Apple iOS 5

Apple iOS 5
In 2007, Apple Inc changed the way people perceived smartphones. And iOS that powers the iPhone played a huge role in it. Since then, the Cupertino giant has continued to make incremental changes to its mobile operating system. Meanwhile, Android has proved to be worthy competition – and now, even Microsoft has gotten into the fray with its highly improved WP7. No wonder then, Apple is now out with its new iOS 5.

New notification system: The older notification system in iOS was introduced in 2007 and since then, for four years, remained virtually unchanged. Compared to what is offered by the competition, it was rather obtrusive. The blue notifications used to pop up, hindering whatever work a user was doing. The new system in iOS 5 features a centralized console that can be pulled down with a swipe from the top.

Users can decide from which apps they want to receive alerts, whether its reminders, from the Calendar, Mail, Messages, stock ticker, and even updates of the current weather. New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen without interrupting what you’re doing.

iCloud: This is not strictly an iOS feature but worth the mention because only iOS 5 devices can make use of it. It comprises a suite of services that makes use of web-based storage (a free 5GB) to store music, photos, documents, etc and wirelessly push them to the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, or PC. Besides, it keeps email, contacts, and calendars up to date across Apple devices. No syncing required. For example, utilizing iCloud, iOS 5 users can snap a picture with their iPhone and then access it on their iPad almost instantly.

Freedom from the PC: For long, users complained that to activate a newly bought Apple device, or to sync content – transfer music and videos between the iPhone, iPad and computer – they have to connect the device to a desktop or laptop with a USB cable. With iOS 5, you no longer need a computer to own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Users can now activate and set up their Apple devices wirelessly, right out of the box – and even download iOS software updates directly onto the product. Utilizing iCloud, it can be activated over-the-air.


iMessage: iMessage is Apple’s mobile messenger that runs over Wi-fi or 3G. In many ways the encrypted service is similar to BlackBerry Messenger. Using the service, which is built into the Messages app, iOS users can share pictures, video clips and contact information with each other. In fact, they can even start a conversation on one iOS 5 device, and continue it on another.

Twitter integration: Sharing via Twitter is deeply integrated in iOS 5 and various apps can tap into the feature to connect you to the microblog. For example, in iOS 5, it is possible to share pictures on Twitter directly from within Gallery, the app where all photographs are stored.

Other stuff: In iOS 5, Apple has improved the photography experience by allowing users to use ‘volume up’ button for shutter release. Also, users can set location-aware reminders like ‘buy the milk’ that will trigger as soon as the user reaches a market. Multitasking gestures – like four-finger swipe for switching between open apps – and tabbed browsing in Safari are other noteworthy changes.

Our take: Usability has always been great with iOS: There are few crashes or slowdowns (if any at all) – and with the added features, it has again become the OS to beat. For most part, the changes in iOS 5 are deeply integrated within the operating system, and users will be surprised as they discover these through regular use. Indeed, there is no reason why users should not upgrade.

Devices: iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS (some features not available), iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch