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iOS 5 reportedly transmits Album/Track/Artist data to Bluetooth audio devices
9to5 Mac notes another unsung feature of iOS 5: when you stream music over Bluetooth to an audio receiver, that receiver will now be able to read the album, track and artist data embedded in the ID3 tag of the song. What that means is your receiver's display (such as one you might find in a newer car like the Prius) will now show you all that information instead of saying something generic like "track 03." Ah, the future is almost here.
iOS 5 rumored to offer FaceTime in the Middle East
Readers in the UAE and other countries will be happy to know that FaceTime is working again on iPhones in the Middle East under the latest iOS 5 beta. As you may recall, when Apple introduced FaceTime in iOS 4, many carriers in the Middle East refused to allow FaceTime on their networks. Unsurprisingly, a hack soon emerged that allowed people to get FaceTime working on jailbroken iPhones. Now it appears that hack is no longer necessary. Apple-wd.com [Google translation] has posted screenshots and a report that shows FaceTime is working on iPhones in Saudi Arabia from service providers STC and Mobily. However, as MacStories points out, there is no way of knowing if FaceTime functionality will remain in Middle Eastern countries once the final version of iOS 5 ships. It's entirely possible that local carriers could update their configuration files to block FaceTime access in the future. Only time will tell. In the mean time, if you have iOS 5 and are in the Middle East, enjoy FaceTime while you can.
Apple goes on a domain name shopping spree
Apple has bought at least 50 domain names in the last three days. While many of the domain names are related to features of Lion or iOS 5 that were introduced at WWDC on Monday, it's unlikely Apple will use most of the domain names as active URLs. Instead, Apple probably just snapped them up to keep squatters from getting them. After all, it's got to be tiring going after every single person who buys a domain with one of your trademarks in it. Here's a complete list of the domain names:
Apple iCloud brings previously purchased apps back from the dead
Lamenting the time you restored your iPhone and lost that beloved VLC app because it's no longer available on the App Store? Cheer up, there's an iCloud for that. The service allows you to re-download any app you've previously purchased on any of your iOS devices -- including killed apps. We decided to give it a whirl, testing our luck with an iPhone 3GS humming along on iOS 4.3.3. Upon browsing the Purchases section of the App Store, we beheld Tris, an app that hasn't been available in nearly three years. Sure enough, we pressed the iCloud icon and within seconds, the ol' Tetris clone was back in action. So if you were one of the four people that downloaded I am Rich before it was killed, you'll be sure to enjoy that $1,000 investment for years to come. [Thanks, Chris] Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Video of iOS 5 on an iPhone 3GS and a 4 side by side
The folks at AppleRumors Italia did a side-by-side video comparison of iOS 5 on both the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4. As you can see in the video, the two models perform similarly with only a small amount of lag apparent on the iPhone 3GS during certain tasks, like loading a complex web page. The biggest difference is the lack of some features, like HDR and photo editing, on the older iPhone 3GS. Though this is only one video, the results are encouraging for those still rocking a third-generation iPhone.
iOS 5 imposes minor feature limitations on iPhone 3GS, 3G owners still bitter
The unveiling of iOS 5 at this year's WWDC keynote brought a wonderful feast of features, but it left us wondering if the iPhone 3GS would be updated with a few cards short of a full deck -- the same way the 3G was treated last year. Reports are starting to flow in from folks who've tested it, so let's get the bad news out of the way first: yes, some features are being withheld from the 3GS. The good news? They're much more minor than we feared. So far, it appears that full Twitter integration and notifications are included; the newsstand and App Store are also intact, as well as the Safari reading list and grid lines in the camera. The only things we see missing so far are the photo editing features in the camera and the tab bar in Safari. So breathe a deep and well-deserved sigh of relief, fans, because your iPhone 3GS isn't obsolete -- at least, not yet. The full walkthrough of iOS 5 on the 3GS is right after the break.
TUAW TV Live: Steve and Rich talk Lion, iOS 5 and food
OK, maybe we won't get around to talking about food, although the two of us are both accomplished chefs, but we'll certainly be talking about the two new major operating system versions that will be shipping later this year. In July, of course, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is slated to drop from Cupertino. For just US$29.99, the new OS is the first Mac operating system designed to be distributed via the Mac App Store. With a load of new features and redesigned user interface, Lion is bound to both excite and frustrate Mac users. Later in 2011, iOS 5 will hit our iOS devices and bring a variety of new features to the mobile space. We still don't know all of the details about these two new operating systems, but that will be part of the fun of today's TUAW TV Live. My guest today is TUAW blogger Rich Gaywood, who will be joining me for an hour of discussion on the forthcoming OS upgrades. From your Mac or PC, go to the next page by clicking the Read More link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. If you're stuck in traffic and would like to watch TUAW TV Live, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you're on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Real Racing 2 HD beats Wii U to the wireless, dual-screen gaming punch
Hey, guess what? That Real Racing 2 HD update that combined your iPad and TV for dual-screen gaming action will soon be able to ditch the wires and use AirPlay to beam every turn and crash to your flatscreen. You'll need an Apple TV or other Mac device hooked up to your set, and the feature won't be unlocked until iOS 5 hits, but it should satisfy your curiosity for what playing a Wii U might be like until the new Nintendo console lands next year. If you're set hardware-wise and your interest is piqued, you can download the game for $12.99 from the app store -- now you've just gotta hold tight for that OS update in the fall.
iOS 5 to sell text alert tones through iTunes
The beta version of iOS 5 includes a new feature that lets you buy ringtones for alert messages, and it's just one of the 200 new features that are to debut in the new operating system. The ringtone option is found in the settings menu under the sounds. Users select any of the available alerts, like Text Tone, New Voicemail or New Mail, to see a list of available sounds. You can choose from any of the default sounds as well as "Buy More Tones." Clicking on the "Buy More Tones" button in iOS 5 launches the Ringtones Store within iTunes. This feature and others like it were apparently too small for Jobs and other Apple luminaries to mention in the Monday WWDC keynote. Expect to see more of these little gems surface over the next weeks as developers begin diving into the beta release of iOS 5.
Wi-Fi Sync and Wi-Fi Sync: An amazing coincidence? You decide
About a year ago, we told you about Greg Hughes, a British university student and iOS developer. Hughes created the jailbreak app Wi-Fi Sync (US$9.99), which gives your iPhone the capability to "wirelessly sync with iTunes at the touch of a button." The app was turned down by Apple last May, at which time Hughes was given very little explanation as to why his app would not be making it into the App Store. Wi-Fi Sync has had very good success in the Cydia jailbreak store, with Hughes reporting in an interview today that the app has chalked up over 50,000 sales. Now fast forward to the WWDC keynote on June 6, 2011. Apple announced a number of new features that will be available in iOS 5 this fall. One of the big features is something called ... wait for it ... Wi-Fi Sync. Guess what it does? According to the description on the Apple website, Wi-Fi Sync in iOS 5 lets you "wirelessly sync your iOS device to your Mac or PC over a shared Wi-Fi connection." OK, so maybe Apple was working on this capability in April of 2010 when Hughes first submitted Wi-Fi Sync to the App Store. But is it a coincidence that the Apple Wi-Fi Sync icon is almost identical to the one that Hughes had a designer create for him last year? Check out Hughes' icon below at left, and Apple's new icon at right. Interesting... Personally, I like the Hughes icon design better. This isn't the only case of Sherlocking -- the apparent appropriation by Apple of features previously available in third-party apps -- that we've seen this week. Many features that were available only through Cydia apps in the past are now going to appear on iPhones in iOS 5. It seems to me that Apple, particularly in the case of some rather amazing "coincidences" like Wi-Fi Sync, would want to reach out to the developers who brought features to iOS well before the company did. Apple should reach out and reward the developers for showing the foresight and skill to demonstrate powerful new features, even if the company didn't "borrow" those features. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen. If you aren't opposed to jailbreaking your iPhone and want the Wi-Fi Sync capability before iOS 5 appears this autumn, be sure to reward Hughes by purchasing his app. Sales of the Cydia Wi-Fi Sync app are sure to plummet when iOS 5 finally arrives. So, TUAW readers, what do you think? Was Apple working on Wi-Fi Sync a year ago and that's why they turned down the Hughes app? Or did Apple borrow freely from his work? Leave us your observations in the comments.
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore kicks off iOS5 'we did it first' contest, sarcasm meter hits 11
Joe Belfiore is hardly average, you know -- he's Windows Phone Program Director at Microsoft. And you don't scale those heights by being the kind of wimp who would just lie down and be trampled over by a herd of new iOS 5 features. No sir. While more timid men might have distracted themselves with minor problems like disappointing sales, Belfiore instead reached deep into that strong place we all discover when we're backed into a corner and pulled out his Twitter login. What ensued was a list of WP features that he feels "flattered" to see imitated by Apple, starting off with that most original of originals: a dedicated camera button. We're guessing it's just a matter of time before Andy Rubin follows suit.
Why didn't we see a Nuance announcement during WWDC?
One major rumor missing from the WWDC keynote yesterday was voice control. It was just last year that Apple purchased Siri, a popular voice companion app for iOS. Apple was also rumored to be working with Nuance to offer some form of voice control in its software. References to Nuance were recently spotted in a developer version of Mac OS X Lion, and sources claim Nuance software is running at Apple's North Carolina data center. Even the Chief Mobile Technology Architect at Nuance was spotted in the WWDC audience yesterday. Despite this mounting evidence, voice control was a no-show at WWDC. Both TechCrunch and Robert Scoble heard from sources that Apple's voice technology was not ready for a WWDC demonstration. It's there, and Apple is still working on it, but it's not quite ready for prime time. Perhaps Apple will wait to roll out this feature and use it to drum up added excitement when iOS 5 finally arrives this fall.
iOS 5 hints at iPhone, iPad updates
TUAW sources inspecting the USB device files in yet-unreleased iOS 5 firmware have discovered suggestions of two future iPad 3 models as well as a pair of iPhone 5 models. What's most surprising is a big omission: no mention of an iPod touch 5. Specifically, there are declarations buried in the iOS system files that reference "iPad3,1" and "iPad3,2." Likewise, "iPhone4,1" and "iPhone4,2." The iPhone 5 will be a 4th generation unit because the iPhone 3G was technically 1st generation. This throws off the numbering and confuses everyone, so don't fret if you were confused. [As MacRumors notes, the iPhone future models were already visible in beta versions of iOS 4.3 earlier this year. –Ed.] Interestingly, there are no mentions of a new iPod touch. If there really is no iPod touch 5 ready to launch in September (the typical iPod refresh time), sources believe it could be because Apple is reserving the spotlight for another member of its iOS family, namely the iPhone 5. Of course, experience has shown that model registrations do not mean that these items always become an actual shipping product. For example, it took almost a year for the iPhone 3,3 (the iPhone 4 for Verizon) to ship, and the iPhone 3,2 never became a product. Sources believe that's because alleged carrier deals probably fell through for a third iPhone 4. [We had those phone models backwards! The iPhone 3,3 is the CDMA iPhone. See, it is confusing. Fixed. –Ed.] We'll know for sure in the upcoming months, but until then, these tantalizing hints will have to do.
Will iMessage kill wireless carriers' SMS revenues?
In accordance with Betteridge's Law of Headlines, I believe the answer is a resounding "no." The unusually virulent meme quickly spread around the Mac blogging world that iMessage will kill SMS as we know it and, going one stage further, to characterize iMessage as "an attack" on the carriers. John Gruber of Daring Fireball went so far as to say he would "cancel my SMS plan as soon as this ships." But hold on there a second. Is it really that simple?
Video of "PC-free" iOS 5 setup
One new feature in iOS 5 is PC Free setup, which lets you activate your iPhone without connecting it to your computer. You enter your Apple ID, configure the Cloud services including Find my iPhone and then finally activate your device right from the phone. Even in this early release, the setup process works smoothly. You can see the activation from start to finish in this YouTube video provided by XcodeDev. [hat tip MacRumors]
iOS 5 jailbroken already
iOS 5 has been jailbroken within 24 hours of its debut in the iOS dev center. According to iOS hacker MuscleNerd, the exploit uses limera1n and is a tethered boot on the iPod touch fourth generation at this time. Cydia installs fine and seems to work without issue. This achievement is good news for devs who are rocking iOS 5 and those looking forward to the release version of iOS which should land this fall. [Via Redmond Pie]
iOS 5 jailbroken
See those Cydia and iSSH icons? How about the Reminders and Newstand apps, see those? What you're looking at is the harmonious coexistence of hacks and Apple's virgin iOS 5 beta release running on a 4th generation iPod touch. In other words, MuscleNerd and Co are letting us know that iOS 5 presents few surprises so far when its comes to closing the existing holes exploited by the tethered limera1n jailbreak. Update: It's worth mentioning that limera1n is a bootrom exploit that Apple can't patch on the iPod touch through firmware alone. The real test of the Dev Team's wits will be an untethered jailbreak for the iPad 2.
Apple iOS 5 hands-on preview
<div style="text-align:center;"> <a href="http://www.engadget.com/wwdc-2011/apple-ios-5-hands-on-preview/"><img border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/06/ios-5-beta-eng-01.jpg" vspace="4"/></a></div> <a href="http://engadget.com/tag/ios5">iOS 5</a> won't be ready for the masses until this Fall, but lucky developers -- and eager tech bloggers -- are able to get in on the action right now. We just got done downloading the 730MB BETA, and have decided to turn our iPhone 4 and iPad 2 into guinea pigs for all the newness. Apple says that there are over 200 new features baked into the updated OS, and we've run through the biggies from Notification Center to Twitter to that oh-so-convenient split keyboard for you -- all you need to do is click after the break.<br /> %Gallery-125567%<br /> %Gallery-125568%
If you install iOS 5, you can't go back... maybe (Updated)
Update: Some of our Twitter buddies have noted that you should be able to use the TinyUmbrella tool to kick out of the 'error 1' loop that results after restoring an iOS 5 iPhone back to 4.3.3, and proceed safely from there. Needless to say, your mileage may vary. We knew the pre-release builds for iOS 5 would be issued to the developer community today, but AppleInsider warns that this comes with a caveat. Apple has apparently told testers of iOS 5 that any devices updated to that beta cannot be downgraded back to iOS 4. They will only be able to further upgrade their device and eventually install the final iOS 5 release. This note was delivered to developers alongside the latest builds of iOS 5 (build 9A5220p), iTunes 10.5, Apple TV Software beta and the Xcode 4.2 Preview (build 4C104 for Snow Leopard and 4D5031b for Lion). Commenters on the AI forums note that this is not necessarily a new condition for iOS 5; as far back as iOS 3, downgrading was not officially supported. For larger developers this should not be a major problem, but for smaller/indie devs that use their development devices as their primary or day-to-day devices... well, let's hope that beta 1 is stable enough for regular use.
Waiting for a taste of the iCloud? Check your iPhone
The waiting, a great man once said, is the hardest part. And while seeing all of today's WWDC promises come to fruition will certainly take patience, iPhone owners can take some solace in the fact that the updates have already begun. At least a portion of the new functionality is now available by opening up the "Purchased" tab in iOS 4's App Store, revealing a history of apps that have been downloaded with your account, including those not currently on your device. Those not presently installed will feature a cloud icon, making it possible to re-download them onto the handset. It's not quite iOS 5, sure, but it's a start. [Thanks everyone who sent this in]
