Ios5
Latest
What iOS 5 owes to jailbreak developers
There are a lot of apps that will be replaced -- or at least have some very heavy competition -- from the new features in iOS 5. It's easy to look around the App Store and see developers that have been 'Sherlocked' by Apple's inclusion of their functionality in the core OS; Twitter clients in particular are going to have a hard road ahead, and no-frills reminder apps are pretty much done for. That's not the same thing as the wholesale borrowing that Apple has done from the jailbreak community with this new version of the OS, especially in the new notifications tools. Obviously, since JB devs tend to focus on new interaction methods and other system-level tweaks that would be off-limits to App Store products, there are more and different ideas about how the iPhone and iPad should work being tried and implemented there. That makes it fertile ground for Apple to see what does and doesn't work, and cherrypick the best ideas for internal use. That may not be cool, but it's certainly in character for Apple to leverage third-party innovation in OS development, both on the Mac and on iOS. Here are a few examples of some noteworthy 'flattery' from Apple's iOS team to the jailbreak developers who broke trail. One of the main reasons people jailbreak is to get better notifications and a useful lock screen; both issues Apple has finally addressed in a very big way in iOS 5. A few of the popular lock screen apps are David Ashman's LockInfo and Intelliborn's IntelliScreen, and both resemble (if they didn't inspire) iOS 5's new lock screen. In terms of notifications, Apple's taken aim at a couple of favorite JB apps: Notified and the recent MobileNotifier. iCloud syncing looks like a fantastic backup system, so much so that EvilPenguin already feels that its backup tool iBye is no longer necessary. In fact, James Emrich, the developer behind EvilPenguin told TUAW: "iBye was a backup/restore manager for content. Basically what iCloud does without auto backups."
iOS 5 beta 1 ready for download. Kind of.
Developers, get your [REDACTED] on. iOS 5 beta 1 is now available for download from Apple's developer site. You must be a paid $99/year developer to gain access to this beta. Sign in with your dev credentials to gain access. The beta is, as always, released under the terms of Apple's NDA. For that reason, exploration of new APIs and features is left as an exercise for the reader. To access the new beta, you must sign an updated developer agreement. The site is a bit glitchy right now so be patient. Happy developing everyone!
Seven things iPhone users should know about today's announcment
Short of time? Intimidated by a huge sprawl of WWDC news? Here are the most important things for iPhone users to know about what changes we'll be seeing in the fall when iOS 5 is available for our phones. 1. iCloud Probably the biggest change to how we'll use our iOS devices going forward, iCloud is the glue that binds it all together. It has a number of big features of its own: buy music on your iPhone and copies of the same songs will appear on your Mac and iPad, for example. Work on a Pages document on your Mac, and the same file will be available on the iPhone. iCloud also shows a simple list of all the apps and music you've purchased, so you can easily re-download things you've already bought but deleted. iCloud also plays an important supporting role in many of the other features iOS 5 brings to the table -- I'll highlight them as we go through the following sections. 2. PC free No more cables! With iOS 5, your iPhone will be able to sync your iTunes content over your Wi-Fi network and download new iOS updates on its own without having to connect it to iTunes first. Plus, iCloud will automatically back up important content on your iPhone -- such as game saves and photos -- once per day. When you get a new phone, a quick sign-in with your iTunes account will have it automatically downloading the last backup. Now, more than ever, the iPhone can claim to be a post-PC device.
Full keynote & iOS 5 preview videos for your enjoyment
In a rapid turnaround, Apple's posted the link for QuickTime streaming of the entire WWDC keynote. Watch and enjoy! If you've got "Greg Joswiak" and "Scott Forstall" written on the inside of your locker, you'll also be thrilled to know that Apple's software mavens are hosting the video overview of iOS 5, covering most of the features announced today. What looks good to you? Personally I'm looking forward to the new notifications UI, location-based reminders (never forget the milk ever again) and system-level Twitter integration. Oh, and AirPlay Mirroring for the iPad. Mmm.
Apple site updated with exciting news from the WWDC keynote
The Apple website has been updated to show all of the wonderful new features that we'll be seeing in the next few months. iOS 5 "in the fall," Mac OS X 10.7 Lion "in July," and iCloud "concurrently with iOS 5." Each of the major images on the home page points to a new landing page. For iCloud, you see a full explanation of the service and how it's going to rock your world. The Mac OS X 10.7 Lion page touts the $29.99 price tag for all of the computers in your house, while the iOS 5 page describes all of the new features. It's worth browsing these pages to pick up details. What's your favorite feature so far? Tell us in the comments.
New iOS 5 features beyond the top ten
While Apple demoed ten huge new iOS 5 features at WWDC earlier today, it also mentioned several more in passing that are worth looking at. By far the biggest deal is Wi-Fi syncing to iTunes -- you no longer have to plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac to sync your content. The iPad can now wirelessly mirror all of its onscreen content over AirPlay, and it's also getting some new multitasking gestures. Some other new iOS 5 features that only got mentioned on a single Keynote slide: Set tones for voicemail, mail and calendar alerts (no mention of SMS tones, unfortunately). New iPad music app Smart Playlist sync from iTunes Option to speak text selection iTunes Tone Store Built-in dictionary Emoji emoticons Personal dictionary Alternate routes in Maps Improved FaceTime video quality These are just some of the more than 200 features Apple says are coming in iOS 5, which is expected this fall.
Apple announces Game Center changes at WWDC
iOS 5 will introduce a number of exciting changes to Game Center, including profile photos, game discovery (and purchasing), achievement points and more. Here's a brief look at what's new. Apple's 50 million Game Center customers (!) will find achievements supplemented with points. The bragging rights are nice, but why not out-score your friends on the achievement board and the battlefield? Speaking of friends, you'll see the people your friends are following (Apple calls them "friends of friends") and even receive friend recommendations, though we're not sure how that'll work. Plus, everyone gets to add a pretty profile picture to their account. You'll also find game recommendations and an opportunity to buy games right from within Game Center. It looks like fun, and we'll see it in action soon enough. Get ready, gamers!
iCloud unveiled at WWDC, free for all 9 cloud apps, MobileMe RIP
Apple tipped its hat early, but now we have the details from the man himself. "iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices." And by "automatically," he means it: in addition to every day content, such as purchased music, iBooks, photos and videos, device settings, and app data that will be automatically backed up over WiFi, Documents in the Cloud will effortlessly sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all of your iOS devices. There will be no advertising (contrary to previous rumors), and calendar, mail, and contact sync is free (for up to five gigs). Also in store is the new Photo Stream cloud feature, which is essentially a gallery in Photos that exists on all of your iOS devices, Apple TV, your OS X and even your Windows PCs, and syncs through the cloud. Take a picture on your iPhone and it appears on your laptop and your iPad, and it's stored in the cloud for thirty days. And no, your Photo Stream pics do not count towards your 5GB total. iCloud will be released concurrent with iOS 5 this fall. If that isn't enough, Apple has announced iTunes Match, a $25 per year service that scans your iTunes library library and populates your iTunes in the Cloud account with any of your previously bought and ripped music -- in handy 256Kbps AAC, DRM-free files (as long as the titles already appear in the iTunes store). Last but not least, MobileMe is no more. If you're a current member, you can still access everything as usual through June 30, 2012 (according to Apple), but there will be no new enrollments. And if your subscription has auto-renewed recently? Well, we've received plenty of tips from readers who have received refunds this morning. So at the very least you have that to look forward too!%Gallery-125471% p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'}
NewsStand built into iOS 5
iOS 5 adds NewsStand, which is going to be huge for readers and publishers. Demoed at WWDC today, NewsStand looks just like the iBooks app, but this is for magazines and daily papers. Working a bit like the Kindle magazine system, NewsStand will update your magazines when they are published without any fiddling around by users. Magazines can be read offline, and Apple has apparently signed up a boat load of magazines and newspapers. The whole newspaper and magazine feature of iOS got off to a bit of a rocky start, with publishers not too happy about the Apple rules. It isn't clear if the rules have changed, but having the majority of your daily reading available in one place with auto downloads is a big step forward.
Apple's iOS 5: all the details
Scott Forstall has just taken the WWDC 2011 stage and details about the changes and improvements in iOS 5 are flowing thick and fast. Keep one tab in your browser locked to this post as we update it with all the new features, and throw another one open for our liveblog where you'll get to see and read the very latest as it happens. We've now put together the full list of highlights from the WWDC presentation, which you'll find after the break. iOS 5 will be made available this fall, with compatibility promised for the iPhone 4 and 3GS, iPad 1 and 2, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation.
Apple unveils iMessage, its BBM competitor, at WWDC
It's here, the moment BlackBerry owners been waiting for since the original iPhone launched: iMessage. Apple has just announced its new data-based push messaging service at WWDC, which looks to be a full-on competitor to the venerable BBM. This service works on an iOS device of any flavor, and lets you send text messages, photos, videos, and contacts to anyone else with one too. It also supports group chats and integrates with the new Notification Center in iOS 5. According to Scott Forstall, it "works over WiFi or 3G, in case you were wondering," which is yet another blow for RIM. The final nail in the coffin for those of you who simply 'can't live without BBM:' delivery and read confirmations. Boom. Developing...stay tuned to our liveblog for the latest. %Gallery-125462%
Apple iOS 5 adds instant camera access from lock screen and shutter release to volume-up button
Apple's just announced that iOS 5-enabled iPhones (and likely iPads and iPods, too) are getting a camera shortcut on the lock screen and a shutter button in the form of the volume up key -- a feature that got Camera+ temporarily banned from the App Store last year on the grounds that it used unauthorized APIs. Also new to iOS: the ability to tap and hold to lock focus and exposure on a subject. Rounding out the list, Apple also added an optional grid to help frame photos, and a new photo editor with a basic feature set that includes cropping, rotating, red-eye reduction, auto-enhance features, and the ability to create albums on the device. %Gallery-125437%
Apple turns iOS 'PC Free' with OTA updates and wireless sync
Love your iPhone, but hate all of the PC-based tethering it entails? Apple has some good news: the company is taking its "post-PC" stance a step further, letting you activate your smartphone straight out of the box without syncing it to a computer. Also big news is the addition of over-the-air updates, which will let you receive changes without plugging the handset in. And some big news for music fans: users will be able to sync their iTunes libraries over WiFi connections with the update. %Gallery-125446%
iOS 5 previewed at WWDC, arriving this Fall (Updated)
Apple introduced iOS 5 at WWDC and kicked off the new release with over 200 new features. The keynote presented ten of the best features and here they are: 1. Notifications: Yay, no more interruptions from a giant box on your screen. iOS Notifications will appear at the top of your screen like Android. You can slide your finger across the notification and you will go directly to the message, email or app that generated the alert. You can also click on the "X" button to clear all the notifications. 2. NewsStand: NewsStand is the place for all your Magazine and newspaper subscriptions. On the iPad, this app will let you read your subscriptions as well as listen to audio and video. Each new magazine or newspaper edition is automatically downloaded to your device. 3. Twitter: Twitter is now integrated into iOS. A single sign-on is integrated into the settings which means you won't have to log in in for every app. Twitter is also integrated into the Camera and Photos apps so you can upload your new photos with a few clicks. Location information and thumbnails are also included. As expected, the Twitter integration taps into your contacts and let you assign @ handles to a contact. 4. Safari: To improve Safari, Apple introduced Safari Reader which will detect when you are reading a page with an article on it. The content of this article is pushed into a single page without ads and other distractions in the side bars.Safari Reader lets you email the content of the article or tweet about it. It also includes full tabbed browsing in Safari on the iPad. 5. Reminders: Reminders does exactly what it says -- remind you of all the important things you need to do. Includes location information and can remind you when you arrive and leave an event. Searchable and will sync with iCal. 6. Camera: The Camera app got a refresh with a new Camera shortcut on the lock screen (yay!). Double-click the home button and the camera app will launch. It will let you take a new picture even if you have a passcode set. You can also use the volume up button as a snap for the camera and grid lines to help frame your photos. Pinch-to-zoom is now added to the camera app as well. Built-in editor will let you crop, rotate, reduce red-eye and more. 7. Mail: Mail also gets some fresh new features including full text searching, rich text formatting, and flagging. Swipe to add an inbox and new enterprise features that add support for S/MIME. A dictionary is now integrated into the app as well as a new split keyboard which will make typing that much easier. 8. PC Free: Cut the cord. PC Free gives you the ability to setup and activate your brand new iPhone directly from the handset. Software updates are now over the air (double-yay!), even minor patches and little changes like add/delete calendars and add/remove mailboxes can be done from the handset. 9. Game Center: Game Center now includes photos with the profiles, game recommendations, and overall achievement scores. Support for turn-based games is now added into iOS so games like Scrabble will be easier to build. 10. iMessage: A new messaging service just for iOS 5 owners. It's SMS on steroids with a bit of BlackBerry Messenger for iOS! You can send text, photos, videos contacts, group messaging, delivery receipts and more. iMessages are pushed to all iOS device and it works over 3G and WiFi. And it supports encryption! 11. Other: Airplay mirroring to television wirelessly and WiFi sync to iTunes. New multitouch gestures to flick between apps. New APIs. Built-in dictionary, voice-over options, alternate routes in maps, and more. You can check out these other features here. The developer seed for iOS 5 goes out today. The final version will ship this fall to customers. It will support iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch.
Notification Center for iOS 5 announced
It looks like iOS 5 has a new approach to notifications -- and we like what we see so far. Notification Center aggregates your various app alerts and eschews the pop-ups for a decidedly Android-esque list that appears at the top of our your screen when you you get a Facebook message, or a tweet, or when you miss a call. Swiping down brings you to the list, and swiping across any instance takes you to the corresponding app. Feast your eyes on the gallery below for a closer look.%Gallery-125429%
WWDC 2011 liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS 5, OS X Lion, iCloud and more!
You're in the right place! Bookmark this page and return on Monday at the times listed below to see Steve Jobs take the stage at Moscone West. WWDC 2011 promises a peek at iOS 5, OS X Lion, the iCloud music storage offering and who knows what else. The iPhone 5? Don't count on it, but also, don't count it out. Your town not listed? Shout your time in comments below! 07:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 02:00AM - Tokyo (June 7th)
iOS 5 rumors: messaging, notifications, widgets and lock screen
Joshua Topolsky at This Is My Next has shared some last-minute iOS 5 rumors from a reliable source, including revamped messaging and notifications plus widgets and new lock screen functions. Josh's source(s) reports that Apple has readied its own MMS/SMS protocol, which will route messages to the appropriate iOS users. Carriers, watch out. Also, incoming notifications will no longer pop up and interrupt what you're doing, but slide unobtrusively from the top of the screen and await input from the user. Josh also reports that a screenshot of a "new" iOS notification that's been floating around is not real. But wait, there's more! Accessing your notifications history by sliding the screen down also reveals a series of widget utilities, like weather. Finally, the new lock screen will display incoming messages and notifications as well as an icon identifying its point of origin. A swipe will bring you directly to that app. It's all conjecture, of course, but Topolsky's sources are typically reliable. We'll know for sure soon enough.
WWDC: Looking back at the past 10 years
Steve Jobs will kick off Apple's WorldWide Developers' Conference (WWDC) on Monday, and the world will be watching to see what Apple has in store for Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud. To help pass the time until Monday afternoon, we have compiled some memorable moments from the past ten years of WWDC. WWDC was first held in Monterey, California in 1983. This small gathering of developers has blossomed into one of the major annual events for Apple's extended community of vendors, engineers and enterprise/academic IT management. In addition to the 'meat' of the event (technical sessions covering hundreds of topics for developers, code labs and face time with Apple engineering staff), WWDC has become an opportunity for Apple to announce new versions of Mac OS X, new hardware and new versions of iOS. The event has grown in importance as Apple has eliminated or scaled back its participation in trade shows like Macworld Expo. Read on for the best of WWDC Past: a funeral for an operating system, a spoof of Steve Jobs and much applause.
MobileNotifier dev snapped up by Apple to work on iOS framework?
We said that MobileNotifier unobtrusive notifications might be the single best reason to jailbreak your iOS device, and it sounds like Apple may agree -- Redmond Pie reports that lead developer Peter Hajas has been spirited away by the Cupertino computer company to work on iOS itself. Hajas wrote that he was taking a break from MobileNotifier, and some newfangled detective work dug up the rest -- a thinly-veiled reference to Steve Jobs, a tweet mentioning a California "fruit" company, and finally an alleged screenshot of Hajas' entry in Apple's employee database. We're feeling slightly bittersweet about the whole thing, to tell the truth, as while we'd rather not have to smash our iPhone chains, the notion that this is all happening now suggests we won't see greatly improved notifications in iOS 5, come Monday. [Thanks, Jeff]
iTunes leak suggests 'Automatic Download' over-the-air updates are coming in iOS 5
In the lead-up to this year's WWDC, we so far know three things for sure: Apple will unveil OS X Lion, iCloud, and... automatic, over-the-air app updates for iOS 5, apparently. While searching for updates in iTunes, a MacRumors reader stumbled upon this page, which alludes to an "Automatic Download" feature that allows for wireless syncing. Also, the fact that Apple went out of its way to say "...if your device has Automatic Download enabled for apps" makes us wonder what else we'll soon be able to update over the air. The company has since pulled the tattletale page in iTunes, but MacRumors grabbed a screenshot while it was still live. Looks like the cat's out of the bag, but we'll let you know when Jobs & Co. make it official on Monday.
