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Apple today announced iOS 5, the much-anticipated major update to Apple's operating system for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad today at the WWDC keynote event. The new major features include a completely revamped notifications system, over-the-air software updates and activation for new devices, and iTunes library syncing over Wi-Fi.
"iOS 5 has some great new features, such as Notification Center, iMessage and Newsstand and we can't wait to see what our developers do with its 1,500 new APIs," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Perhaps iOS 5's paramount feature is that it's built to seamlessly work with iCloud in the Post PC revolution that Apple is leading."
Of the many new features discussed:

• Notifications will see a major overhaul as rumored most recently by TechCrunch. The new Notification Center in iOS 5 will aggregate all notifications, accessed by swiping down from the status bar at the top of the screen. New notifications will appear at the top of the screen and will be less obtrusive overall. Notifications will also be displayed on the lock screen along with weather and stock alerts. Tapping on a notification will automatically open the related app.

• iOS 5 will be "PC free" allowing new device activation and iOS updates over the air. Also, iTunes library syncing will be possible wirelessly via Wi-Fi. While an iOS device is being charged, it will automatically find the associated iTunes library and sync automatically.

• AirPlay Mirroring will also be possible to wirelessly mirror an iPad's display to a television connected to an AppleTV.

• Also as rumored, Twitter will be integrated into iOS and several apps including Camera, Photos, Maps, and Safari. Contacts can also be updated automatically with Twitter handles.

• As reported by This is my next... earlier today, Apple introduced a new unified messaging service between iOS users called iMessage. iMessage will allow iOS users to send text and multimedia messages over Wi-Fi and 3G with read and delivery receipts and real-time typing indication. Messages will be pushed to all iOS devices a user owns.

• Game Center will be enhanced with profile avatars, friend recommendations, and the ability to purchase new games within Game Center.

• Mobile Safari will also get several new features including tabbed browsing and a Safari Reader feature where users can save articles for later reading in the Reading List, which will be synced across multiple iOS devices for easy access.

• A new Reminders app will offer task tracking in iOS 5 with geolocation capabilities to trigger reminders based on user location.

• Camera will get a shortcut from the lock screen for quicker access. New features include optional grid lines for better framing and on-device editing like cropping and rotating plus red-eye reduction. The volume up button can also be set to trigger the shutter.

• Mail will also see some signification changes including rich text formatting, message flagging, draggable addresses.

• Other new system-wide features include a dictionary that can be accessed by any app and keyboard enhancements to modify the on-screen keyboard.

• A new app called News Stand is also coming to the App Store with iOS 5. It will be a counterpart to iBooks featuring newspapers and magazines and will download new issues automatically in the background.

iOS 5 will be available in the fall and will support the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 3rd- and 4th-generation iPod touch, and iPad and iPad 2. Developers will be able to access a seed today.

Apple has posted a video describing iOS 5 here.

Article Link: Apple Previews iOS 5 with Notification Center, OTA Updates, Wi-Fi iTunes Syncing and More
 
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And I thought iOS 4 was big deal for its time!

I seriously cant think of anything else I could have wanted from iOS 5 and iCloud at this point!
 
Wireless syncing and the notifications overhaul were long overdue. I think those are the features I'm looking forward to the most.
 
Wireless syncing and the notifications overhaul were long overdue. I think those are the features I'm looking forward to the most.

100% agree with that!

It looks really neat, looking forward to updating!
 
Well I was quite impressed with iOS5! Even to the point that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't available today (even though there have been no rumours hinting at a nearby launch).
 
With all the excitement to iOS 5, which is pretty awesome. Where are we with an iPhone 5?
 
But Fall? I guess that's to coincide with the release of whatever the next iPhone will be (5 or 4S).
 
Wireless syncing and the notifications overhaul were long overdue. I think those are the features I'm looking forward to the most.

This was the big thing for me too. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Now lets see how they perform. I am hoping it doesn't kill the 3GS like 4.1 did in terms of performance.
 
These are some great features but I was really hoping for better voice integration and better maps.
 
i find all there solutions to be very great. im waiting for the member center to change from the "well be back soon". also i only have an paid ios dev account , will i get lion too/ just wondering lol

and where are the better maps and custom sms tones!
maby there there but werent talked about?
 
PC (and Mac) free is really nice and will allow more people to use it ...

from iCloud I'm a bit disappointed, 30 days only for sync is not what I wished ... but hey, somewhere else to look for ...
 
For me, it's not that big of a deal if you are invested in the Apple eco-system, these things were bound to come out sooner or later. I think the biggest announcement was the introduction of iMessage because this potentially changes the smartphone space, specifically how damaging this could be to RIM. If you didn't think RIM could recover previous to the announcement, you know have reason to believe that they won't. With Windows Phone not doing too well and RIM at a standstill, it really has become a race between Google and Apple.
 
unless you're 100% apple fanboy wwdc was a big yawn this year

some cool little improvements but nothing spectacular
 
Wow. That was fun. I can not wait for iOS 5. I loved notifications and iMessaging.

Fall seems so far. Le sigh.
 
What about magazines and news papers on Zinio and PressReader?

How does the new newsstand app affect those of us who get magazines and newspapers through existing newsstand apps such as Zinio and PressReader. Will any of these subscriptions move over to the new app? Will the new app put these other apps out of business?
 
No improvements to the mundane Youtube app on iphone/ipad, and none on the email app, not good.
 
Nothing is out today because it is WWDC. As in Developers. They need time to get up to speed. And Apple needed to preview and still bug out stuff. I like the wireless syncing and some of the other features. Was hoping for more of a UI change. But the notifications is nice.

+1 on the volume button camera shutter.
 
Dammit!!!!!!! Some of the apps you can try in beta!!!! BUT!!!! not on the verizon iphone!!!!!! WTF Steve/Apple!!!!! Get 4.3 on verizon already!!!
 
Quite like the little widgets when you pull the notification bar down. Wonder if they can be changed?

I wondered that too and also if notifications will have a clear all option like android does? I sure hope so.
 
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