Apple on Monday gave users their first glimpse at iOS 5, the next iteration of the company’s mobile operating system for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. During the keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall covered 10 new features out of the 200 planned for iOS 5, including new apps, revamps and the servering of the cord between iOS and Mac.
Perhaps no new iOS 5 feature will be more welcome than its overhauled notifications system. The days of the modal, one-at-a-time pop-up alert are ending, and Forstall’s declaration that iOS 5 includes an upgrade brought an uproarious cheer from the developers in attendance. IOS 5 introduces something Apple calls Notification Center, a single place that combines all of your notifications. You can access Notification Center at any time with a single swipe down from the menu at the top of your device – a gesture which, it must be said, achieves the same effect already on Android phones. Notification Center then folds down, including missed calls, voicemails, text messages, push notifications, and even stock and weather updates. You can dismiss Notification Center and get back to your app, or quickly switch to a notifying app instead. You clear notifications out by tapping a small X.
The iOS lock screen now handles notifications better, too. You can swipe across notifications on the lock screen to go directly to the appropriate app. For example, Forstall swiped across a text message notification on his lock screen, which took him directly to that text in the Messages app.
PC Free
Forstall declared that consumers want to buy iPhones and iPads without needing computers to tether them to. Starting with iOS 5, new iPhones will display a Welcome setup screen, allowing you to activate your device on the device itself.
New iOS updates will be done over the air, with no more iTunes syncing to get the latest incarnation of the operating system. You also no longer need to plug your iOS device into your computer to sync; with delta updates (which include only the minimal amount of changed code necessary) will make iOS app updates much smaller.
Forstall said that as part of cutting the PC cord, Apple looked to eliminate those situations where users go back to their computers instead of using their iOS devices. Tasks like adding and deleting Calendars, creating and deleting mailboxes, and the already-covered photo editing tools are all introduced in iOS 5 to help eliminate the PC as an iOS requirement.
iMessage
As rumored in the run-up to the WWDC keynote, iOS 5 includes a new messaging app called iMessage. It sends texts, photos, videos, contacts, and allows for group messaging too. But it introduces new features like delivery receipts, read receipts, and indications when your contacts are typing back to you. Messages are delivered to all your iOS devices, and they work over both 3G and Wi-Fi – and they’re all encrypted.
It’s a new take on – and a replacement for – SMS, MMS, and even mobile instant messaging. Like the Blackberry Messenger service – which is limited to Blackberry users, iMessage will be limited to contacts using iOS devices. And, of course, iMessage uses the new notifications system.
Safari
Forstall said that Safari’s open source Web engine powers 90%
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