iOS Operating System

iOS (originally iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple Inc. Originally released in 2007 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it has since been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPad and Apple TV. Unlike Windows CE (Mobile and Phone) and Android, Apple does not license iOS for installation on non-Apple hardware. As of March 6, 2012, Apple's App Store contained more than 550,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 25 billion times. It had a 16% share of the smartphone operating system units sold in the last quarter of 2010, behind both Google's Android and Nokia's Symbian. In May 2010 in the United States, it accounted for 59% of mobile web data consumption (including use on both the iPod Touch and the iPad).

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 swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface.

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). iOS is derived from OS X, with which it shares the Darwin foundation, and is therefore a Unix operating system.

In iOS, there are four abstraction layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services layer, the Media layer, and the Coco Touch layer. The current version of the operating system (iOS 5.1.1) uses roughly 770 megabytes of the device's storage, varying for each model.

Apple released iOS 4 on June 21, 2010, three days before the iPhone 4 in an effort to reduce the strain on Apple's servers. iOS 4 was the first version of the OS to be a free upgrade on the iPod touch; Apple had charged $4.99 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.

iOS 4.0.1 included a fix to the reception signal strength indicator(s). It was released on July 15, 2010, the day before Apple hosted a press conference to discuss its response to the widely publicized iPhone antenna issues. Apple also released iOS 3.2.1 for the iPad which tweaked the tablet's Wi-Fi connectivity, video playback, and copy-and-paste for PDF attachments, among other updates.

iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch was released on September 8, 2010; the update fixed some bugs reported by users, improved battery life and added several new features: Game Center, which allows gamers to play multiplayer games online, upload high scores and unlock achievements (though Apple removed Game Center from the iPhone 3G because of reports of slow performance) The ability to toggle spell checking on and off HDR photography (iPhone 4 and 4S only) Ping, a social music network and discovery tool

iOS 5.0 and its features were announced on June 6 at the WWDC 2011 keynote address. The update was released at 6 pm GMT on October 12, 2011. iOS 5 introduced the iCloud service and the Notification Center, as well as improvements to native apps such as Camera. The operating system also features new applications, such as the "Reminders" app and "Newsstand", a special home screen folder and App Store category that contains newspaper and magazine apps. "iMessage" is an application that allows iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad users to communicate, much like a chat service only used between these devices. The iMessage feature has been integrated into the "Messages" application on the iPhone.

On the iPhone 4S a virtual assistant named Siri was added. Siri allows users to talk to their iPhone 4S and perform various tasks, send messages, create alerts, and do internet searches. The new OS also features Twitter integration. All devices can now be setup without using a desktop or laptop computer. Almost all system apps were updated with new features or a redesigned interface. It also added updated security and bug fixes. According to Apple, the new OS has over 200 new features.

Multitasking Before iOS 4, multitasking was limited to a selection of the applications Apple included on the devices and an array of jailbroken modifications. Starting with iOS 4, on 3rd-generation and newer iOS devices, multitasking is supported through seven background APIs: Background audio application continues to run in the background as long as it is playing audio or video content Voice over IP application is suspended when a phone call is not in progress Background location application is notified of location changes Push notifications Local notifications application schedules local notifications to be delivered at a predetermined time Task completion application asks the system for extra time to complete a given task Fast app switching application does not execute any code and may be removed from memory at any time

Switching applications Double-clicking 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, a rotation lock, and on iOS 4.2 and above, a volume controller. Holding the icons briefly makes them "jiggle" (similarly to the homescreen) and allows the user to force quit the applications by simply tapping the red minus circle that appears at the corner of the app's icon.

Jailbreaking Ever since its initial release, iOS has been subject to a variety of different hacks centered around adding functionality not allowed by Apple. Prior to the 2008 debut of the native iOS App Store, the primary motive for jailbreaking was to install third-party native applications, which was not allowed by Apple at the time. Apple has claimed that it will not release iOS software updates designed specifically to break these tools (other than applications that perform SIM unlocking); however, with each subsequent iOS update, previously un-patched jailbreak exploits are usually patched. Ever since the arrival of Apple's native iOS App Store, andalong with it third-party applications, the general motives for jailbreaking have changed. People now jailbreak for many different reasons, including pirating App Store applications, gaining filesystem access, installing custom device themes, and modifying the device SpringBoard. On some devices, jailbreaking also makes it possible to install alternative operating systems, such as Android and the Linux kernel. In 2010, the EFF successfully convinced the U.S. Copyright Office to reject Apple's claim that jailbreaking is in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and declare that iOS jailbreaking is legal in the United States.