iOS (previously iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. and distributed exclusively for Apple hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's iDevices.
Originally unveiled in 2007 for the iPhone, it has been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPod Touch (September 2007), iPad (January 2010), iPad Mini (November 2012) and second-generation Apple TV onward (September 2010). As of June 2014, Apple's App Store contained more than 1.2 million iOS applications, 500,000 of which were optimized for iPad. These apps have collectively been downloaded more than 60 billion times. It had a 21% share of the smartphone mobile operating system units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012, behind Google's Android. By the middle of 2012, there were 410 million devices activated. According to the special media event held by Apple on September 12, 2012, 400 million devices had been sold by June 2012.
The user interface of iOS is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface.
Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).
iOS shares with OS X some frameworks such as Core Foundation and Foundation; however, its UI toolkit is Cocoa Touch rather than OS X's Cocoa, so that it provides the UIKit framework rather than the AppKit framework. It is therefore not compatible with OS X for applications. Also while iOS also shares the Darwin foundation with OS X, Unix-like shell access is not available for users and restricted for apps, making iOS not fully Unix-compatible either.
Major versions of iOS are released annually. The current release, iOS 8.1.1, was released on November 17, 2014. In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch layer. The current version of the operating system (iOS 8.0), dedicates 1.3 - 1.5GB of the device's flash memory for the system partition, using roughly 800 MB of that partition (varying by model) for iOS itself. It runs on the iPhone 4S and later, iPad 2 and later, all models of the iPad Mini, and the 5th-generation iPod Touch.
Apple Inc. provides updates to the iOS operating system for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes, and since iOS 5.0, also through over-the-air software updates. With the June 6, 2011 announcement of iOS 5.0, a USB connection to iTunes is no longer needed to activate iOS devices; data synchronization can happen automatically and wirelessly through Apple's iCloud service. The most recent update, iOS 8.1.1, was released on November 17, 2014.
Versions :
On June 29, 2007, Apple released the first version of what became iOS – concurrently with the first iPhone. The final 1.x series release was 1.1.5, released shortly after version 2.0.
July 11, 2008 saw the public release of iPhone OS 2.0, with upgrades through version 2.2.1 made available.
June 17, 2009 was the release date for iPhone OS 3.0. It was updated through (and including) version 3.1.3 (release date February 2, 2010). The first generation iPod Touch and iPhone have iPhone OS 3.1.3 as their newest available version. The iPad was introduced with iPhone OS 3.2, later updated to 3.2.2. 3.2.x versions of iPhone OS were made specifically for the iPad.
On June 21, 2010, iOS 4.0 was released to the public and was made available only to the iPod Touch and iPhone. iOS 4.0 was announced to have over 1500 new APIs for developers, with the highly anticipated multitasking feature. The iPod Touch (2nd generation) and iPhone 3G have iOS 4.2.1 as the final version available. Nevertheless, many features are not available for the iPhone 3G or iPod Touch (2nd generation), such as multitasking and home screen backgrounds. iOS 4.2 is the first version to bring major feature parity to the iPhone and iPad. The release of the CDMA iPhone for Verizon Wireless saw a branching of iOS. The 4.2 version sequence continued for the CDMA phone while 4.3 was released for all other products.
On June 6, 2011, Apple previewed iOS 5, Apple TV 4.4 beta and the iOS SDK 5 beta along with iCloud beta among other products. This update introduced iMessage chat between devices running iOS 5, a new notification system, Newsstand subscriptions, Twitter integrated into iOS, Reminders app, Enhancements to AirPlay, full integration with iCloud and over 200 new features. iOS 5.0 supports all iPad models, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM & CDMA, iPhone 4S, and the iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation).
iOS 5 had only three minor additions, 5.0.1, 5.1, and 5.1.1, which were all provided as OTA and iTunes software updates.
Apple concurrently provides the same version of iOS for the comparable model of iPhone and iPod touch, usually devices released in the same calendar year. iPhone users receive all software updates for free, while iPod Touch users paid for the 2.0 and 3.0 major software updates. As of iOS 4.0, Apple no longer charges money for iPod Touch updates.
As of October 23, 2011, two versions of iOS were never released. iPhone OS 1.2, which after the first beta was replaced by a 2.0 version number; the second beta was called 2.0 beta 2 instead of 1.2 beta 2. The other was iOS 4.2, replaced with 4.2.1 due to a Wi-Fi bug in 4.2 beta 3, causing Apple to release 2 golden masters (4.2 GM and 4.2.1 GM). One version of iOS was pulled back by Apple after being released. iOS 8.0.1 was pulled back by Apple because cellular service and Touch ID were disabled on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The current version is iOS 8.1.1.
Version history: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch:
iPhone OS 1.x
First iteration of Apple's touch-centric mobile operating system. No official name given on its initial release; Apple marketing literature simply stating the iPhone runs a version of Apple's desktop operating system, OS X. On March 6, 2008, with the release of the iPhone software development kit (iPhone SDK), Apple named it iPhone OS (they went on to rename it "iOS" on June 7, 2010).
iPhone OS 2.x
iPhone OS 2.0, the second major release of iOS, became available on July 11, 2008 with the release of the iPhone 3G. Devices running 1.x are upgradable to this version. This version of the OS introduces the App Store, making third-party applications available to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
iPhone OS 3.x
iPhone OS 3.0 became available with the iPhone 3GS. It was released on June 17, 2009. This release added features such as copy and paste, and MMS. Not all features were available on the original iPhone. Devices running iPhone OS 2.x were upgradeable to this software. The iPad was introduced with iPhone OS 3.2.
iOS 4:
iOS 4 was made available to the public for the iPhone and iPod Touch on June 21, 2010. This is the first major iOS release to drop support for some devices (original iPhone and iPod
touch) and that iPod Touch users do not have to pay for.
The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation) have limited features, including lack of multitasking capabilities and the ability to set a home screen wallpaper, while the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation) have all features enabled, such as multitasking. The iPhone and iPod Touch (1st generation) cannot run iOS 4.0 and above.
iOS 4.2.1, released November 22, 2010, added iPad compatibility. It also was the last version to support iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation, MB & MC model). iOS 4.2.1 replaced iOS 4.2 due to a Wi-Fi bug in iOS 4.2 beta 3, causing Apple to release 2 golden masters (4.2 GM and 4.2.1 GM).
iOS 5:
iOS 5 was previewed to the public on June 6, 2011. It was released for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM and CDMA), iPhone 4S, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation), iPad, and iPad 2 on October 12, 2011.
iOS 5.1.1 is the final release supported for the iPad (1st generation) and iPod Touch (3rd generation).
iOS 6:iOS 6 was announced and previewed on June 11, 2012 during Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2012, and its release was stated as Fall 2012. Following the pattern of previous iOS releases, some older devices were no longer supported, specifically the iPod Touch (3rd generation), and the iPad (1st generation). Supported devices include the iPhone 3GS and later; the iPod Touch (4th generation) and later; and the iPad 2 and later.
On September 12, 2012 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, among other items unveiled, Apple announced three iOS-related items: the next generation iPhone 5, the redesigned iPod Touch (5th generation), and the announcement of the release of iOS 6.0 the following week.
iOS 6 was released to the public on September 19, 2012, through iTunes and over-the-air updates.
iOS 6.1.6 is the final release supported for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation).
iOS 7 :
Apple announced iOS 7 on June 10, 2013 at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, with release announced for sometime in Fall (Northern Hemisphere) or Spring (Southern Hemisphere) 2013. At their iPhone event on September 10, 2013, Apple announced the full release of iOS 7 for September 18, 2013, while also unveiling two new iPhone models: the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. With this release, support was once again dropped for older devices, specifically the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch (4th generation). Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 4 onwards, iPod Touch (5th generation), the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards. iOS 7.1.2 is the final release for the iPhone 4. But, Apple can detect an unauthorized install and deactivate the device.
iOS 8 :
Apple announced iOS 8 on June 2, 2014 at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, with release announced for sometime in Fall (Northern Hemisphere) or
Spring (Southern Hemisphere) 2014. At their iPhone event on September 9, 2014, Apple announced the full release of iOS 8 for September 17, 2014, while also unveiling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With this release, Apple resumed the cycle of dropping support for older devices, specifically the iPhone 4. Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 4S onwards, iPod Touch (5th generation), the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards. The iPad 2 is also the first iOS device to support 5 major releases of iOS, supporting iOS 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. This is the greatest amount of major iOS releases a single iOS device has supported, surpassing the iPhone 4S, which supports 4 major releases (iOS 5, 6, 7, and 8).
However, iOS 8 has limited support for this device, along with the iPhone 4S. The current version is iOS 8.1.1, which fixed a few bugs, improved the performance of iOS on iPhone 4S and iPad 2, and patched Pangu Jailbreak 1.0.02. There are some performance issues in iOS 8.1.1 which are probably caused by bugs affecting the iPad (3rd generation), iPad (4th generation) and the iPad mini. The latest beta version is iOS 8.2 beta 1.
Originally unveiled in 2007 for the iPhone, it has been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPod Touch (September 2007), iPad (January 2010), iPad Mini (November 2012) and second-generation Apple TV onward (September 2010). As of June 2014, Apple's App Store contained more than 1.2 million iOS applications, 500,000 of which were optimized for iPad. These apps have collectively been downloaded more than 60 billion times. It had a 21% share of the smartphone mobile operating system units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012, behind Google's Android. By the middle of 2012, there were 410 million devices activated. According to the special media event held by Apple on September 12, 2012, 400 million devices had been sold by June 2012.
The user interface of iOS is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface.
Internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it in three dimensions (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).
iOS shares with OS X some frameworks such as Core Foundation and Foundation; however, its UI toolkit is Cocoa Touch rather than OS X's Cocoa, so that it provides the UIKit framework rather than the AppKit framework. It is therefore not compatible with OS X for applications. Also while iOS also shares the Darwin foundation with OS X, Unix-like shell access is not available for users and restricted for apps, making iOS not fully Unix-compatible either.
Major versions of iOS are released annually. The current release, iOS 8.1.1, was released on November 17, 2014. In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch layer. The current version of the operating system (iOS 8.0), dedicates 1.3 - 1.5GB of the device's flash memory for the system partition, using roughly 800 MB of that partition (varying by model) for iOS itself. It runs on the iPhone 4S and later, iPad 2 and later, all models of the iPad Mini, and the 5th-generation iPod Touch.
Apple Inc. provides updates to the iOS operating system for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes, and since iOS 5.0, also through over-the-air software updates. With the June 6, 2011 announcement of iOS 5.0, a USB connection to iTunes is no longer needed to activate iOS devices; data synchronization can happen automatically and wirelessly through Apple's iCloud service. The most recent update, iOS 8.1.1, was released on November 17, 2014.
Versions :
On June 29, 2007, Apple released the first version of what became iOS – concurrently with the first iPhone. The final 1.x series release was 1.1.5, released shortly after version 2.0.
July 11, 2008 saw the public release of iPhone OS 2.0, with upgrades through version 2.2.1 made available.
June 17, 2009 was the release date for iPhone OS 3.0. It was updated through (and including) version 3.1.3 (release date February 2, 2010). The first generation iPod Touch and iPhone have iPhone OS 3.1.3 as their newest available version. The iPad was introduced with iPhone OS 3.2, later updated to 3.2.2. 3.2.x versions of iPhone OS were made specifically for the iPad.
On June 21, 2010, iOS 4.0 was released to the public and was made available only to the iPod Touch and iPhone. iOS 4.0 was announced to have over 1500 new APIs for developers, with the highly anticipated multitasking feature. The iPod Touch (2nd generation) and iPhone 3G have iOS 4.2.1 as the final version available. Nevertheless, many features are not available for the iPhone 3G or iPod Touch (2nd generation), such as multitasking and home screen backgrounds. iOS 4.2 is the first version to bring major feature parity to the iPhone and iPad. The release of the CDMA iPhone for Verizon Wireless saw a branching of iOS. The 4.2 version sequence continued for the CDMA phone while 4.3 was released for all other products.
On June 6, 2011, Apple previewed iOS 5, Apple TV 4.4 beta and the iOS SDK 5 beta along with iCloud beta among other products. This update introduced iMessage chat between devices running iOS 5, a new notification system, Newsstand subscriptions, Twitter integrated into iOS, Reminders app, Enhancements to AirPlay, full integration with iCloud and over 200 new features. iOS 5.0 supports all iPad models, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM & CDMA, iPhone 4S, and the iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation).
iOS 5 had only three minor additions, 5.0.1, 5.1, and 5.1.1, which were all provided as OTA and iTunes software updates.
Apple concurrently provides the same version of iOS for the comparable model of iPhone and iPod touch, usually devices released in the same calendar year. iPhone users receive all software updates for free, while iPod Touch users paid for the 2.0 and 3.0 major software updates. As of iOS 4.0, Apple no longer charges money for iPod Touch updates.
As of October 23, 2011, two versions of iOS were never released. iPhone OS 1.2, which after the first beta was replaced by a 2.0 version number; the second beta was called 2.0 beta 2 instead of 1.2 beta 2. The other was iOS 4.2, replaced with 4.2.1 due to a Wi-Fi bug in 4.2 beta 3, causing Apple to release 2 golden masters (4.2 GM and 4.2.1 GM). One version of iOS was pulled back by Apple after being released. iOS 8.0.1 was pulled back by Apple because cellular service and Touch ID were disabled on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The current version is iOS 8.1.1.
Version history: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch:
iPhone OS 1.x
First iteration of Apple's touch-centric mobile operating system. No official name given on its initial release; Apple marketing literature simply stating the iPhone runs a version of Apple's desktop operating system, OS X. On March 6, 2008, with the release of the iPhone software development kit (iPhone SDK), Apple named it iPhone OS (they went on to rename it "iOS" on June 7, 2010).
iPhone OS 2.x
iPhone OS 2.0, the second major release of iOS, became available on July 11, 2008 with the release of the iPhone 3G. Devices running 1.x are upgradable to this version. This version of the OS introduces the App Store, making third-party applications available to the iPhone and iPod Touch.
iPhone OS 3.x
iPhone OS 3.0 became available with the iPhone 3GS. It was released on June 17, 2009. This release added features such as copy and paste, and MMS. Not all features were available on the original iPhone. Devices running iPhone OS 2.x were upgradeable to this software. The iPad was introduced with iPhone OS 3.2.
iOS 4:
iOS 4 was made available to the public for the iPhone and iPod Touch on June 21, 2010. This is the first major iOS release to drop support for some devices (original iPhone and iPod
touch) and that iPod Touch users do not have to pay for.
The iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation) have limited features, including lack of multitasking capabilities and the ability to set a home screen wallpaper, while the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation) have all features enabled, such as multitasking. The iPhone and iPod Touch (1st generation) cannot run iOS 4.0 and above.
iOS 4.2.1, released November 22, 2010, added iPad compatibility. It also was the last version to support iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (2nd generation, MB & MC model). iOS 4.2.1 replaced iOS 4.2 due to a Wi-Fi bug in iOS 4.2 beta 3, causing Apple to release 2 golden masters (4.2 GM and 4.2.1 GM).
iOS 5:
iOS 5 was previewed to the public on June 6, 2011. It was released for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM and CDMA), iPhone 4S, iPod Touch (3rd & 4th generation), iPad, and iPad 2 on October 12, 2011.
iOS 5.1.1 is the final release supported for the iPad (1st generation) and iPod Touch (3rd generation).
iOS 6:iOS 6 was announced and previewed on June 11, 2012 during Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2012, and its release was stated as Fall 2012. Following the pattern of previous iOS releases, some older devices were no longer supported, specifically the iPod Touch (3rd generation), and the iPad (1st generation). Supported devices include the iPhone 3GS and later; the iPod Touch (4th generation) and later; and the iPad 2 and later.
On September 12, 2012 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, among other items unveiled, Apple announced three iOS-related items: the next generation iPhone 5, the redesigned iPod Touch (5th generation), and the announcement of the release of iOS 6.0 the following week.
iOS 6 was released to the public on September 19, 2012, through iTunes and over-the-air updates.
iOS 6.1.6 is the final release supported for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation).
iOS 7 :
Apple announced iOS 7 on June 10, 2013 at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, with release announced for sometime in Fall (Northern Hemisphere) or Spring (Southern Hemisphere) 2013. At their iPhone event on September 10, 2013, Apple announced the full release of iOS 7 for September 18, 2013, while also unveiling two new iPhone models: the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. With this release, support was once again dropped for older devices, specifically the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch (4th generation). Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 4 onwards, iPod Touch (5th generation), the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards. iOS 7.1.2 is the final release for the iPhone 4. But, Apple can detect an unauthorized install and deactivate the device.
iOS 8 :
Apple announced iOS 8 on June 2, 2014 at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, with release announced for sometime in Fall (Northern Hemisphere) or
Spring (Southern Hemisphere) 2014. At their iPhone event on September 9, 2014, Apple announced the full release of iOS 8 for September 17, 2014, while also unveiling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With this release, Apple resumed the cycle of dropping support for older devices, specifically the iPhone 4. Supported devices on this release include the iPhone 4S onwards, iPod Touch (5th generation), the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini (1st generation) onwards. The iPad 2 is also the first iOS device to support 5 major releases of iOS, supporting iOS 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. This is the greatest amount of major iOS releases a single iOS device has supported, surpassing the iPhone 4S, which supports 4 major releases (iOS 5, 6, 7, and 8).
However, iOS 8 has limited support for this device, along with the iPhone 4S. The current version is iOS 8.1.1, which fixed a few bugs, improved the performance of iOS on iPhone 4S and iPad 2, and patched Pangu Jailbreak 1.0.02. There are some performance issues in iOS 8.1.1 which are probably caused by bugs affecting the iPad (3rd generation), iPad (4th generation) and the iPad mini. The latest beta version is iOS 8.2 beta 1.
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