Apple’s iOS (previously known as the iPhone OS) has come a long way – 6 and a half years in the making for 6 generations of iPhones, together with multiple generations of iPads, and iPods. If you’re someone who started out with an iPhone 4 and not know what came before that, then take a trip with us down memory lane to check out the history of Apple’s iOS and the features that were introduced in previous WWDC events.
It might be a long post as Apple has released a lot of updates since the first-generation iPhone. Some might not know how it looked like, but it wasn’t as pretty as the iPhone 5, that’s for sure. We won’t be talking about the design aspects of the device, but rather talk about iOS itself and the improvements significant to the iOS of today.
Coming Soon: Everything You Need To Know About iOS 7
IOS 1: The Birth Of The IPhone [2007]
iOS, then known as iPhone OS, was unveiled at the Macworld event, early 2007. At the time, features of the iPhone were very limited. There wasn’t an App Store, you couldn’t multitask between the built-in apps, move the app icons on the homescreen (until the 1.1.1 update), copy and paste text, attach files to email, 3G and MMS.
However, while other devices were still using resistive touchscreens, Apple revolutionized its iPhone with capacitive touch capabilities, making the whole experience of a smartphone smooth and swiftto users.
(Image Source: Lusakatimes)
The capacitive touchscreen made multitouch pinch-and-zoom and smooth scrolling a thing of the future as users experienced it when surfing on the Safari web browser, or zooming and scrolling through pictures on their camera roll. Google Maps was also awesome on the iPhone because of the capacitive touch – zooming in and out quickly had most of us excited back then.
At the time, Apple already had a wide customer base on iTunes who bought music for their old school, touch wheel iPods. Apple then excited the crowd as the iPhone was also called a ‘wide screen touch enabled’ iPod,the first of its kind.
IOS 2: App Store [2008]
Remember how the iPhone had no App Store and all you had were the built-in apps by Apple? Me neither. The release of the App Store in 2008 built into the OS meant that users can browse and then download apps directly on the device.
Apple also used the iTunes accounts so people would just have to enter their ID and password in order to start purchasing apps with the same credit card they use to purchase music on their computer.
(Image Source: DotSauce)
Other features added were Microsoft Exchange support that allowed for push emails, calendars and contacts from other sources and Apple’s MobileMe (already replaced by iCloud). The native Google Maps app also had updates with street view, walking and public transport directions.
IOS 3: IPhone Enhancements [2009]
Compared to iOS 2, iOS 3 was a core update launched together with the iPhone 3GS in 2009. Apple introduced the ability to cut, copy and paste just like how you can do it now, Spotlight search that lets you search for anything system wide, push notifications for 3rd party apps, MMS, voice control, USB and Bluetooth tethering, and the Find My iPhone app. Most of these features introduced then have stayed on the iOS till today.
The native camera app also saw an improvement with video recording and the tap-to-focusfeature. Apple also introduced the iTunes app where users could easily purchase and watch content on the phone. This release also allowed developers to create bluetooth and dock accessories through the large amount of APIs released on Apple’s SDK.
IOS 4: Multitasking, Retina & FaceTime [2010]
Recent users probably cannot fathom the idea that iOS could not multitask apps at a point in time. Lucky for them, iOS 4 was when the multitasking bar was born. With this multitasking feature, apps could work in the background allowing users to switch between apps faster, with its previously saved state intact. Other music apps other than the native music app could also work in the background too.
Apple also introduced app folders, custom wallpapers to replace the black background for the homescreen, FaceTime and Retina support for the iPhone 4. Moving from the iPhone 3GS screen to Retina was a big deal as developers had to make apps look good on high-resolution screens.
They also introduced a unified Inbox on the native Mail app for users with multiple email accounts, a less cluttered Inbox with threaded emails, the ability to search text on the Messages app andgeotagging photos.
WiFi tethering or Personal Hotspot as we now know was also included in later updates of iOS 4. That together with Game Center, AirPrint and AirPlay were released in the first quarter of 2011.
IOS 5: Notification Center, Siri & More [2011]
iOS 5 was the most impressive update Apple came out with in 2011. The iPhone 4 was already a big hit with its Retina display, that together with the features of iOS 5 blew away any competition. Apple marketed Siri as an iPhone 4S feature.
It was (still) a big hit, bringing voice assistance and information to your fingertips instantly, with voice recognition. iCloud was also released, making backups and setting up new iOS devices easy.
Remember when notifications used to be a mini window right in your face? Well, Apple also released the Notification Center and the sleek notification bar, giving you the choice to interact with the notification while using an app.
The lockscreen also saw improvements with lockscreen notifications where you can quickly swipe the app icon to open the app, and launch the camera app from the lockscreen, like you can do now.
Other brand new features that were introduced include: Reminders app that synced with iCal and Outlookand featured location-based reminders, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter integration andmultitasking gestures with a split keyboard on the iPad.
Previously, syncing your device to iTunes meant you had to wait for it to finish before being able to use your device again. In iOS 5, Apple got rid of that so users could use the device while syncing. The native camera app also saw an improvement, they added basic editing features and users can use the volume button to snap a picture.
There was also the feature of updating iOS over WiFi, alongside Safari Reader, which takes away all the clutter leaving you with just text to read, and rich text-editing on the Mail app.
IOS 6: Apple Maps & Passbook[2012]
Before iOS 7 is released to users, this is the OS where most of us are right now. iOS 6 was where we saw the release of Apple’s own Maps app with turn-by-turn voice navigation. As they tried to step out from Google’s shadow, they removed the native Google Maps and YouTube app found in previous versions of iOS. However, Apple’s Maps failed on them and many looked to alternatives beforeGoogle Maps was re-released on the App Store.
Apple also introduced Passbook, marking entry into the world of digital wallets and payments with a mobile device. New features also include Do Not Disturb mode, Guided Access, panorama photos on the native camera app and Facebook integration allowing users to update status with a button on the notification center.
The bulk of Apples “200 new features” in iOS 6 were more of updates, which included
- Updates to Siri
- FaceTime over cellular
- Photo Stream over iCloud
- better sharing options throughout iOS
- remodeling of the App Stores
- enhanced Safari with iCloud tabs
- VIP mail on the native Mail app
- more Emoji
- new calling features, allowing you to set a reminder to call back or reply with a text message.
iOS 7: Hello, Jony Ive
iOS 7 is the first iteration to arrive with a pair of phones in tow — the iPhone 5s and 5c. In addition to shipping iOS 7 with the new handsets, Apple is updating all its devices from the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 onwards to the new OS on September 18th. iPod touch support is limited to the latest, fifth-generation model.
Big changes at Apple. After the botched introduction of the Maps app saw Tim Cook post a personal apology on the Apple homepage, Scott Forstall, who had led iOS design for several years, parted ways with the company. Soon after the departure, Apple’s lead industrial designer, Jony Ive, took leadership of the company’s “human interface” efforts.
The result of Ive’s intervention is Apple’s first attempt at a visual overhaul of its mobile OS. Gone are the famous glossy icons, the rich textures, and, for the most part, the skeuomorphic apps, replaced by flattened graphics, colorful gradients, and transparencies. Immediately after its June 10th unveil, iOS 7′s redesign was panned by critics for what they called an “overly simplistic” and confusing design.
The key to iOS 7′s new look is layering. The home screen and applications run on a bottom layer, while Apple has added transparency and background blurring within apps to make certain interface elements appear to hover over others. The keyboard and navigation bar in Messages is a good example of layering: text bubbles now slide beneath the newly translucent elements. This UI layering also applies to the refreshed Notification Center, which is similarly translucent, and an all-new feature: Control Center.
Control Center. Accessed with a swipe up from the bottom of your screen, Control Center is Apple’s version of the quick-settings toggles found on Android phones. The translucent overlay offers one-click access to Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Rotation lock, and sliders for volume and brightness. In addition to settings shortcuts, there are buttons for a flashlight as well as the Clock, Calculator, and Camera apps, and full music controls. Finally, you can turn on and off AirPlay, or initiate an AirDrop (see below). Like Notification Center, it’s available from anywhere in the OS, including the lock screen.
AirDrop. First introduced with OS X Mountain Lion, AirDrop is an ad-hoc sharing system that lets you quickly share images, videos, and other files with people around you. Strangely, you can’t share files between iOS and OS X yet, but there’s a possibility that could change with the release of OS X Mavericks later this year.
All-new core apps and free iWork. Apple has freshened up all of its core apps with a new coat of paint, bringing them in line with the new look of iOS. Most of the apps are white with a simple one-color flourish, and completely devoid of texture, but Notes and Reminders retain a slight papery feel.
While the basic layout of all of the apps remains the same, Apple introduced a new swiping gesture that makes navigating around apps much easier. Swiping in from the left side of the screen in all of the core apps executes the same function as the “back” button in the top-left corner of apps. This gesture also works both ways in Safari, letting you swipe back and forth through your browser history. Safari in general is cleaner, with a new omnibar up top and a UI that fades away as you scroll through a page.
iOS 7 also marks a shift in Apple’s approach to additional software on iOS. Apps that cost as much as $9.99 in the past, such as Pages, Numbers, iMovie, Keynote, and iPhoto, will now be free on iOS. Of all of Apple’s big-name apps, only Garageband remains at a premium. The app giveaway mirrors Apple’s approach to its iLife software suite on OS X, which is packaged free with every Mac, although the company’s iWork apps are still premium for the desktop.
An animated weather app, but still no widgets. Borrowing heavily from Yahoo’s successful iOS app, the new Weather app features lush animated backgrounds that change based on time of day and the current weather conditions. It’s a fantastic-looking app, but its dynamic backgrounds aren’t mirrored by its icon, which remains sunny.
The omission of widgets, a standard feature of Android (and in some ways Windows Phone) for many years, will disappoint many. Apple gave some hope that the static iOS home screen might change with the inclusion of an animated Clock icon that constantly updates to show the correct time to the second, but that’s it. The Clock icon now shows the correct time, just as the Calendar icon has always shown the correct date, but every other icon is stoically static. Even Apple’s Notification Center Weather widget, which used to show the weather for the next five days, has been reduced to a line of text in the “Today” screen.
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iTunes Radio. iTunes Radio is Apple’s answer to Spotify and Rdio, only it’s not. It’s a streaming service, but rather than focusing on a fully fledged service that might eat into its iTunes music revenue, Apple essentially remade Pandora. It lets you choose songs to listen to on demand, but the main focus is on curated radio stations based around particular songs, artists, albums, or genres.
Camera and Photos. The camera software in iOS 7 has been rethought with a simple black layout. New additions include an Instagram-like “square” mode and an array of filters. The app is very fast, and shutter delay is now almost imperceptible. For the iPhone 5s, which features a better sensor than Apple’s previous phones, the camera software will automatically assess the lighting conditions and fire a flash in one of a thousand tones thanks to a new dual-LED flash. The 5s also has a 10fps burst mode for photos and a 120fps 720p slow-motion video mode, along with improvements to iOS’ software stabilization and exposure.
The Photos app now automatically arranges your images into what Apple calls Collections and Moments. A day trip to Venice, for example, will be cordoned off from other photos, headlined with the location and the date that you visited. These new views replace the Camera Roll by default, which is now accessible via an Albums tab. The layout of the app is a little more confusing than before, with dense clusters of photos that you can hover over with your finger to preview. It’ll be down to Apple to educate the masses on how it all works.
Multitasking. Multitasking is massively improved in iOS 7, both in interface and implementation. Double-clicking your home button now brings up full-page previews of all your current apps, not unlike webOS or Windows Phone. Although iOS still manages your apps automatically, you can close multiple apps by swiping them away. More interesting is what’s going on behind the scenes, where there are two big changes. First, apps can now be triggered to download data by a push notification. That means if you get an email or IM notification, the relevant app will start downloading the new data immediately. The second change could have huge implications for battery life: the addition of automatically coalescing updates means that iOS will, without prompt, wait for the right moment to start downloading app updates and other data. It groups all of the data requests together, only triggering them when you’re in good signal areas (or when you switch on your iPhone’s screen), which saves on the amount of time your phone’s radio needs to be working.
FaceTime Audio. FaceTime Audio wasn’t widely discussed in the months following the June unveil of iOS 7, but it could be its single most important feature. As the name suggests, it’s an audio-only version of FaceTime, which utilizes a high-quality codec to let you call other Apple users via Wi-Fi, LTE, or 3G. We’ve yet to see how carriers will react to the feature — US carriers already aren’t over-enamored with FaceTime — but provided they don’t block access to the feature over LTE and 3G, seamless VoIP calls between iOS devices have arrived.
Automatic updates. With iOS 7, the days of opening up the App Store to click “update all” are over. The OS now offers the option to update all apps on your system without asking, much like its competitors have done for some time. It’s a double-edged sword: auto-updating ensures that all users are running the latest version of an app, but at the same time consumers won’t be able to steer clear of a buggy app update, even if it’s been widely reported.
Touch ID. The introduction of a biometric sensor with the iPhone 5s also marks the entry of a new security measure: Touch ID. The feature lets you unlock your phone using a thumbprint, and also allows for password-less purchases from the App Store. Touch ID is limited to just a few specific functions for now, as Apple has yet to reveal any plans to let developers access the feature.
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