Apple, this morning announced that there are 100 million iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices that are using the latest version of its iOS – version 6, that was released last week. That is an incredible uptake, especially when compared to the previous version iOS 5.0.
Custom ringtones are great for knowing who’s calling, but those of us whose phones are on vibrate get left out of that party. One of the less advertised features of iOS 5 is the ability to to assign custom vibration patterns to individual callers. Here’s how.
One of the jailbreak features I really wish would come to the platform legitimately is the ability to use launchers to quickly start an app without digging through multiple home screens. Luckily, you can mimic the behavior of a quick launcher with iOS 5’s Notification Centre.
Apple admitted on Thursday it has used and supported in the past CarrierIQ software, but it says it hasn’t used it for tracking keystrokes or messages. The company says it stopped supporting this software “in most” of its products with iOS 5.
We’ve heard about and been excited by the possibility of iMessage coming to the OS X desktop, but there are hints that the Mac’s iChat application could jump the other way and become part of Apple’s Messages app on iOS devices.
The team behind TRVL, a free iPad-exclusive digital travel magazine, was very excited about the prospect of Newsstand; after all, recent numbers show that some publishers are seeing their products reach as many as 268 percent more subscribers. But there’s a problem: Newsstand doesn’t do free.
iMessage, the new free messaging service introduced in iOS 5, is easy to set up, but group messaging can be a bit harder to work out straight away. There are a couple of limitations to know about, but generally, group messages work really well with iMessage.
Apple launched a new page today that announces the Tech Talk World Tour 2011 for iOS 5. These developer-focused events haven’t been put on by Apple since 2009, before the introduction of the iPad. Apple previously held Tech Talk World Tours in 2008 and 2009.
While Apple delivered an overwhelming batch of updates, new features and new software in recent weeks, there are still some loose ends it could stand to tie up. Read on to discover why features like iMessage, Siri and AirPlay mirroring still feel somewhat incomplete.
A newly revealed anecdote suggests just how dedicated Steve Jobs was to Apple. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son attended the iPhone 4S announcement event, and learned from Tim Cook that Jobs wanted to talk to the new Apple CEO about the company’s “next product” that very day.
The uptake of the iOS 5 update for Apple customers was fast and far-reaching. But what did that look like to the ISPs who provide the bandwidth for Apple customers to update? Here’s a chart that shows what Sonic.net saw.
With the arrival of iCloud backups we are free from needing to attach your iOS device to iTunes to have it backed up. Gone are the annoying delays when you just want to sync something quick, but need to suffer through “Backing up…” first.
Apple launched iOS 5 last week, which introduced Newsstand. Early reports and the tale told by App Store charts suggest Newsstand could be Apple’s smartest move in terms of demonstrating the value of its in-app subscription service and growing its digital magazine sales.
Twitter has only just begun to see the effects of its integration with Apple’s iOS 5 operating system. But just days after iOS 5’s debut last week, Twitter’s CEO says it has already started to see a big lift from the partnership.
Apple revealed Monday that iOS 5 was already being used by 25 million iOS device owners, and now an upcoming Localytics study finds that 1 in 3 devices capable of running iOS 5 are already doing so, not even a week after its release.
A common theme of questions I’m seeing about iOS 5 relates to how the update plays well with shared family devices and Apple ID accounts. People obviously love using iOS among family, and that will probably only become more the case with iOS 5 and iCloud.
Before iOS 5, getting auto-correct to ignore strange or unfamiliar words was difficult and tedious. Now, however, there’s an easy way to not only add terms to the auto-correct dictionary, but also to create handy shortcuts for quickly typing out commonly-used phrases.
One big advantage of iOS 5 is the ability to use it independently of a Mac or PC. Here’s how to cut the cord if you’d rather your mobile devices and traditional computers live separate (but connected) lives.
When I wrote about Documents in the Cloud, one of my chief complaints was that the only way to upload and download files on my Mac was through the iCloud web interface. Turns out there is a way, thanks to an easy backdoor trick I discovered.
Configuring your iOS device to take advantage of new iCloud services is resulting in confusion and frustration for many. At the core of this confusion is the Apple ID. Here’s a thorough explanation of your options using Apple IDs with the iTunes Store, and with iCloud.
Despite appearances to the contrary, the new Newsstand app in iOS 5 can in fact be stored away in a folder with some easy trickery, and without the need to jailbreak.Very useful if you don’t use it and don’t want it cluttering up your home screen.
Thursday, I guest-hosted a live Q&A session at The Washington Post. The topic was upgrading to iOS 5, and also included questions about how iOS 5 and iCloud work, what features they offer, and how to transition to iCloud from other services.
Of all the iOS 5/iCloud announcements made during this summer’s WWDC, the one that excited me the most was Documents in the Cloud. Unfortunately, it’s also turned into the one that disappointed me the most at launch, thanks to a number of issues.
With iCloud, Apple introduced Photo Stream, a new feature that automatically syncs your photos across iOS devices, Macs and Windows computers. It makes transferring photos absolutely painless, but comes with one big caveat: Synced photos can’t be deleted from iCloud as of right now.
Sure, there are plenty of new features with iOS 5, but at what cost? Sometimes, the cost for software updates comes in the form of degraded performance of day-to-day core features that you may depend upon. Let’s see if that’s the case with iOS 5.
Amazingly there are more things to discover with the iOS 5 than we can reasonably cover here in individual posts. The following is a list of ten such features that, while relatively small, add a lot of value and warrant a closer look.
Along with many other changes, iOS 5 ushers in Newsstand, Apple’s centralized hub for dealing with subscription-based digital newspapers and magazines. Many existing iOS apps already support Newsstand, so you may already have noticed it at work.
With each major iOS update, one of the stock apps that keeps getting better is Apple’s Safari Mobile web browser. More features and faster browsing are regular and welcome additions. With iOS 5, the latest improvements to mobile Safari are well worth mentioning.
It’s an old adage: The best camera is the one you have with you. For photo editing, the adage may soon be: The best editor is the one can you have with you. With iOS 5, the photo editing capabilities of your iPhone are greatly improved.
Reminders, new in iOS 5, is a very simplistic task management app that syncs automatically between devices with iCloud. While it isn’t particularly complex or involved, it’s probably all the task management the average iPhone or iPad user needs.
A big part of iOS 5 is iMessage, Apple’s new unified messaging platform for communicating between iOS 5 devices. It’s a great tool, but new users might have a hard time setting it up, since it’s tied so closely to the existing Messages app. Here’s how.
iOS 5 is the biggest update yet to Apple’s mobile operating system. Along with over 100 other features, it brings Notification Center, an improved way to manage push notifications on your iPhone or iPad. Read on to learn how to get started using Notification Center.
Apple promised that iOS 5 and iCloud would be available Oct. 12, and as of 10 a.m. PDT, both are open to the general public. You can download iOS 5 for your device by plugging it into your computer and checking for updates in iTunes.
Apple’s iOS 5 and iCloud are set to arrive for the general public later Wednesday, but Find My Friends and AirPort Utility have arrived a little early. Both are live, but you can’t access or use them unless you have iOS 5.
On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Apple will release iOS 5 and iCloud for all users of its mobile devices and Macs. The arrival of this new software could lead to big changes in the way you use your Apple hardware, and big changes call for preparation.
The iPad dominates tablet Internet traffic, according to a new comScore study. Apple’s slate accounts for 97.2 percent of all tablet data use in the U.S., meaning the iPad is still the device tablet users prefer for accessing mobile data services, despite eroding sales share.
Apple highlighted three of its own apps that will arrive Oct. 12: an updated Camera app, Cards, and Find My Friends. We had heard about some of the updates to Camera during this summer’s WWDC, but Cards and Find My Friends are new, somewhat curious additions.
Apple previewed iOS 5 in July, so it isn’t exactly a surprise announcement at today’s event. But we did nail down a firm release date for Apple’s next major mobile operating system update, and got a better look at how some of its features will work.
The leaves are changing color, there’s a chill in the air, and some stores already have Christmas merchandise on shelves. Fall is basically here. So what’s the status of iCloud and iOS 5, which should be arriving during the season, according to Apple at WWDC 2011?
Adobe announced early Wednesday that it would be bringing full support for Apple’s Newsstand feature in iOS 5. Newsstand is a centralized location through which users can find new digital magazines to subscribe to, as well as browse and manage their existing collection of subscriptions.
How do you make amends with a development community after taking away some of their tools and rendering at least a few of their products unusable? Try offering them the keys to a much bigger kingdom, for starters: namely, the sizeable pool of iOS device owners.
A new feature has appeared in iOS 5 in Japan: It’s a built-in notification system tied to Japan’s sophisticated early-earthquake-detection service, which can provide between a few seconds and a couple of minutes of advance notice prior to an earthquake’s actually hitting.
Over the weekend, Apple released iOS 5 Beta 5 to developers, and some intrepid digging has revealed that it contains a text-to-speech system powered by speech-recognition experts Nuance. This is just the latest example of Apple raising the stakes in the feature race with Android.
All iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion users can get 5 GB of storage in iCloud for free, but those who need more storage can pay $20 per year for 15 GB, $40 per year for 25 GB, or $100 per year for 55 GB.
One of the latest additions in iOS 5 is gesture support that can replace various button functions and help navigate the user interface. While Assistive Touch appears for accessibility reasons, it could signal that future iOS hardware has fewer buttons or loses the Home button altogether.
The iOS 5 beta pot is still simmering, with Apple today releasing the third edition of its mobile platform, along with a corresponding new beta of iTunes 10.5. Here’s a quick peek at the most notable new fixes, updates and issues in the latest software version.
There are a lot of new features coming in iOS 5, and they should enable App Store developers to do a lot more with their software. There are a few apps in particular that would benefit from some of the things iOS 5 has to offer.
iOS 5 is coming in the fall, and there are plenty of big reasons to get excited about it. There are also many small ones that make it even more awesome. Here’s a list of five neat little tricks Apple has added to iOS 5.
Apple seems to have a significant impact on the future of work without directly intending to. The company’s next generation mobile operating system brings big improvements for consumers, but they’ll be no less beneficial to mobile workers.
Not long after Steve Jobs’s keynote, a lament went out about apps and services iOS 5 and iCloud will render obsolete. However, after reviewing early reports of iOS 5, I’d argue that many “threatened” apps will still hold a place in the hearts of users.
iOS 5 and Lion are both great updates that are sure to please consumers, but while the platforms feel deeply and productively intertwined, there are a couple remaining last steps Apple could and should take that would make working back and forth between both seamless.
WWDC 2011 revealed a number of enhancements to OS X, iOS, and iCloud. I polled several independent developers ranging from long-time Mac mainstays, one-man shops, and large shops that cover both Mac and iOS development to get their reactions to the many changes.
Apple highlighted 10 features of iOS 5 at its WWDC keynote, but there are over 200 new features coming to devices when the update arrives in July. Here are another five awesome things iOS 5 will do to shake up your iPhone or iPad.
Apple showed its hand today during the WWDC keynote, and the company is clearly all-in on a cloud-based mobile future. In fact, in many ways it looks a lot like the approach Android has taken, but in fact, Apple’s strategy couldn’t be more different.
Apple unveiled iOS 5 during the WWDC keynote Monday. It brings over 20 new features for users, and 1500 new APIs for developers. It arrives this fall for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2 and 3rd and 4th gen iPod touch.
WWDC 2011 is just around the corner, and that means we don’t have to wait long before we see what Apple’s latest major mobile operating system update has in store. Here’s a list of some things that could make iOS 5 the best update yet.
What would Apple have to gain from system-wide Twitter integration? How about an easy way to make your iPhone a social device, independent of apps, and without having to change its DNA in order to figure out how to do social right itself?
Apple will unveil Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud at WWDC 2011, beginning with a keynote Monday, June 6 at 10 a.m. PDT, which will be presented by CEO Steve Jobs and other Apple executives. The company revealed its plans via official press release.
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference will be held beginning June 6 this year at Moscone West in San Francisco. While Apple makes no mention of it in its press release, the company typically unveils its annual iPhone hardware refresh at the keynote for WWDC.
Some think Apple is poised to makeover notifications in iOS 5, which could be unveiled at tomorrow’s special press event. Once again, Kevin and I find ourselves at loggerheads when it comes to this debate. Here’s how our exchange went down:
If you own an iPad, you’re probably still enjoying all that iOS 4.2 gave (and lamenting what it took away), but the rest of us are already looking ahead to the future and dreaming of what the next major revision of iOS might bring.