jan 10 2014 - 5:52 am PT

25 Comments

As the Guardian‘s Charles Arthur points out, market share is a very different thing to installed user-base. The highly-detailed piece is worth reading in full, but the take-out is the bottom graph. That’s what the real world of U.S. smartphone users looks like. Or, to put it in two sentences …

Here’s the reality: at the time this was written, more than 40% of the smartphones in use in the US […] were iPhones. Only about 51% of the smartphones in peoples’ hands in the US are Android phones.

Smartphone adoption as a whole has grown at a rapid rate, and within that iOS and Android have, in the U.S. (and many other developed markets, I’m sure) grown at pretty much the same rate, with a rather modest gap between them.

Fitbit Force gaining previously announced iPhone caller ID integration in February (video)

Mark Gurman Jan 9 2014 - 12:15 pm PT

4 Comments

Announced alongside its launch in October, the Fitbit Force wrist-worn fitness tracker will gain support for Caller ID notifications. The company confirmed to SlashGear that a software update will activate the functionality in February. While the display on the Force will show you who is calling, the functionality is extremely rudimentary. Don’t expect to be able to answer, reject, or perform any other call-related functions. The feature is also iOS exclusive with no indication of when Android users will gain a similar ability. If you still haven’t picked up a Fitbit Force, head over to Best Buy and enter coupon code bloggers15off at checkout to save 15%. A video of the functionality in action is below:

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The $50 smartwatch will be here by the summer, says Archos

Ben Lovejoy Jan 9 2014 - 4:19 am PT

5 Comments

Photo: engadget.com

When a whole new category of technology arrives, you can usually rely on tech-heads to get excited about them even if the mass-market doesn’t. So far, though, smartwatches don’t seem to have made as much headway as many expected. When a confirmed gadget addict like me is left wondering why I’d want one, something somewhere is wrong.

But where functionality hasn’t persuaded many of us, perhaps price will. Archos is planning to launch a basic smartwatch in the summer for just $50, a price it may be hoping will lead people to stop asking ‘Why?’ and instead ask ‘Why not?’.

Don’t expect too much tech for your fifty bucks: what it will buy you is more of a dumbwatch than a smart one. All it will do is relay notifications from your phone and allow you to control music playback. Oh yes, and tell the time. The display, too, is low-tech: a 1.55-inch non-capacitive e-ink screen.

The styling also looks pretty crude. But for $50, it’s almost cheap enough to try one out just to see whether the idea of a smartwatch grabs you.

Archos also plans a color model with 1.8-inch capacitive screen for $100 and an aluminum-cased version for $130, but these won’t be available until later in the year.

Spotify for iOS updated w/ previously announced free option for mobile and tablet users

Zac Hall Jan 8 2014 - 10:18 am PT

3 Comments

Last month Spotify announced new ad-supported streaming options for mobile and tablet users without paid subscriptions, and today that update has rolled out for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users.

To recap, iPhone users can now play a particular playlist they create or their friends share, but the tracks will be shuffled. iPad users have an experience like desktop users where you can build specific playlists and list to music on demand.

The update is available now for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in the App Store.
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Poll: Do you like the iOS 7.1 beta 3 interface tweaks?

Mark Gurman Jan 8 2014 - 10:00 am PT

96 Comments

Yesterday, Apple issued the third beta of iOS 7.1 to developers for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Like the original beta track for iOS 7.0, these iOS 7.1 betas have slowly been introducing some user-interface tweaks to the iOS Device experience. While not significant, changes to the Phone application, system sliders, some icons, and the keyboard slightly alter the way Apple’s products are used. Many of you sounded off in the comments about the changes, but we’ve compiled a poll (below) for you to vote if you like each new change over the iterations in the current release of iOS 7:

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How badly Microsoft missed the mobile ship: 70 percent of Windows users own an Apple product

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2014 - 7:04 am PT

14 Comments

If ever there was a simple visual to illustrate just how slow Microsoft was to wake up to the shift into mobile, it’s this one: a full 70 percent of Windows users also own at least one Apple product.

While there will be some joint Windows/OS X users in there, the majority of them will be people with Windows PCs and either an iPhone, iPad or iPod.

Via Business Insider

Signal announces first full-size MFi Bluetooth games controller

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2014 - 4:51 am PT

7 Comments

iOS gamers are not going to be short of options when it comes to choosing a games controller for their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. After earlier dock-based controllers from Logitech and Moga, and Monday’s announcement by SteelSeries of the first Bluetooth controller, Signal has just announced the first full-size Bluetooth controller in the shape of the RP One …
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