Apple on Wednesday releasediOS 5 , its heatedly foretell rising slope to the operating system that powers the iPhone , iPad , and iPod ghost .
Firstpreviewed at June ’s Worldwide Developers Conference , iOS 5 arrives promise users more than 200 new features and enhancement . The update ’s most exciting features likely bet upon which iOS user you sing to , but foresighted - time iPhone and iPad owners are probably looking forward to the significantly revamped notifications system that Io 5 promises .
Under iOS 5 , alerts no longer pop up the intimate , interruptive blue box ; now , they float across the top of the screen as fleeting banners or else . And Notification Center — accessible with a single swipe direct down from the top of your iOS gadget — gathers all the alerts you meet so that you need n’t fear miss one . The curl screen shows alerts since you last locked your gimmick , too .
As for new feature article , iOS 5 introduces iMessage , an SMS / MMS alternative . Built into the subsist Messages app , iMessage lets you station text , simulacrum , and video messages to other iOS gadget owners . message sent via iMessage wo n’t number against your texting plan ; as a result , iPad and iPod touch owners can get in on the message action .
A raw app , Reminders , convey a work up - in to - do lean manager to iOS devices . Reminders trigger time- and location - based alarum to cue you of task you need to complete . iOS 5 ’s Newsstand feature promise to assemble all your digital magazine and newspaper subscriptions in a individual folder for good establish on your home screen ; apps that take vantage of Newsstand will be able-bodied to update themselves in the scope , have unexampled issues to your iPhone or iPad . iOS 5 also integrate the Twitter microblogging service throughout the system , making it easier to do things like mail a picture you ’ve shot with your iPhone ’s camera forthwith from the Camera app .
Existing apps see significant acclivity in iOS 5 , too . The mobile version of Safari take the Reading List and Reader features found in the OS X reading of the WWW web browser app ; iPad users will get to savor tabbed browsing as well . Assorted Mail improvements admit copious - text edition editing and full - text search . The Camera app adds the ability to launch the photographic camera from the lock screen , build - in photo editing features , and the pick to use the Volume Up button as a shutter control . Even Game Center undergo a modest face lift aimed at making it easier to find new friends and games and compare your scores to those of your buddies .
This reading of iOS also has its caput in the cloud . The update premise a number of changes aimed at contract the cord between your iOS gadget and your computing gadget . you could now prepare up your iPhone , iPad , or iPod touch on the machine itself without any intervention from a Mac or PC , while Wi - Fi syncing will allow you connect to iTunes without a USB cable television service . Once iOS 5 is installed , you ’ve even be able to wirelessly download future operating organisation update . iOS 5 also adds support for iCloud , Apple ’s rebranded sync and backup service that also launch Wednesday .
Upgrading to iOS 5
The update requiresiTunes 10.5 , which Apple released on Tuesday .
iOS 5 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS , 4 , and 4S ; the third- and fourth - coevals iPod touch ; and any iPad . To install it , you ’ll just link up your iOS twist to iTunes and — if not inspire to upgrade straight aside — press the Check For Updates release .
You ’ll find a arrant scout toupgrading to iOS 5elsewhere on Macworld.com . We ’ll also take a thick look at many of the top changes to the operating system throughout the rest of this calendar week .
