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is Apple's mobile operating system developed originally for the iPhone, and later deployed

on the iPod Touch and iPad as well. It is derived from Mac OS X, with which it shares the
Darwin foundation, and is therefore a Unix-like operating system by nature. In iOS, there are
four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the
Cocoa Touch layer. The operating system uses roughly 500 megabytes of the device's storage.[1]


[hide]

u 1 History
u ^ Features
› ^.1 User interface
› ^.^ Home screen
› ^.3 Included applications
› ^.4 Multitasking
› ^.5 Game Center
› ^.6 Unsupported technologies
u 3 Development
› 3.1 SDK
u 4 Jailbreaking
u 5 Digital rights management
u 6 See also
u - References
u [ Further reading
u r External links

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See also: Apple iOS version history

The operating system was first unveiled with the iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo on
January r, ^00-, and released in June of that year.[^] At first, Apple marketing literature did not
specify its name, simply stating that the "iPhone uses OS X".[3]

Initially, third-party applications were not supported. Steve Jobs argued that developers could
build web applications which "would behave like native apps on the iPhone".[4][5] On October 1-,
^00-, Apple announced that a native SDK was under development and that they planned to put it
"in developers' hands in February".[6] The first beta was released on March 6, ^00[, at which
time the operating system was officially named iPhone OS.

Interest in the SDK was high due to the rapid growth of the operating system's usage. The
previous September, Apple had released the iPod Touch, a device featuring most of the non-
phone capabilities of the iPhone without the phone hardware. Apple also sold more than one
million iPhone units during the ^00- holiday season.[-] Both devices have since seen multiple
generations of improved hardware; four iPhones and three iPod Touch models. On January ^-,
^010, Apple announced the iPad, featuring a larger screen than the iPhone and iPod Touch, and
designed for web browsing, media consumption, and reading iBooks.[[] The iPhone is now
advertised as a mobile assistant, and the iPod Touch as a gaming platform. All three are
produced by Apple, which does not permit the OS to run on third-party hardware. As of June -,
^010, there were more than ^^5,000 applications available for iOS in the App Store, with over
five billion downloads.[r]

Version 4, announced in April ^010, introduced multitasking as well as several business-oriented

features, including encryption for email and attachments.[10] At the WWDC ^010 keynote on
June -, ^010, Apple announced that iPhone OS had been renamed iOS.[11] Apple licenses the
trademark for "iOS" from Cisco Systems (who own IOS), the same company with which Apple
had earlier settled a dispute over the "iPhone" trademark.[1^]

iOS 4 was released on June ^1, ^010, three days before the iPhone 4.[13] Staggering product
launches reduces strain on Apple's servers. iOS 4 is the first version of the OS to be a free
upgrade on the iPod touch; Apple had charged $r.rr for earlier upgrades. Apple previously
announced that iPad users with 3.x software would receive a free upgrade to the next major (4.x)
release.[14]

iOS 4.0.1 was released on July 15, ^010. iOS 4.0.1 includes a reception-signal-strength-indicator
fix and was released a day before Apple hosted a press conference to discuss its response to the
widely publicized iPhone 4 antenna issues. In addition, Apple released iOS 3.^.1 for the iPad
which includes tweaks to the tablet's WiFi connectivity, video playback, and copy-and-paste for
PDF attachments among other updates.

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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. The response to
user input is immediate and provides a fluid interface. Interaction with the OS includes gestures
such as swiping, tapping, pinching, and reverse pinching. 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).

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The home screen (rendered by "SpringBoard") with application icons, and a dock at the bottom
of the screen where users can pin their most frequently used apps, is presented whenever the
device is turned on or the home button pressed. The screen has a status bar across the top to
display data, such as time, battery level, and signal strength. The rest of the screen is devoted to
the current application. Double pressing the home button activates the application switcher. A
scrollable dock-like interface appears from the bottom, moving the contents of the screen up.
Choosing an icon switches to an application. To the far left are icons which function as music
controls, and a rotation lock. Holding the icons makes them wiggle (similarly to the homescreen)
and allows the user to quit the applications.

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The iPhone home screen contains these default "apps":

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1.0+ (FaceTime Video Calling
Phone Telephone, FaceTime Video calling
4.0+)
Mail E-mail client 1.0+
Safari Web browser 1.0+
iPod Portable media player 1.0+

 
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Messages Text messaging, MMS 1.0+ (MMS 3.0+)
Calendar Calendar 1.0+
Photos Photo viewer 1.0+ (Video viewer ^.0+)
1.0+ (Video recording and auto-
Camera Camera
focus 3.0+, HD video 4.0+)
YouTube YouTube video streamer 1.0+
Stocks Yahoo! Finance 1.0+
1.0+ (Assisted GPS ^.0+,
Maps Google Maps Compass 3.0+ (iPhone 3GS
onwards)).
Weather Yahoo! Weather 1.0+
Voice
Voice recorder 3.0+
Memos
Notes A simple note-taking program 1.0+
Clock World clock, stopwatch, alarm clock and timer 1.0+
Calculator Calculator (includes scientific version) 1.0+
Settings Settings 1.0+
To access the iTunes Music Store and iTunes
iTunes 1.1+
Podcast Directory
App Store To buy iOS apps ^.0+
Compass Compass 3.0+ (iPhone 3GS onwards).
Contacts Address/phone book 1.0+
Nike + Records the distance and pace of a walk or run, can ^.^.1+(iPod Touch, ^nd
iPod connect to Nike + iPod sensor. generation onwards.),
 3.0+(iPhone 3GS onwards).

All of the "utilities," such as voice memos, clock, and calculator are in one folder called
"Utilities" in 4.0.[15][16] Many of the included applications are designed to work together;
allowing for the sharing or cross-propagation of data from one application to another (e.g., a
phone number can be selected from an email and saved as a contact or dialed for a phone call).

The iPod Touch retains the same applications that are present by default on the iPhone, with the
exception of the Phone, Messages, Compass and Camera apps. The "iPod" App present on the
iPhone is split into two apps on the iPod Touch: Music, and Videos. The bottom row of
applications is also used to delineate the iPod Touch's main purposes: Music, Videos, Safari, and
App Store (Dock Layout was changed in 3.1 Update).

The iPad comes with the same applications as the iPod Touch excluding Stocks, Weather, Clock,
Calculator, and the Nike + iPod app. Separate music and video apps are provided, as on the iPod
Touch, although (as on the iPhone) the music app is named "iPod". Most of the default
applications are completely rewritten to take advantage of the larger form factor. The default
dock layout includes Safari, Mail, Photos and iPod.

An example photo taken using the iOS4 zoom feature at maximum zoom.

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Prior to iOS 4, multitasking was limited to a selection of the applications Apple included on the
devices.[1-] Apple was concerned that battery life would suffer if multiple third-party applications
were allowed to run at once. Starting with iOS 4, on 3rd generation and newer iOS devices,
multitasking is supported through the use of - background APIs.[1[] Specifically,

1. Background audio
^. Voice over IP
3. Background location
4. Push notifications
5. Local notifications
6. Task finishing
-. Fast app switching

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Main article: Game Center

Announced during an iOS 4 preview event hosted by Apple on April [, ^010, Game Center is
scheduled to be launched "later this year" for iPhones and iPod Touches running iOS 4. It is
currently available as a preview to registered Apple developers.[1r]

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iOS does not support Adobe Flash or Java.[^0] This adversely affects viewing websites that use
these technologies. Steve Jobs wrote an open letter criticizing Flash, saying it is insecure, buggy,
battery-intensive, and incompatible with a touch interface (even though theoretically Flash could
be supported on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad).[^1] iOS 4 does support HTML5 as an
alternative to Flash.