So the hightlight of today’s WWDC conference was iOS 5 and the iCloud. Apple’s Steve Jobs came back from his leave and addressed thousands of Apple users today to announce the iOS 5 and the “iCloud”. So what’s coming up in iOS 5? What are the features of iOS 5.. Lets check it out here.
iOS 5 is a major release with 1500+ APIs and tools and more than 200 new features for the normal users.
Notifications:
Apple tossed around the new term “Notification Center” for iOS devices. Notification Center can be accessed from anywhere by just swiping down the screen. Apple has updated its lock screen to display notifications and music control buttons (just like HP webOS).
Newstand:
Now, With iOS 5, you can read all the magazines available on the newsstand (the term used for magazines app) right on their iTouch device. The ‘Newsstand’ app will give a list of all the available magazines. The app can also download the latest magazines in the background for offline reading. The App Store will also get a dedicated category for the Newsstand magazines.
Camera App Upgrade:
Now you can take pictures and videos quickly with your iDevices. There is a shortcut access to your camera right from the lock screen. The volume up button on the iPhone will now act as a physical shutter button. You can now pinch and zoom right inside the camera app and select a particular scene where you want to lock the focus. Basic photo editing like Croping and red-eye reduction can be done from within the photos app.
Twitter Integration:
Twitter integration is a huge deal for iOS devices. Knowing that Steve Jobs relying heavily on twitter is a good thing for Twitter. iOS device owners can simply sign-in to Twitter once under Settings. Your Twitter contacts will be linked to your phone contacts. iOS 5 apps like iPhotos, Maps, and Safari etc. will feature Twitter integration. So you can now share an image or a link to an article by simply tapping the Tweet button in iPhoto or Safari. I wonder why would they not make something similar for Facebook or LinkedIn? Or say Google.
Safari:
iOS 5 will have revamped Safari browser. The safari for iOS 5 has tabbed browsing and looks lot like OS X. You can get rid of the distraction and read the actual news without any ads etc. All those page breaks from the website can be combined into a single long scrollable webpage for easier reading. The new version of Safari also features ‘Reading List’ which is similar to the popular Read It Later service. The ‘Reading List’ also syncs across all iOS devices and OS X based devices.
Mail App:
Mail app in iOS 5 now features drag able addresses, indentation control, S/MIME support, the ability to search within messages, and to flag messages. There is also a Swipe to Inbox gesture for the iPad.
iMessage
iOS 5 introduced “iMessage” service, similar to BBM which will be available for the iPad, iPod Touch and the iPhone. The app will allow users to share messages, images, and videos etc. and will work over Wi-Fi as well as 3G.
Users will also be provided with typing notifications, and the messages will be pushed to all the iOS devices of a user.
The messages sent via iMessage will be totally encrypted for enhanced security.
Wireless Sync – OTA Updates
This is exactly was was missing from iPhone. Now you don’t need a PC to sync up your iDevices. iOS5 will have wireless syncing with iTunes over Wi-Fi which will sync your music library and apps.
The newer iOS updates will be available Over The Air (OTA).
It will only update the needed parts of the operating system and not the full update.
Others:
- iOS5 will also include multi-tasking gestures
- iPad users will also get a new split keyboard for thumb typing
- include AirPlay Mirroring
- Improved facetime
- Keyboard typing shortcuts
