Apple iPhone Software

The iPhone software or iOS is the Operating System that runs on Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Apple TV. It used to be called the iPhone OS at the begining of its life because it started on the iPhone. But when several devices from Apple like the iPad tablet, and the iPod Touch started using the same operating system, it made more sense to call it iOS.

The iOS is what gives the iPhone and other iDevices their look and feel and also their Graphical User Interface. The iPhone Operating System or iOS controls every piece of the iPhone hardware. It is what makes the iPhone such a unique device compared to other smart phones.

The Lock Screen:

When you press the home button to turn on the iPhone, you get the Lock Screen which has two modes. The first mode is the charging mode which shows the battery and its charging status.

This mode only appears if you are connecting your iPhone to an iPhone charger.

The other mode displays your wallpaper image which can be changed from Settings and it appears when you unplug the power from your iPhone.

The iPhone lock screen doesn't have that many setting, however, with an iPhone jailbreak you can add some iPhone widgets to improve the appearance and functionality of the lock scree.

Visit the iPhone customization page to learn how.

The Home Screens:

After you slide to unlock your iPhone with your finger, you will see the home screen which contains all your iPhone applications.

All those screens are part of the GUI (Graphical User Interface). All the icons on the home screens are iPhone icons that represents the iPhone applications that are installed on your iPhone.

Those iPhone applications can only run on iOS devices, or Apple devices that run the iOS such as iPhones, iPod Touch, and iPad.

iPhone applications can be downloaded from the App Store which you can either access from your iPhone or from your Mac or PC using iTunes. There are over 500,000 iPhone applications currently in the App Store.

The iOS comes pre installed with some iPhone applications such as the Youtube app, the email app, a text message app, iPhone safari, the iPhone camera app, an iPhone music app, an iPhone maps app which uses the iPhone GPS system and many others. Depending on the version of the iPhone software you have, you might have more or less pre-installed applications.

The home screens are the main component of the Graphical User Interface of the iPhone Software. There are 9 total adjacent home screens and they are the holder of all your iPhone icons and iPhone folders.

After you install an iPhone application, you will see its icon on your home screen. There are also 4 docked icons at the bottom of the home screen that are always stationary. They will not move as you slide from one home screen to another.

The Dock is useful to hold iPhone applications that you use more frequently such as the phone application, iPhone safari, and the iPhone e-mail applications.

Of course, you can arrange your icons and move them around however you like.

You can also categorise your icons and put them inside folders. The iPhone software by default is limited to a total of 9 adjacent home screens, 16 icons and folders on each screen and 4 icons docked.

However, with an iPhone jailbreak you can use some iPhone icons hacks to increase the number and size of icons allowed by the iPhone software and customize your iPhone icons to another level.

Visit the iPhone tips and tricks and the iPhone icons hack for more information.

The Settings App:

The iPhone Settings app is an important application that comes pre installed on any iOS device. It allows you to modify many aspects of any iOS device.

For example, you can change the language of your iPhone. You can change the background picture or wallpaper.

You can also set up wifi, or set up iPhone bluetooth to pair with other bluetooth devices.

Moreover, with the iPhone Settings app you can control the iPhone screen brightness, the iPhone sounds, and the iPhone ringtones.

It is also here where you setup your email accounts, Apple accounts like iCloud, Photo Stream, Notifications, and much more. All the settings for the iOS are handled by the Settings App.

Check out the SBSettings page for some unique features that give you quicker access those controls.

Why the iOS:

The iOS is the core of the iPhone and other iDevices. It is the key factor to the beauty, integration and compatibility between all Apple products.

Since Apple make the hardware and software of its devices, great products, services, and features become easy to accomplish.

For example, Air Play is a new feature that was added to iOS 4 that is simply impressive.

Air Play allows you to stream media from your iPhone, iPhone 4S, iPad or other iOS devices to your TV wirelessely with the use of an Apple TV device.

Air Play Mirror is another great feature that was introduced in iOS 5 which allows you to mirror the whole screen of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 wirelessely in real time to your HDTV.

iCloud, and Photo Stream are other great services that show the unique integration between Apple products.

Minor vs. Major Software Update:

The iPhone software takes the format of 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 4.0, 4.0.1 and so on which is also referred to as firmware software. Every now and then, Apple updates the Phone software or iOS adding more enhancements, and more features.

iOS 5 for example was a major iOS update and it added over 200 new features. One unique software addition to iOS 5 is Siri which is a personal intelligent assistant that understands your voice.

You can ask Siri questions in History, Math, Science, and can ask her to set appointments, or reminders and much more. Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S.

Another great iOS 5 feature is iCloud which allows you to backup, restore, and sync your iPhone to the cloud wirelessely. You don't have to connect to your computer and run iTunes to sync your iPhone any more.

iOS 4 Multitasking and the iOS task switcher are other major features that were introduced in iOS 4.

You will know when a new iPhone software becomes available once you connect your iPhone to iTunes or from your iPhone itself if running iOS 5 and above.

It is not always recommended to update to the latest iOS available specially if you have an unlocked iPhone, or if you have a jailbroken iDevice. A software update will restore your iPhone, and will remove any iPhone hacks you might have if you have a jailbroken iPhone.

The iOS Method of Texting:

The iPhone doesn't have a physical keyboard. It uses a virtual keyboard that displays on the screen. When you tap on any text field on your iPhone, the touch keyboard will pop up and allow you to enter texts. The iPhone keyboard can be displayed in both portrait and landscape by simply rotating your iPhone.

As you start typing your text, a dictionary that is built into the iPhone software will start correcting you and suggesting complete words.

With iOS 5 speech recognition, it is possible to speak what you want to your iPhone.

For example, if you open the iPhone Notes application, you can tap the microphone icon shown on the keyboard and start talking.

The iPhone software will recognize what you said, and will convert it to written text in any text field.

The speech recognition feature is available only in iOS 5 running on iPhone 4S and beyond.

Finally, if you type a lot with your iPhone and need a full keyboard, you can always add a full size bluetooth keyboard as an iPhone accessory to help you type more comfortably.

Go to Top

Return from iPhone Software to Home of iPhone Tips And Advice