Apple launched iOS — then send for iPhone atomic number 76 — onJune 29 , 2007 , with the very first iPhone . Since then , the nomadic operating system has go through some major acclivity . But it did n’t happen overnight . Ever year in the summertime , Apple has reinvent the OS , add new features and redefine what ’s potential on all its iDevices .
In 2016 , we’reprobably going to see the tenth version of iOS . But to really revalue the new poppycock Apple ’s about to jog on stage at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco next Monday , remembering the software ’s chronicle yield some much - needed perspective . Here ’s a looking at at every version of iOS , the feature they introduce , and how it changed the computers in our pockets — year after yr .
iPhone OS 1
What was unexampled : In 2007 , Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone and iPhone osmium 1 along with it . During the press conference , Jobs referred to the operating system as OS X because it shared a similar Unix core compare to the full - fledged desktop version of the operating system . When Apple establish the iPhone SDK one yr later , the name change to iPhone OS .
Why it was important : The first iPhone is one of the most important gismo of all prison term . It took idea from within the budding mobile industriousness and made them more people - friendly . The candy barroom - sized display defines smartphone design to this day ( sorry BlackBerry ) . It also created the canonical “ SpringBoard ” app — a grid of apps on a screen — that has n’t changed much in nine years .
Sure , iPhone OS introduced multi - tactual sensation and the general underpinnings of Apple ’s ideas for mobile computing , but the operating organisation ’s greatest triumph was selling the mind that an iPod , camera , phone , and internet machine could really be packed into one machine that fits inside your pocket — and that ’d you ’d actually want to utilize it .
iPhone OS 2
What was young : On July 11 , 2008 , Apple dramatically expanded the capabilities of its nomadic operating system with iPhone O 2 . The new rendering added third - company apps ( in what is now known as the App Store ) and location service through the newly added GPS building block on the iPhone 3G. Apple also put in its MobileMe swarm package , but the idea never quite take off .
Why it was of import : If iPhone OS was the self-aggrandizing bang for mobile computing , iPhone OS 2 was when smartphones rise out of the aboriginal seepage . The original iPhone was little more than a walking advertizement for Apple . Any app you want to use had to be made by Apple ( or otherwise in a licensing partnership with Apple ) . Releasing the iPhone OS SDK changed all that and made iPhones infinitely more useful . Apple just barely tucker out Google to the idea . Android announce Android Market , the precursor to the advanced day swordplay Store , about a calendar month later on .
iPhone OS 3
What was new : Apple was still riding high after launching the App Store , but Jobs still had some big onward motion for iPhone sports fan in 2009 , include copy / paste tools , MMS support , Spotlight , tethering , and drive telling for 3rd party applications .
Why it was important : After two long time of dramatic reinvention , Apple finally took a breath for some exquisitely - tuning . Nothing in iPhone OS 3 was quite as transformative as its premature two releases , but it created rich third - party apps with push notifications and an easier agency to research across the iPhone with Spotlight , a feature of speech that Apple still tinkers with age later on .
iPhone OS 3 also introduced a refutable design determination known as skeuomorphism with the sack of the iPad that following January . This meant that apps like Newsstand and Notes were digitally plan to front like a newsstand and a notepad . This selection would n’t be undone until the introduction of Apple ’s radical design change four eld afterwards .
iOS 4
What was Modern : First off , the name . Apple formally dropped the “ Phone ” part of its mobile group O , which makes sense considering the software now ran on iPods , iPhones , and the young shiny iPad . But the two freehanded blockbuster feature were FaceTime and Multitasking .
Why it was important : With iOS 4 , we began to see the development Hz that would define Apple for years . In the representative of FaceTime , Apple helped install an challenging novel communicating frontier , make the futuristic construct of video telephone a realness ( at least for iPhone 4 user ) . At the meter , there was nothing that worked nearly as well . It would take popular desktop software like Skype a few more years before the app was last made available on mobile devices .
Apple also begin copying the best melodic theme from the competition — this meter in the contour of multitasking . Google had long carry out a limited multitasking feature of speech with Android and would before long replicate Palm ’s WebOS - base “ cards ” multitasking manikin ( also copy by Android ) in iOS 7 .
iOS 5
What was newfangled : iOS was grow up and added three feature article that make it difficult to conceive of how we ever lived without them : Notification Center , iMessage , and Siri . Aside from these big update , Apple inclose ( love it or detest it ) iCloud and a more functional lock chamber cover .
Why it was important : The platform was start to blossom into the modernistic operating organisation we know today . look apart , Apple began build conveniences on top of its core services like SMS / MMS support and advertise notifications . With the integration of iMessages , Apple link the grow popularity of other message apps like WhatsApp , which were only able to prosper after Apple opened get-up-and-go telling to third - party apps two years earlier . After only a few calendar month , iMessagewas already drastically changingthe mobile landscape .
Siri also gets a lot of asshole today for being all - around unimpressive when compared toGoogle ’s digital assistant . But in 2011 , Siri was an unbelievable idea . A personal helper , on your speech sound , that can do actions on your behalf . It can even tell put-on . It was a major upgrade for the late Voice Control feature film . No doubt , the idea still needed some piece of work , but Siri was an unmistakable glimpse into the future of mobility .
iOS 6
What was new : Apple launched its own mapping service , Apple Maps , along with Passbook , for storing plane ticket , coupons , and other digital ephemera . Siri also contract some much needed update , and Apple no longer practice bundling the YouTube app on the iPhone
Why it was of import : With the exit of iOS 6 one thing was well-defined : Apple and Google were no tenacious friends . In 2012 , Google Maps was well - regard as the adept online mapping service of process . Steve Jobs even invited Google exec Eric Schmidt to share the stage when Apple launch the original iPhone . With iOS 6 , Apple was going to gainsay Google ’s chromosome mapping supremacy .
alas , Apple launch a less - than - stellar competitor and sacrificed customer service in pursuit of expand its software reach . Tim Cookeven acknowledgedthat the app did n’t survive up to the caller ’s own touchstone .
But Apple ’s work on Siri turn their interpreter assistant into a much more useful companion . You could see Apple beginning to deal with the underlying limitation of a shut - source ecosystem , by create its own notification widgets for Facebook and Twitter . Android antecedently launched widgets as part of its 2011 software release , Ice Cream Sandwich , a feature brought over from its tablet release , Honeycomb , eight months to begin with . It would still take some time for Apple to afford up its genus Apis .
iOS 7
What was new : The operating organisation was whole modernise with a more simple design , flatter icons , and Helvetica font . Apps were dedicate edge - to - border design and the operating system include a new parallax - scrolling plate screenland . Apple also introduced the frosted field glass Control Center , for agile admittance to options like torch , Bluetooth , and another new feature , AirDrop . iOS 7 also tote up the fresh Photos app , iTunes Radio , and card - based multitasking . iPhone also premise Touch ID , though that was more of a computer hardware feature of the iPhone 5s .
Why it was important : Tim Cook described Io 7 at WWDC 2013 as “ the biggest change to iOS since the innovation of the iPhone . ” It was the first significant design change from any roving operating system of rules that had add up before it . Althoughit had its clean part of unfavorable judgment , iOS 7 became the new and innovative face of iPhone . Our eyes have mostly benefited from Apple ’s efforts .
iOS 8
What was new : With an all - new looking , Apple returned its centering to iOS usability , specifically impart developer more restraint throughout Io . Apple allow third - party keyboard , widgets , and the ability to partake in files from dissimilar apps and services . Apple establish Testflight , a way for developer to run Beta on iOS , as well as a Health app and number of “ kits , ” such as Research Kit , Health Kit , and Home Kit . Apple also began tinkering with the idea of tearing down the platform wall between iOS and OS X with Continuity .
[ Notably , Apple also found Apple Pay on iOS 8.1 with the release of the iPhone 6 ( equip with an NFC chip ) and Apple Music with iOS 8.4 . ]
Why was it of import : For years , hoi polloi could use third - political party widgets and keyboards on Android . With iOS 8 , Apple in conclusion gave developer prick to dig deeper into its operating system . In many ways , Apple was ceding some ideological land to Google by loosen its tight grip around iOS .
Though not exactly the first of its kind , Apple Pay was arguably the most complete mobile requital platform at the prison term . Apple also adopt the earthly concern of cyclosis with Apple Music , announce shortly after iOS 8 was unloose . add options like customizable keyboards made it sluttish for major power users to personalize their iPhones without feature to jailbreak them . The iPhone still did n’t have the same customizability choice as Android , but it was closing the opening .
iOS 9
What was new : iOS 9 focused obsessively on three thing , making Siri smarter , Apple Music , and 3D Touch ( above ) . Siri ’s brain get an upgradewith what Apple called Proactive , which brought back the full instrument panel Spotlight feature now with intelligence activity comparable to Google Now . Apps like Notes , Transit , and News got a major overhaul , iPads received multi - window support , and software download sizes were mercifully much small than previous releases .
Why it was of import : iOS 9 was Apple in catch - up style . It was the first class that almost everything Apple denote had a tinge of “ been there , done that . ” Microsoft and Samsung had been doing multi - window bread and butter for year , Spotify had been out in the US for almost four years , and Proactive was just a slenderly less powerful version of Google Now . 3D Touch was a novel feature for smartphones ( and some Android phones have toyed with tally it but have so far jib ) . It created context menu for apps on the iPhone home filmdom and other convenient crosscut in Mail and keyboard apps . The feature has yet to catch on , but current rumors sayApple might introduce the 2d generationof the applied science in its 2017 iPhone .
Although more imitation than introduction , every improver was necessary steps toward a more open iOS . It was clean that Apple ask to take a breathing spell and get catch up with the remainder of the smartphone world .
iOS 10
What was new : iOS 10 knight “ the female parent of all updates ” my Tim Cook . The new software better the lockscreen and freshen the look of the News and Music apps . But the biggest feature was start the software package development outfit to developer for the first prison term with Siri , Maps , and iMessages .
Why it was important : While Siri was one of the very first roving supporter , it since ceded that top touch by remain closed off from developers . Now with new third - company integrating , the potential for Siri maturate exponentially . The same can be enunciate for iMessages , which is now much more competitory with apps like Snapchat and Facebook Messenger . It ’s definitely a new pageboy for iOS , where Apple is more unresolved that its ever been before .
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