iPhone OS 4 Preview Looks Great

ByMike Moffit

On Thursday, Apple previewed iPhone OS 4, which they are calling “the biggest and most exciting iPhone software update yet.” It has to be, since the smartphone marketplace is vastly more competitive now then during any previous iPhone release.

iPhone OS 4 will include over 100 new user features for iPhone and iPod touch owners to enjoy. A new software development kit (SDK) offers over 1500 new APIs for developers to create apps that are “even more powerful, innovative, and amazing.” A developer beta is available now.

iPhone OS 4 will ship this summer for iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the second- and third-generation iPod touch, and for iPad in the fall. Not all features of iPhone OS 4 are compatible with all devices. For example, the new multitasking feature will be available only with iPhone 3GS and the third-generation iPod touch (32GB and 64GB models from late 2009). It’s not clear if some or any iPhone 4.0 features will be supported by the first generation iPhone, alas.

Click here to watch the Keynote video.

With iPhone OS 4, iPhone owners will enjoy over 100 new features that make it easier to interact with apps, manage email, read books, and more. New features include the following:

Multitasking – Developers will have access to seven multitasking services, which will allow tasks to be performed in the background while preserving performance and battery life. So you’ll be able to make a Voice over IP call while playing a game or checking email, find a restaurant on Urbanspoon while listening to Pandora, and more.

Game Center – Game Center is Apple’s new social gaming network. Users can invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare high scores on a leader board. (We think this will be huge.)

Folders – Organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity. Get faster access to your favorites and browse and manage up to 2160 apps at once — many more than the current limit of 180 apps.

Even Better Mail – See messages from all your email accounts displayed together in a unified inbox, switch between inboxes more quickly, organize messages by threads, and even open attachments in third-party apps.

iBooks – The best way to browse, buy, and read books on a mobile device. Easily flip through the pages of a book you’ve downloaded from the iBookstore while listening to your music collection. Browse tens of thousands of books — many of them free — by title, author, or genre. You can even check out reviews and read sample pages before you buy.

iAd – A breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For developers, it means a new, easy-to-implement source of revenue. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information. (Some people think this will be terribly obnoxious. We’re waiting to see, as it could be a boon for developers. And if it really is annoying, iPhone sales will suffer. Apple isn’t likely to let that happen.)

Similar Posts

  • Researchers Expose iOS Security Flaw

    Last week, TUAW reported a group of researchers had cracked the passcode system implemented in iOS 4, across Apple’s range of portable devices….

  • PDF Exploit Patched in iOS 4.0.2

    This time last week, Apple released the second revision to its iOS4 mobile operating system. This incremental update is focused entirely on patching…

  • iOS 5 Available October 12 (that's next week!!)

    On Tuesday Apple announced the October 12 launch of iOS 5—a free upgrade for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 2nd and 3rd generation, iPad and iPad 2 and a standard feature on iPhone 4S. iOS 5 will include over 200 new features, and Scott Forstall—senior vice president of iOS software—gave an overview of the top ten new and enhanced iOS 5 apps:

    Notifications
    All of your notifications—from email and text messages to social media updates—will be housed in one location that you can access by swiping down from the top of the screen in any app or on the home screen. New notifications will be briefly displayed at the top of the screen in apps so as not to interrupt whatever you’re doing when they arrive. You’ll also be able to swipe to notifications from the Lock Screen.

    iMessage
    Send unlimited text messages to other iOS 5 users from your device via Wi-Fi or 3G. iMessage will support photo, video, location and contacts as well. Messages will be synced to all your devices so you can seamlessly switch from one device to another during a conversation.

    Reminders
    This brand-new app will help you organize your life with to-do lists that integrate with iCal, Outlook and iCloud. Location-based reminders will alert you to to-do items when you when you’ve reached the point where you want to be reminded. iPhone 4S users will be able to use Siri’s voice recognition capability to set reminders.

    Twitter integration
    Now you’ll only have to sign into Twitter once—in Settings—and you’ll be able to Tweet from multiple apps, including Camera, Safari and Maps.

    Newsstand
    Organize your newspaper and magazine subscriptions so you can access them from one location. Subscribe to a publication on the App Store and it will automatically be directed to Newsstand and updated when a new issue drops.

    Camera
    Accessing Camera will be easier than ever in iOS 5 because you can open the app right from the Lock screen. The volume-up button will function as a shutter button for added usability.

    Game Center
    A number of new features will be available in Game Center, including friend recommendations, new game notifications and enhanced opponent score information.

    Safari
    Enhancements to the built-in browser will include Reader, which allows for easier reading of articles, and Reading List, where you can save articles to read later (saved articles will be synced across your devices via iCloud). Tabbed browsing in Safari will be available on iPad.

    Mail
    Text formatting, flagging, mailbox creation deletion, search features and more will be available in Mail. Plus, you’ll be able to create a free email account that iCloud syncs across your devices.

    PC Free
    Device activation, software updates, back ups and more will no longer require syncing your device to your computer. (This is huge!)

    According to Forstall, Apple has seeded iOS 5 to 100,000+ developers who “love it,” and we’re sure we will too! Visit apple.com/ios for more details.

  • The Dock Through the Ages

    David Hitchcock introduced me to a great website called GUIdebook, which is “dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces, as well as…

  • Apple Glows in Consumer Reports

    Happy Cinco de Mayo, Apple! In Consumer Reports’ upcoming June issue, Apple tops all three categories for notebook computers. In the 13in category,…

  • Happy Birthday, iPod!

    Today, Apple’s iPod turns 7. On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs introduced the 5GB iPod to the world, declaring it “will put 1,000…