Apple introduced the next iteration to their mobile operating system during the WWDC 2011 which was held in San Francisco. Apple's iOS 5 will feature over 200 new features.
Some of the new features introduced will be:
- Notifications
- iMessage
- Newsstand
- Reminders
- Twitter Integration
- PC Free
- Camera App improvements
- Safari Mobile browser improvements
- Photos App improvements
Notifications - Apple introduces a new all-in-one notification center with iOS 5. You can receive call, SMS and other app notifications in the notification center. You can even receive even stocks and weather information. New notifications appear briefly on the top of the screen and disappear without interrupting what you are doing. Notifications also now appear on the lock-screen and and access the notification with a simple swype downwards.
iMessage - iOS users now have access to a new messaging service named iMessage. With iMessage you can send unlimited text messages over Wi-Fi and 3G from all your iOS devices including your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. iMessages is built into the messaging app on your device and allows you to send text, photos, videos, contacts and location information to a single friend or to a group of people. You can track your messages with read receipts and delivery reports and pick up where you left your conversation on any of your iOS devices.
Newsstand - With iOS 5 you can read your magazines and newspapers in a new app called Newsstand. With Newsstand you can access your favorite magazine subscriptions directly from your iOS device. The Appstore also offers a new place where you can manage your newspaper and magazine subscriptions. New purchases go straight into the Newsstand folder, and when new updates or issues become available they are automatically updated in the background allowing you access to your favorite content.
Reminders - The new Reminders feature on iOS 5 allows you to organize your life into to-do lists. You can save your lists with location information allowing you to know what you need to do and where you need to do uit. Reminders can also be synchronized with iCal, iCloud and Outlook, so that all the changes you make will be with you on all your devices.
Twitter - iOS 5 improves Twitter integration on all iOS devices. Once you sign into Twitter from your settings and you can Tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube and Maps. Twitter is also integrated into your contacts and allows you to save your contacts Twitter profiles into their contact information, so you can quickly Tweet no matter what you are doing.
Camera - You can now open your camera app directly from your iPhone's lockscreen with iOS 5. The camera now features grid-lines, pinch-to-xoom gestures, single tap-to-focus and exposure locking. If you want to quickly snap a photo you can do it using the volume up button, without having to open your camera app. Once you enable Photo Stream on iCloud, your photos will be automatically synchronized with all your other devices.
Photos - Photos can now be edited directly from the photos app. You can do things like cropping, rotating, enhancing and removing the red-eye effect within your photos. You can take photos on your iPhone and sync it with your other iOS devices using iCloud.
Safari - Safari has also been improved on iOS 5. By introducing Safari Reader web articles are without the clutter and ads you would generally find on websites. You can save your articles to iCloud and read them across your iOS devices. Tabed browsing has also been introduced with the new version iOS, allowing you to switch between multiple web pages using tabs.
PC Free - The greatest restriction for iOS users to date has been the need of a computer to use your device. iOS 5 offers the option to activate and set your device wirelessly right out of the box. By removing the need of the Computer, your iOS device can do so much more now, It will update new versions of iOS over the air, edit photos and add email accounts directly on the device and provides the ability to sync and backup your data on iCloud.
Mail - The new firmware update will offer new features on your Mail app, including text formatting like bolding, italic or underlining. You can also create indents, rearrange names in the address field, flag messages and much more. iCloud also offers a free email account as part of it's free services which can be quickly added onto the new Mail app.
Calendar - On the new iOS 5 calender you can tap to create an event and drag to adjust time and duration of that event. You can add, rename and delete calendars directly from your Calendar app and event view event attachments. Your calendar events can be synced between your iOS devices and computers using iCloud.
Game Center - Boasting more users than XBox live, iOS devices have quickly become the most popular choice for gamers. The new iOS 5 update offers new features like: Posting a profile picture, get friend recommendations based on the games you play, get new game recomendations and compare yourself against your friends.
Wireless Syncing - Your iOS device will now feature wireless syncing over a trusted Wi-Fi connection. So you don't need to bother about connecting your device to your PC of Mac anymore. Your device will automatically sync itself when it is connected to a power source for charging.
Multitasking Gestures for iPad - The iPad lineup will feature advanced multi-touch gestures for multi-tasking with the iOS 5 update. You can use four or five fingers to reveal the multi-tasking bar, pinch to return to the home screen and swype left and right to switch between apps.
AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 - You can mirror your iPad 2 display on any HDTV with AppleTV using Airplay. This feature will be highly useful for home or office users alike.
iOS 5 is compatible with the following iOS devices:
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- iPod Touch 3G
- iPod Touch 4G
- iPad
- iPad 2