When 2010 began , the software program that scarper the iPhone and iPod touch modality was still called “ iPhone OS ” ; by the remainder of the twelvemonth , it had been rechristened iOS . You do n’t have to face any further than that to see this was the yr that Apple ’s mobile operating system found itself on adequate ground with its august Mac OS X twin . Combined with a category - tear new product , a pilfered iPhone prototype , and antenna woes , the past yr of iOS equipment is something that we’llreallynever forget .
iPad, therefore I am
By the end of 2009 , the frenzy over an Apple tablet had hit a tier usually reserve for teen pop sensations and political arguments . Apple did n’t hold back long to turn in , either : at a especial result on January 27 , Steve Jobs took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco and enclose the iPad .
The tablet ’s most prominent feature was its large footprint , with a 9.7 - inch blind in place of the 3.5 - in presentation of the iPhone and iPod touch . Also impressive were its larger battery , which Jobs said could last for an impressive 26 day in standby mood , and its 1GHz A4 processor , designed and built by Apple itself . Though the 3G - enabled iPad necessitated staying tether to AT&T , the deal was more or less sweetened by a no - declaration plan that allow users give on a monthly footing when they take it .
While the iPad would come with many — though not all — of the same apps as the iPhone ( albeit plan for the orotund screen ) , Apple also unveil a handful of apps that took specific advantage of the tablet : iBooks , an atomic number 99 - reader with an accompanying vitamin E - book shop , and tablet - optimized versions of the company ’s entire iWork suite .
Because the gadget was n’t due to ship for more than two calendar month after its announcement , the speculation over whether or not Apple would create a tablet switch to whether or not it would be any good once it get in . Many critics condemn it as but a “ magnanimous iPhone , ” but others — including yours truly — wonder if this was n’t a more hearty shift in the steering of computer science .
Then consumers delivered their verdict : The iPadsold 300,000 unit in the first day of its availability , and stumble the one million sakes mark within 28 days . In the fourth quarter of 2010 , Apple deal 4.19 million of the brand new tablets — compared to 3.89 million Macs . In few than three quarters of availableness , the caller get by to move 7.5 million of the new devices .
The big 4.0
As has become its fashion , Appleunveiled the latest edition of its mobile operating systemin the spring . This year , that update came with the most hoped-for feature since copy - and - library paste : multitasking support . After years of suggesting that push notifications could take the situation of run several apps at once , Apple revealed its own multitasking answer : a belittled Seth of background - enabled features that would allow most of the functionality that consumer wanted , without overtaxing the equipment and gobble up battery life .
Really , the only unsatisfying news to come out of the outcome was the cargo ships engagement : iPhone oculus sinister 4.0 would be released in the summer for the iPhone and iPod touch , but it would n’t make its way to the iPad ( which had just begun shipping when the software package update was announced ) until the fall .
Three days of the iPhone prototype
It was the blog post heard round the world : In mid - April , gadget site Gizmodo write a drawn-out examination of what it claimed was a image next - propagation iPhone — and the Internet exploded .
The whole story , when it eventually was tack together in all its glory , sounds more like a potboiler than reality . Apple engineer Gray Powell was testing a image version of the iPhone 4 in the field ; the equipment , which was concealed in a case that made it look like an iPhone 3GS , fell out of his traveling bag while he was at a Silicon Valley bar . It was then found by 21 - year - old Brian Hogan ; when Hogan image out what he had stumbled upon , he begin shit the phone around to various technical school publication .
Not long after the unit was returned , authority raided the plate of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen , seizing his dimension as part of the investigation . This move set in motion an all - out firestorm over the rights of diary keeper and the genuineness of the hunting warrant .
That warrantee for Chen ’s home — which waslater publish in full — was eventually withdraw after Chen jibe to cooperate with authority . As of September , the authorities had reportedly conclude their investigation , but charges have yet to be filed .
iPhone 4, for real
Thanks to the Gizmodo leak , Steve Jobs’sintroduction of the iPhone 4during Apple ’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June was robbed of much its thunder . The plan of the iPhone 4 was identical to that of the steal prototype , although the announcement cast off luminosity on the gimmick ’s actual features , such as the high-pitched - resolution Retina display , LED split second , front - facing camera and , of course , the soon - to - be - infamous integrated antenna .
Slimmer than its predecessors , the iPhone 4 also bundle more lick , thanks to 512 MB of random-access memory and a version of the same Apple - engineered A4 chip that the company had used in the iPad . Also include under the hood were 802.11n Wi - Fi , a three - bloc gyroscope , and a more powerful 5 - megapixel camera that was also capable of capture HD video .
But the characteristic that Jobs saved for his trademark “ one more thing ” consequence was a unlined video chat system , dubbedFaceTime . Though FaceTime was first available only between possessor of iPhone 4 , it later expatiate to the Mac and the revised iPod mite . And though it still only make for over Wi - Fi , Jobs say that Apple hoped to bring it to 3 G after interview with carriers . In addition , Apple lay FaceTime as an open standard uncommitted to other seller ; no third political party have yet to adopt it , though it ’s unclear whether or not Apple has in reality followed through on its hope .
It was during the WWDC demonstration that Jobs also announce that the iPhone OS would henceforward be sleep together as iOS , reflect its status as a multi - gadget operating scheme .
Here a -gate, there a -gate, everywhere a -gate -gate
As with any first - genesis machine , the iPhone 4 had its honest share of kinks , including news report ofyellowing displaysandbusted propinquity sensors , but these quick paled next to what came to be known as “ Antennagate . ”
former iPhone 4 possessor rapidly noted that when the phone was check with a hired hand bridge the two segment of the external feeler on the bottom leave quoin of the phone — dubbed the “ death grip”—the phone ’s signal could drop noticeably .
But Apple ’s initial reception was scattershot . Early on , Steve Jobs reputedly told one client via east - ring armor “ Just avoid holding it that way . ” Then the fellowship later issued an prescribed command saying that all phones suffer from this problem in depart degrees , but reiterate Jobs ’s initial advice — don’t hold it that style — along with an additional suggestion to use a suit . after , Apple released a software update that it claimed would serve fix the problem by recalibrating the signaling strong point taproom , which useda faulty algorithm .
None of that did much to quell the rising tide of those complaining about the problem . So , in July , Apple heldan unprecedented press conferencein which Jobs spent 15 minute talking about the antenna trouble . He show similar job with other popular phones ( which made their manufacturersnone too happy ) and then announced thatall iPhone 4 proprietor would be eligible to receive a free bumper casefrom Apple . Members of the insistence also got a term of enlistment of the company’sextensive ace enigma labsfor testing aerial reception .
While the line of reasoning lingered on , they did n’t seem to bother consumer : the companysold a book 14.1 million iPhonesin the first full after part of the iPhone 4 ’s availability .
For a logic gate of a different color , look no further than Apple ’s continual inability to send a whitened iPhone 4 . assure at the machine ’s unveiling in June — where it was glimpsed and even handle byMacworldeditors — the lily-white version of Apple ’s latest phone has suffered fromdelayafterdelayafterdelay , and is presently due to come in spring 2011 — just in clock time to be superseded by a unexampled model of iPhone .
Rules of the road
After years of wrestling with undecipherable App Store rules and lose rejection after rejection , iOS developers woke up on September 9 to find that Apple had tear down the rampart and published its official app - inspection guidelines , announce a review board for appeal rejection , and reverse a normal or two in the process .
Among the latter , Apple lifted a forbidding on third - party software used to create iOS apps — a stricture that had been aimed in the first place at Adobe ’s Flash CS5 — as well as relax a rule on thecollection of information for third - party advert networks .
While the changes have not appeased all developers , they did have a mensurable burden : in September , previously banned third - company clients for Google Voice beganappearing on the computer storage , conform to by the once - controversial prescribed Google Voice customer . A similarly litigious Google Latitude node has sincemade a debutas well .
Thing 4.1 and Thing 4.2
Making honest on his hope to bring iOS 4 to the iPad in the fall , Steve Jobs announced in September that Apple would releasetwo significant software updatesin the following months : iOS 4.1 and 4.2 .
Focusing mainly on the iPhone , iOS 4.1added HDR picture , telly show rentals , and Apple ’s new Game Center societal networking servicing . The 4.2 update would bring iOS 4 feature to the iPad , though it also include long - awaited wireless impression capableness — AirPrint — and a new arrangement called AirPlay that would allow iOS devices to stream sensitive to the novel Apple TV ( which itself run a flavor of iOS ) .
While both update combined to make iOS twist more open than ever , there are still a few blank space where Apple’scurrent OS fall short — or , for the more optimistic among us , opportunities for next elaboration in 2011 and beyond .
Future imperfect
Speaking of 2011 , what will next year bring for iOS ? Some thing seem a curl , given Apple ’s past tendencies : new adaptation of the iPhone , iPad , and iPod touch . rumour of a Verizon iPhone have only picked up steam in the past few months , though whether it will focus on current version of cellular technology ( CDMA ) or the nascent next - multiplication touchstone ( LTE ) is incertain . The iPad seems sure to gain FaceTime capabilities , and perhaps a few other tricks as well . Io 5 will likely be showed off in the springiness for shipping in the summertime .
And those are just the Cartesian product that we ’ve already encounter — there ’s no order what else Apple has up its sleeve . But if the humankind of iOS is half as eventful in 2011 as it was in 2010 , we ’re in for quite a ride .
