In 2011,as in 2010 , iOS get a lot of attention from Apple . Apple introduce meaning update to its flagship iOS devices — the iPad and the iPhone . It tot a unexampled buying pick to the App Store , perhaps rescuing the magazine manufacture in the physical process . It premiere an madly hefty and brilliantly design piece of software that proved unequivocally that iOS devices are n’t just for wasting disease . And , of course of instruction , the company unveiled a substantial upgrade to its feeling - based operating system itself . And then a not - so - bantam arriviste named Amazon tried to leap into the tablet computing fray , too .
For fans of multitouch , 2011 was a grownup yr . countenance ’s put our finger on just why .
iPad, too
In March , Apple releasedthe sequel to the world ’s first successful tablet calculator . The iPad 2 was hail for what it contribute : two ( avowedly fair ) cameras , a brisk C.P.U. ( the dual inwardness , Apple - designed A5 chip ) , twice the RAM ( 512 M ) , and the charismatic prayer of the Smart Cover . But even as it added all those features , the iPad managed to take a couple substantial elements away — namely , weight and heaviness . The iPad 2 is just two - thirds as thick and 88 percent as heavy as the original .
Inthe quaternary quarter of its fiscal year 2011 alone , Apple sold 11.12 million iPads . The product continues to do a tonic business , dominating the mind and market place percentage for the still - develop lozenge market place . Of the iPad ’s sales execution to date , Apple CEO Tim Cook suppose , “ Some people are electing to buy an iPad rather than a Mac … A materially big act are electing to buy an iPad instead of a Windows - based microcomputer . ”
Getting Siri-ous: The iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S became uncommitted in October . It mark the same quick A5 chip that powers the iPad 2 , a dramatically upgraded buttocks - facing tv camera , and an overhauled two-fold - band feeler design .
But the lineament that got everyone talking was the feature that got everyone tattle : Siri . With its still - in - genus Beta spokesperson - power virtual supporter , the iPhone 4S can manage a battalion of project for you , based solely on the verbal instruction you ply it . Despite the fact that Siri was hampered byoccasional outages , early 4S adopters love its top executive , itssense of humor , and its weird power to understand just what you wanted it to do .
Apple has n’t said when or if Siri will come to the Mac , the iPad , or earlier iPhone model , but ask any iPhone 4S user who has come to reckon on Siri for sending texts , setting reminder , and piss date : The more omnipresent Siri becomes , the well .
Carrier on, my wayward son
2011 was also the year the Verizon iPhone rumor were finally put to rest ; Verizon got the iPhone 4 back in February . With the release of the iPhone 4S , Sprint became the third U.S. carrier , and regional carrierC Spire became the fourth .
iOS 5 is alive
October also brought iOS 5 , the newest avatar of the operating system that powers the iPhone , iPad , and iPod touch . With it came Notification Center , a smart solution for the increasingly invasive blue alert loge that had come to characterize the Io experience . But Io 5 did n’t just make alerts more accomplishable ; it also introduced long - awaited niceties like wireless synchronise , over - the - air iOS update , iMessage , Reminders , Newsstand , system - wide Twitter consolidation , AirPlay mirroring , and more .
GarageBand of brothers
Apple launched the iPad avatar of GarageBandin March , alongside the iPad 2 ’s release . An update at the root of November brought the app to the iPhone as well . The app combines Smart Instruments , loops , a drum auto , and support for devices like electric guitars and USB keyboards and mike . In short , it wrench an iOS gadget into a portable euphony studio .
The app reach unpaid musician sound estimable , and it offers plenty of muscular execution for master , too . If any one app rear the App Store prevention — and proved that iOS equipment can and should be used for initiation just as much as consumption — GarageBand was that app .
Renew my subscription
verbalise of the App Store , 2011 see one meaning addition : iOS subscriptions . Introduced in February , subscription afford developers the option of taking recurrent payments — on a hebdomadal , monthly , bi - monthly , quarterly , semiannually , or annual groundwork — for digital services .
Apple did n’t relent on some stricter policies , though ; apps like Amazon ’s Kindle were forced toremove links to their online storesto remain in deference with Apple ’s App Store prescript .
Send in the clouds
October also go through the freeing of iCloud , Apple ’s synchronization divine service for Macs , PC , and iOS devices . With iCloud , you could backup your iOS equipment without take a computer at all ; sync iWork document , liaison , emails , and calendars ; situate your iOS equipment ; and more . With iTunes in the Cloud , you’re able to re - download your iTunes computer memory purchases from your iOS devices , and fresh - purchased apps download to all your devices mechanically . And with iTunes Match , Apple ’s recently insert $ 25 per class iCloud minimal brain damage - on , you may store your music library in the swarm and wirelessly get at it from your iOS devices .
Non-competes
Numerous iPad contender come ; most of them proceed . TheRIM PlayBookwas bushed on arriver ; the Motorola Xoom failed to catch on ; and HP have a fire - sale to divest itself of itsTouchPadinventory . The only twist to make any major wave in the manufacture thus far is Amazon ’s Kindle Fire , though reviews have been desegregate at well . Some conclude thatthe Kindle Fire throw a capital Kindle , but a icky tablet . Perhaps that ’s whyApple does n’t seem that apprehensive about it .
In the year 2012…
Predicting what ’s next for Apple and the Io ecosystem is never sluttish . And though the iPhone 4S was a zag when many expected an iPhone 5 zag , Cupertino spend much of 2011 click off long - bruit items on its list — unexampled U.S. attack aircraft carrier , a new iPhone , and a new iPad . It seems certain that 2012 will bring another new iPhone and novel iPad , but motion remain : Will the next iPhone fun a bigger screen ? Will the next iPad score a Retina exhibit ? How many models of iPad should we expect ? Is a 7 - inch iPad in the offing ?
There are but three way to discover out the answers : Get charter by Apple as a top - storey executive ; follow along with all the Apple newsMacworldreports upon next yr ; or wait until the tail end of 2012 for next twelvemonth ’s roundup .
