5 reviews

Apple iOS 5

Released September, 2011

The Pros:New conveniently located pull-down notification center - direct updates of things you find important, even pop up on your lock screen. IMessage - BBM for iOS, communicate freely and easily with anyone with an iOS device (iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone), includes more than just text: images, video, contacts and locations. No PC tethering required - the first iOS able to be activated / used fully without the need to sync with a computer, OS updates itself over-the-air.

The Cons:Not available for all previous generation devices - iPhone 3G, iPod Touch 2 and older not supported. Still no support for Flash.

From September 2011, iOS 5 will be the standard operating system for Apple wireless devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). Aesthetically it resembles the previous incarnations of iOS, but has some notable upgrades.

Notifications no longer interrupt user activities and remain listed in a constantly-refreshing notifications window, with individual notifications appearing at the top of the screen, regardless of which app you're currently running. iMessage is a major upgrade, as it allows inter-Apple device messaging, for free, over 3G or WiFi connections (similar to RIM's BlackBerry Messenger). Newsstand is a new app that stores and updates all your magazine/newspaper subscriptions and organizes them on a bookshelf in the same way books are displayed currently in iBooks. "Reminders" is a new app that consolidates a to-do list with a calendar, and also synchronizes with iCal, Outlook, and iCloud.

Certain standard iOS apps feature upgrades as well, such as "reading list" bookmark update and tabbed browsing for safari, easier photo editing for iPhoto, and being able to take pictures from the lock screen using the camera. Another key feature is that all wireless iOS 5 devices are capable of updating themselves without a separate computer. Also, devices on a WiFi network are capable of syncing wirelessly with a home computer, either for updates or transfers.

Features

iMessage messenger
Reminders to-do app
Wireless syncing
No need for separate computer
Newsstand organizes/updates subscriptions
Safari browser tweaks (bookmarks and "reader" mode)
Twitter app preloaded
Improved photo editing controls
Notification Center combines and organizes notifications
New multi-tasking gesture controls for iPad
Compatible with iPod Touch 3 and 4, iPhone 3GS and 4, iPad and iPad 2

User Reviews (5)

Add Pros & Cons

ProScore

Pros

4

new conveniently located pull-down notification center - direct updates of things you find important, even pop up on your lock screen
4

iMessage - BBM for iOS, communicate freely and easily with anyone with an iOS device (iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone), includes more than just text: images, video, contacts and locations
4

no PC tethering required - the first iOS able to be activated / used fully without the need to sync with a computer, OS updates itself over-the-air
3

Newsstand - view all your subscribed content in one place, easily see when new issues are available, also comes with its own section for subscriptions in the store
3

Reminders - time or location based reminder system, integrates / syncs with iCal, Outlook, and iCloud
3

Safari Reader - strip out excessive noise such as ads and website interfaces to focus on what you want, add pages to your 'Reading List' for later
2

impressive Twitter integration - tweet directly from various apps (YouTube, Safari, Photos, etc..), integrated intelligently in your contacts
2

improved camera app with better composition and control functionality, access from the lock screen
2

improved photos app - better editing functionality now includes features such as crop, rotate, red-eye removal, auto-enhance
2

free update