iOS

iOS (previously iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple Inc. Originally released in 2007 for the iPhone and iPod Touch platforms, it has been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPad and Apple TV. Unlike Microsoft's Windows Phone and Google's Android, Apple does not license iOS for installation on non-Apple hardware. As of September 12, 2012, Apple's App Store contained more than 700,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 50 billion times.It had a 21% share of the smartphone mobile operating system units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012, behind only Google's Android. In June 2012, it accounted for 65% of mobile web data consumption (including use on both the iPod Touch and the iPad). At the half of 2012, there were 410 million devices activated. According to the special media event held by Apple on September 12, 2012, 400 million devices have been sold through June 2012.

The user interface of iOS is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface. Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).

iOS is derived from OS X, with which it shares the Darwin foundation. iOS is Apple's mobile version of the OS X operating system used on Apple computers.

In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch layer. The current version of the operating system (iOS 6.1.3) dedicates 1-1.5 GB of the device's flash memory for the system partition, using roughly 800 MB of that partition (varying by model) for iOS itself.

iOS currently runs on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV.

The operating system was unveiled with the iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo, January 9, 2007, and released in June of that year. At first, Apple marketing literature did not specify a separate name for the operating system, stating simply that the "iPhone runs OS X". Initially, third-party applications were not supported. Steve Jobs' reasoning was that developers could build web applications that "would behave like native apps on the iPhone". On October 17, 2007, Apple announced that a native Software Development Kit (SDK) was under development and that they planned to put it "in developers' hands in February". On March 6, 2008, Apple released the first beta, along with a new name for the operating system: "iPhone OS".

Apple had released the iPod touch, which had most of the non-phone capabilities of the iPhone. Apple also sold more than one million iPhones during the 2007 holiday season. On January 27, 2010, Apple announced the iPad, featuring a larger screen than the iPhone and iPod touch, and designed for web browsing, media consumption, and reading iBooks.

In June 2010, Apple rebranded iPhone OS as "iOS". The trademark "IOS" had been used by Cisco for over a decade for its operating system, IOS, used on its routers. To avoid any potential lawsuit, Apple licensed the "IOS" trademark from Cisco.

By late 2011, iOS accounted for 60% of the market share for smartphones and tablet computers. By the end of 2012, iOS accounted for 21% of the smartphone OS market and 43.6% of the tablet OS market.

Version history

iOS 1.x

• Location awareness
• Customizable home screen and multiple home screen pages
• Multi-recipient SMS
• Lyrics display in iPod
• Chapters in iPod movies
• Web clips
• Support for iTunes Movie Rentals
• International Keyboard Support
• Bug Fixes
• Tacit approval for user-created ringtones
• iTunes WiFi Music Store
• New Calculator icon
• Double-tap functionality on Home button
• TV in/out features
• Bug Fixes

 

iOS 2.x

2.0, the second major release of the iOS, became available with the release of the iPhone 3G. Devices running 1.x are upgradable to this version

• Support for iPhone 3G
• Support for App Store and third-party applications and games
• Support for Microsoft Exchange
• Support for 3G data and GPS, when the hardware is present
• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

This version of the OS introduces the App Store, making third-party applications available to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

iOS 3.x

3.0 became available with the iPhone 3GS. It was released on June 17, 2009.

• App Store Genius. Like the Genius feature for music, this tool recommends App Store programs based on what the user has previously enjoyed.
• New Ringtones. While previous ringtones were user-creatable through iTunes, users can now buy pre-made ringtones from record labels through the included iTunes Store app.
• Bug fixes for network connection lost and problems waking from sleep.
• Improved battery status reporting
• Fixes bug related to apps not launching
• Fixes bug related to Japanese Kana keyboard
• Various security fixes

Not all features were available on the original iPhone. Devices running 2.x were upgradeable to this firmware

iOS 4.x

 iOS 4 was made available to the public for the iPhone and iPod Touch on June 21, 2010. for iPhone and iPod touch | Fall 2010 for iPad.

• Multitasking
• Folders to organize apps
• Unified email inbox and threaded email conversations
• Improved security and business features
• iBooks for iPhone, iPod touch
• 100+ other fixes and features
• Drops support for the original iPhone
• High Dynamic Range photos
• Game Center
• Many bug fixes (proximity sensor, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G)
• Brings all iOS 4 features to iPad
• AirPrint wireless printing
• AirPlay support
• Extends GameCenter support to iPad
• Free Find My iPhone service
• Search in page in Safari
• Software-based screen orientation lock for iPad
• Assign unique tones to individual SMS senders
•  Adds support for iPad 2
• Adds the Nitro Javascript engine to Safari browser
• Adds improvements to AirPlay
• Adds support for Home Sharing and Personal Hotspot (iPhone only)
• Adds preference to make volume mute button either that or screen rotation lock
• Does not support Verizon iPhone
• Drops support for iPhone 3G and 2nd. gen. iPod touch

The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation) have limited features, including lack of multitasking capabilities and the ability to set a home screen wallpaper. While the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation) have all features enabled, such as multitasking. The iPhone and iPod Touch (1st generation) cannot run iOS 4.0 and above.

iOS 4.2.1, released November 22, 2010, added iPad compatibility. It also was the last version to support iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation, MB & MC models).

iOS 5.x

iOS 5 was previewed to the public on June 6, 2011. It was released for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM and CDMA), iPhone 4S, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation), iPad, and iPad 2 on October 12, 2011.

• Support for iCloud and iTunes Match
• iMessage
• System-wide integration of Twitter
• Notification Center and updated lock screen to include notifications
• Built-in Reader and Reminders apps; a read-later and to-do list app, respectively
• Tweaks to the Camera app to add a camera shortcut to the lock screen and the ability to use the volume up button to take photos
• Formatting-related tweaks to Mail app
• Newsstand, a new app for reading magazines purchased through the App Store
• Tweaks to Game Center app, including support for turn-based network games

 

iOS 6.x

iOS 6 was previewed on June 11, 2012 during WWDC 2012, with release announced for Fall 2012. Following the pattern of previous iOS releases, older devices are no longer supported, specifically the iPod Touch (3rd generation) and the iPad (original). Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 3GS onwards, the iPod Touch (4th generation) onwards, and the iPad 2 onwards.

• Replaced earlier Maps app with new, Apple-created Maps app
• Turn-by-turn directions
• Do Not Disturb
• Passbook
• New privacy controls
• Removed YouTube app
• Expanded features for Siri
• Facebook integration
• Support for FaceTime over cellular networks, where available
• Bug fixes

the release of the next generation of iPhone, called iPhone 5, the newly redesigned iPod Touch (5th generation), along with the final release of iOS 6.0.