The face of the next-generation of the iOS, the operating system that powers the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, was revealed when Apple introduced iOS 5. From PC-free activation and set up to iMessage, iOS 5 is a major overhaul and update, both fixing things that many people have seen as annoyances for years while also adding exciting and powerful new features. Check out these 10 awesome new features of iOS 5--and they're just a few of the hundreds of new features that are coming this fall!
Updated: Oct. 12, 2011
1. PC-Free Activation
image copyright Apple Inc.
No longer will you need to take your iPhone or other iOS device home, connect it to your computer, and launch iTunes to activate and set up your device. Now, all the set up steps can be done right on the device itself. That means you can walk out of the store with a new iPhone and, in a matter of minutes, have it up and running--and, thanks to iCloud, download the same data that your old devices had onto it, too.
2. Wi-Fi Syncing
image copyright Apple Inc.
Speaking of cutting cables, forget about needing to actually plug your iOS device into a USB cable and your computer in order to sync it when you're running iOS 5. Now, iOS 5 devices will be able to perform syncs to your computer--and add new content or back themselves up--via the same Wi-Fi network you use to connect to the Internet.
3. iMessage
image copyright Apple Inc.
Before iOS 5, iPod touch and iPad users had to buy third-party apps if they wanted to be able to send text messages like iPhone users. Now, though, anyone running iOS 5 will be able to send text messages to other devices. And, to make matters more interesting, you'll be able to see whether your messages were sent, whether they were read, and when someone is typing a message to you in a chat. Even better, since iMessage will run on the iPhone, too, you should be able to cancel your text-messaging plan, saving $5-$15/month on your phone bill!
4. iTunes Match
image copyright Apple Inc.
This is one of the coolest features of iCloud. While your iTunes Store purchases are automatically added to your iCloud account, what about songs you ripped from CD or bought elsewhere? You can upload them, but uploading thousands of songs will take days or weeks. If you want to pay $24.99/year, iTunes Match will automatically add the songs in your iTunes library to your iCloud account without any uploading. And, all those songs will be automatically upgraded to 256 Kbps AAC files for better sound quality. Saving time and getting a free upgrade--not too shabby.
5. Over-the-Air Software Updates
image copyright Apple Inc.
Another in the line of cord-cutting features in iOS 5. Updating the iOS used to mean connecting your device to your computer, downloading the update, and then installing it. With iOS 5, no more. Now you'll be able to download software updates right to your device over the Internet and install them without ever connecting to your computer.
6. Twitter Integration
image copyright Twitter
Millions of people love Twitter. Whether they use it for posting updates, sending links, or sharing photos, it's a hugely popular and useful service. While Twitter and its compatible clients used to be available as third-party apps, in iOS 5, Twitter is integrated into many aspects of the OS. You can now post to Twitter directly from apps like Camera, Photos, Safari, YouTube, and Maps, and can populate your address book via Twitter.
7. Turn-Based Games in Game Center
image copyright Apple Inc.
Game Center, Apple's social gaming service, allows users to play games head to head, but they have to play them live. There's no support for turn-based games like chess in which you make a move and your opponent can make one at whatever time they want. In iOS 5, though, turn-based games are supported, so fans of chess, Scrabble, and other games that rely on strategy, not speed, will have new gaming options.
8. Notification Center
image copyright Apple Inc.
Push notifications--the badges, alerts, and icons that let you know that you have messages or updates in an app--work well enough, but it can be frustrating to have them spread across dozens of apps. In IOS 5, though, those notifications are condensed in Notification Center, a single place for all these notifications to reside. You'll be able to swipe down from the top of the screen to view your notifications at any time and, when the screen is locked, you'll be able to see notifications and go right to those apps with a single swipe.
9. Four-Finger Pinch
image copyright Apple Inc.
Beta versions of iOS 4 reportedly had this feature, but it was cut before the OS was released. In iOS 5, though, you'll be able to put 4 fingers--3 fingers and a thumb--on an iPad's screen and pinch them together to return to your homescreen. This gesture essentially replaces one function of the home button, which is pretty neat. You can also use a four-finger swipe to switch between apps on the iPad.
10. Reading List
image copyright Apple Inc.
If you've used Instpaper or similar tools, you know about this feature. Reading List allows you to save articles and web pages to read later (including offline), with the ads and design stripped out, putting the emphasis on the text itself. These features are available in other apps (I've been running Instapaper on my iPhone and iPad for a while), but it's nice to have it built in.
