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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 beginning 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 iPhone battery and its charging status.

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

Apple iphone software lock screenApple iphone software lock screen

The other mode displays your wallpaper image which can be changed from Settings and it appears when you unplug the power from your iPhone or iPhone 5.

iPhone lock screen widgetThe 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:

Apple iphone software settingsAfter 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, iPhone 5, iPod Touch, iPad and iPad mini.

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 as of 2010, and over 800,000 applications in the App Store as of 2013.

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, and the Apple 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.

Apple iphone  software lock screenThe 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.

The iPhone software holds the home screens icons  of the iPhone 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:

Apple iphone software 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, Facetime, 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.

 

The Notification Center:

iOS5 NotificationsThe iPhone software always had some kind of notification. If you get a text message or an email, you were always able to see that notification.

However, the Notification Center that came with iOS 5 improved notification dramatically to the level that iPhone users always deserved.

You can set notification for each application independently in Settings --> Notifications.

Also, you can change the way to be notified. For example, you can choose a pop up window, or just a banner that shows up at the top of your screen.

More important, you can slide your finger from the top of the screen down to access the notification center pull down menu which will show you all the history of your notifications.

 

Why the iOS:

The iPhone software 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.

iPhone software airplayFor 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, iPhone 5, iPad iPad mini or other iOS devices to your TV wirelessly 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 any iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad 2 and above wirelessly in real time to your HDTV.

AirServer for OSX is an application that converts your Mac into an Apple TV allowing you to stream your media and contents from any iOS device such as iPhone 5 to your Mac just as if it was an Apple TV using AirPlay.

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.

iPhone Siri for iOS SoftwareiOS 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 wirelessly. 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.

Apple iPhone software

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.

Apple iphone software keyboard landscape

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

Typing and Dictation with iOS 5 on iPhone 4S 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 is an iPhone software feature 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.

 

iOS 7 Final:

iOS 7 was finally released with the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. It is a major update from iOS 6, and came with some cool features and services. It requires some learning but not much, and once you are used to iOS 7, you will feel that iOS 6 is an old technology.

New features like control center, new Safari, Facetime audio, and more while some services like AirDrop, and iTunes radio are just enough to trigger anyone to upgrade to iOS 7.

iOS 7 Beta:

iOS 7 beta was released to the developers in June 10th 2013. It is the latest major update to the iOS since the iPhone was released in 2007. It is in fact a complete redesign of the operating system. There is nothing that is not changed.

The User Interface, More Gestures, Default Apps, iPhone icons, Features, just about everything is changed. And the first iOS 7 beta release look very promising and very clean.

 

iOS 6:

iOS 6 was announced in June 2012, and was officially released to the public in September 19, 2012. Then the iPhone 5 was released in September 22 pre-installed with iOS6. iOS 6 is also supported on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S. Although not every function works depending on the model.

The major iPhone software features of iOS 6 are the introduction of Apple Maps with turn by turn and Siri integration, Facebook integration, and many improvements to sharing.

 

iOS 5:

iOS 5 was released in October 2011 with the introduction of the iPhone 4S. Some of the major features of iOS 5 are notification center, the introduction of Siri the intelligent assistant, also iCloud was introduced which allows you to share your media and apps with all your Apple devices. Another major feature was Photo stream which allows you to share your photos instantly with all your iDevices. AirPlay Mirroring, and wireless sync were also great features.

 

iOS 4:

iOS 4 was released in June 21, 2010 with the introduction of the iPhone 4. iOS 4 came with many new features including Folders. It introduced native multitasking and the task switcher to the iPhone. It also introduced AirPlay which allows you stream video and phots over a wifi network using an Apple TV.

 

iOS 3:

iOS 3 was introduced in June 17, 2009 with the introduction of the iPhone 3GS. Some of the major features were the introduction of Copy and Paste and MMS.

iOS 2:

iOS 2 was released in July 11, 2008 with the introduction of the iPhone 3G. With this release, Apple introduced the App Store which allowed iPhone users to download and install third party iPhone applications to their devices.

iOS 1:

This is the initial release of the iPhone software in June 29, 2007. The iPhone started development in 2004, and Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public in January 9 2007. iOS1 was a closed system, you couldn't install applications, and was just a touch screen phone with iPod, Photos, YouTube, and full internet browsing.

 

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