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The iPhone 5 isn’t surfacing anytime soon, but Apple is offering another “5″ fix with the release of its latest mobile operating system, iOS 5.
iOS 5, which will be available starting October 12, was unveiled back in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference and offers a slew of new features and updates, including deeper integration with Twitter, over-the-air updates, iMessages (a potential text message-killer and Apple’s take on BBM), streamlined access to the phone’s camera, and much more. According to Apple, iOS 5 comes with “over 200 new features.”
“If the hardware is the brain and the sinew of our products, the software is their soul,” said former Apple CEO Steve Jobs when he unveiled iOS 5, according to All Things D.
Excited for the new iOS, which will be available on iPhones, iPod touch devices, and iPads? Keep in mind that before you can download it, you’ll need to update iTunes to iTunes 5.0
- Over-The-Air Updates - If you buy a brand new iOS 5 device, you no longer have to immediately synch it using a PC. “You can now setup and activate your device right on the device and you are ready to go. It’s that easy,” said Forstall, according to Engadget. When it comes time for a software update, users can download the new software releases over-the-air without a PC. Users will also be able to backup and restore their iDevices via Apple’s iCloud.
- Twitter Integration - Twitter integration on iOS 5 devices means that users can sign in to Twitter once, store their credentials on their mobile device and use those stored login data to Tweet from non-Twitter apps without having to pause and sign in. That means the user can capture and share media directly to Twitter with the press of a button. This integration also lets you tweet content from YouTube, Safari and Maps, as well as update contact information for users that have Twitter accounts.
- Revamped Notifications - Rather than interrupt the user with pop-ups about missed calls, voicemails, texts, push notifications, stock and weather updates, the new notification system collects notices and stores them in a discreet menu at the top of the screen (similar to Android notifications). The user can access this Notification Center by swiping down with one finger.
- Updated Safari Browser - Apple has upgraded its Safari web browser app to include tabbed browsing and fast, smooth switching between windows. Another new feature, Safari Reader, “will strip out distractions and present the text of a webpage with no other excess content,” Engadget describes. Safari’s Reading List feature will lets you save content to read later and synch these lists across browsers.
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iMessages - Think of the new iMessages communication app as a BlackBerry Messenger for iOS devices. iMessages lets you share texts, photos, videos and more with other iOS users. Wired explains:
You can see when the message has been delivered or read. You can tell when someone starts typing. iMessages are pushed to all your devices, so if you start a conversation on your iPad and later pick up on your iPhone, you can see the entire conversation to date. Support for 3G and WiFi, and everything is encrypted and sent over the air.
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New Location-Aware Reminders - CNET explains this new app:
Reminders app lets you store multiple lists, including dates for each event. [It] can also assign location, as in “remind me to call my wife when I leave the convention today” which uses a geo-fence to see when you’re outside of an area to send that reminder. Reminders sync on iCal on the Mac with CalDAV, and on Windows with MS Exchange,
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Quicker Camera Access - Isn’t it awful when your iPhone screen is locked and you need to take a picture,this very instant? Thanks to a new camera shortcut that will live on the lock screen, iOS 5 will let you capture photos without unlocking the screen and accessing the camera app. Users can even snap a photo via the Volume Up button.
Within the Camera app, pinch-to-zoom can now be used, and simple edits–crop, rotate, reduce red-eye, single-click enhancement–will be available.
- Revamped Mail - Technologizer reports that Mail in iOS 5 will bring rich-text formtting like bold, underline, indentation; draggable addresses; message flagging; improved security and more. Plus, iCloud lets users sync their Mail accounts across all their devices running iOS 5.
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Other Goodies - A new split-keyboard option for iPad lets user grasp the tablet with both hands and type with their thumbs.
A built-in Dictionary will let users look up words by highlighting the word and clicking “define” to pull up the Dictionary app.
- More Social Games - ”The Game Center app is getting more social,” writes MacWorld, “allowing you to share your own member photo, compare yourself against friends using achievement points, see friends of friends, recommended friends, and recommended games, too. And Game Center in iOS 5 offers support for turn-based games, built right into the OS.”
- Newsstand - The Newsstand app is a hub for your newspaper and magazine subscriptions, which will download new releases automatically.
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Find My Friends - Apple’s new social app will be available to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users using iOS 5. Find My Friends is a bit like Foursquare, but it allows users to share their locations in real-time, as well as control when and with whom they’re sharing.
The app’s description reads:
Find My Friends allows you to easily location your friends and family from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Install this free app on your iOS 5 device and sign in with the Apple ID you use with iCloud. Adding a friend is easy – just send a request to see their location. Once your friend accepts using the Find My Friends app, you will then be able to see that friend’s location on a map. You can also choose to share your location for a limited period of time with a group of friends. Use Find My Friends to keep track of your traveling companions when you’re on a vacation. Or to see if the kids are home from school. Or to find the friends you’re meeting for dinner.
Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Related articles
- iOS 5: iMessage (nytimes.com)
- Apple releases iOS 5, go update your iPhone, iPad and iPod right now! (thenextweb.com)
- iOS 5: The Top 10 New Features [Video] (gizmodo.com)
