Three Bonus Features of iOS 5

This past Monday Apple unveiled iOS 5, showcasing 10 of its over 200 new features. Scott Forstall took the stage Monday afternoon and wowed WWDC attendees with updates to notifications, camera and messages and also introduced all-new apps such as Reminders, Newsstand and OS wide Twitter integration. One of the final slides in Forstall’s presentation featured a glimpse at several additional features contained in the update. After spending some quality time with the iOS 5 developer preview, more details have been gleaned on some of the additional minor updates.

Custom Vibration Patterns:

Simultaneously adding to the coolness of the iPhone and its accessibility, custom vibration patterns are available under the Accessibility screen of iOS 5’s general settings. Here users can select from a range of included vibration patterns—including Heartbeat and Rapid—or tap out their own. Unique vibration patterns can be assigned to individual contacts in a similar fashion to custom ringtones. If you create a distinctive enough pattern you’ll theoretically be able to tell who’s calling without even removing your iPhone from your pocket! On a more practical level, this feature broadens the device’s accessibility—making it easier for those with hearing or other disabilities to use the device.

Airport and Time Capsule Setup Support:

Demonstrating its willingness to “cut the cord,” Apple has built in support for the setup of its wireless family of products in iOS 5. Geared towards users interested in owning an iOS device as their primary computer, the Wi-Fi menu of iOS 5 includes the option to set up an AirPort base station. This means that a user could leave the store with an Airport Express and an iOS 5 equipped iPad 2 and have everything they need to get up and running—no Mac required.

Revamped Weather App:

Supplementing the inclusion of a weather widget in the new Notification Center, Apple has tweaked iOS 5’s default Weather App—adding new features and making it significantly more useable. The weather app, like the default camera, has been left largely untouched since iPhone software version 1.0 in 2007. iOS 5 brings a host of refinements including Location Services support and more detailed hourly forecasts. Simply tapping a day now reveals an hourly forecast complete with a percent chance of precipitation.