Apple announced iPhone OS 1 at the iPhone keynote on January 9, 2007, and it was released
to the public about five and a half months later on June 29. iPhone OS 1 didn’t actually
have an official name upon release; Apple simply said the iPhone runs a version of OS
X, which was Apple’s desktop operating system.
iPhone OS 1 introduced all kinds of features including iPod: Create playlists, sort your
music by albums, artists, and genres, listen to songs, audiobooks, and podcasts, and watch
videos
Phone: Make call, add favorites, and have group chats. It also featured Texting, Photos,
Mail, Safari, Maps, Stocks, and Weather.
The release of iPhone OS 1.1 added the iTunes Store to the home screen and brought support
for the 1st generation iPod touch.
Version 1.1.3, common referred to as the “January ’08 Update” introduced many features to
the iPod Touch that iPhone users already enjoyed. This included Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather
and Notes. But these extra features came at a cost since iPod Touch users had to pay $19.95
for the upgrade.
Apple said their reason for the $19.95 fee was due to accounting rules. Apparently it
was an accounting requirement that if you upgrade a device that’s not on a subscription,
you have to charge.”
The reason why Apple charged $19.95 for the upgrade instead of a lower price isn’t clear
since they declined to comment on the issue.
In 2010, Apple officially ended support of iPhone OS 1.
Apple announced iPhone OS 2 at the iPhone software roadmap keynote in March 2008. it
was released to the public about four months later on July 11 along with the iPhone 3G.
Although iPhone OS 2 was compatible with all iPhone and iPod Touch devices at that time,
it was again iPod Touch users who had to pay $9.95 for the upgrade. Not as bad as the previous
$19.95 upgrade fee, but it still sucked.
iPhone OS 2 added a slew of language support features, enhancements to mail, contacts,
and calendars, enterprise improvements, tweaks to the iPod app, and introduced the infamous
App Store, which Steve Jobs was initially against partly because he felt his team didn’t
have the resources to figure out all the complexities that would be involved in policing
third-party app developers. He instead favored the web app approach, until he realized web
apps weren’t taking off like he expected. At that point he allowed an iPhone software
development kit to be created which laid the foundation for the App Store that we know
and love today.
The release of iPhone OS 2.1.1 brought support for the 2nd generation iPod touch. And support
of iPhone OS 2 ended in 2011.
Apple announced iPhone OS 3 in March 2009, and it was released to the public about three
months later on June 17 alongside the iPhone 3GS. Apple did not drop support for any devices
with this release but not all features were available on the original iPhone or iPod touch.
iPhone OS 3 introduced hundreds of new features including cut, copy, and paste, spotlight
search, in-app purchases, push notifications for 3rd part apps, 11 home screen pages instead
of 9, voice control, numeric battery percentage view, and voice memos.
The first iPad was introduced along iPhone OS 3.2 and support of iPhone OS 3 ended in
2012.
Apple announced iOS 4 in March 2010 and it was released to the public on June 21 alongside
the iPhone 4. With this release, Apple dropped support for the original iPhone and iPod touch
for the first time ever. Also, iOS 4 had limited support for the iPhone 3G and 2nd gen iPod
Touch, they lacked multitasking capabilities and the ability to set a custom home screen
wallpaper. It is also the first major iOS release that iPod Touch users did not have
to pay for.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 4 were multitasking, FaceTime, iBooks, App folders,
custom home screen wallpaper, and support for Apple bluetooth keyboards.
The release of iOS 4.2.1 brought compatibility to the original iPad and is the final supported
release on the iPhone 3G and 2nd gen iPod touch due to major performance issues.
The release of iOS 4.3 brought iPad 2 compatibility. Support of iOS 4 ended in 2013.
Apple announced iOS 5 on June 6, 2011 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference event,
and it was released to the public on October 12, 2011 alongside the IPhone 4S. Apple did
not drop support for any devices with this release, as this had already been done with
the release of iOS 4.3 seven months earlier. So iOS 5 was released for the iPhone 3GS and
up, 3rd gen iPod Touch onwards, and all iPad models.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 5 were notification center, newsstand, reminders,
twitter integration, built in photo editing in the photos app, tabbed safari browsing,
safari reader, iCloud, Game Center, PC-free activation, and Siri. Which was technically
in beta during the entire lifetime of iOS 5.
The release of iOS 5.1 brought support for the 3rd gen iPad and iOS 5.1.1 was the final
release that supported the original iPad and 3rd gen iPod Touch. Support of iOS 5 ended
in 2014.
Apple announced iOS 6 on June 11, 2012 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference
event, and it was released to the public on September 19, 2012 alongside the iPhone 5,
5th gen iPod Touch, and 4th gen iPad. With this release, Apple dropped support for the
3rd gen iPod Touch, and the original iPad due to hardware limitations. And iOS 6 had
limited support on the iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, and 4th gen iPod Touch.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 6 were Facebook integration, Passbook, shared photo
streams, do not disturb mode, Apple Maps, FaceTime calls over cellular networks, new
App Store UI, new iTunes UI, new weather UI, removal of the stock YouTube app, panorama
mode the camera app, and lost mode.
iOS 6.1.6 is the final release supported for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation).
Support of iOS 6 ended in 2015.
Apple announced iOS 7 on June 10, 2013 at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference,
and it was released to the public on September 18, 2013 alongside the iPhone 5C and iPhone
5S. With this release, Apple dropped support for the iPhone 3GS (due to hardware limitations)
and the 4th gen iPod Touch (due to performance issues). All other devices were supported.
However, iOS 7 had limited support on the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 since they did not
support Siri.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 7 were a completely redesigned user interface where
Apple moved away from skeuomorphism toward a cleaner, “flatter” design. Control center,
AirDrop, dynamic wallpapers, live images, FaceTime Audio, the option for a male Siri
voice, Find My iPhone, and Vimeo & Flickr integration.
The release of iOS 7.0.3 brought support for the iPad Air and iPad mini 2. iOS 7.1.2 is
the final release on the iPhone 4. Support of iOS 7 ended in 2016.
Apple announced iOS 8 on June 2, 2014, at their Worldwide Developers Conference, and
it was released to the public on September 17 alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
With this release, Apple dropped support for only one device, the iPhone 4 but iOS 8 had
limited support on the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, and the 5th gen iPod Touch. Apple received
widespread complaints from owners of these devices due to extremely poor device performance.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 8 were iCloud Photo Library, iCloud Drive, App bundles,
voice message support in the Messages app, a do not disturb option in group texts, FaceTime
Audio conference calls, Flyover city tours in Maps, Shazam integration with Siri, third
party keyboards, a Health app, and Continuity.
The release of iOS 8.1 brought support for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, and the release
of iOS 8.4 brought support for the 6th gen iPod touch. iOS 8.3 was also the first version
of iOS to have public beta testing be available. The final version of iOS 8 is iOS 8.4.1 and
support for iOS 8 ended in 2017.
Apple announced iOS 9 on June 8, 2015, and it was released to the public on September
16, 2015 alongside the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and iPad mini 4. With this release, Apple
did not drop support for any iOS devices. This release made the iPad 2 the first iOS
device to support six major releases of iOS, iOS 4 to 9. However, iOS 9 has limited support
on the iPad 2, 3rd gen iPad, 1st gen iPad Mini, and 5th gen iPod Touch, and iPhone 4S.
Despite Apple's promise of better performance on these devices, there were still widespread
complaints that the issue had not been fixed.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 9 were CarPlay, Find my friends, public transit support
in Maps, screenshots and selfies albums in the Photos app, the Wallet apps (which replaced
Passbook,) Low Power Mode, iPad experience improvements, and expanded language support.
iOS 9.3.5 is the final release on the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad (3rd generation), iPod Touch
(5th generation) and iPad Mini (1st generation)
Apple announced iOS 10 on June 13, 2016 and it was released three months later on September
13 alongside the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. With this release, Apple dropped support for devices
using an A5 or A5X processor, which was the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, 3rd gen iPad, original
iPad Mini and 5th gen iPod Touch. Also, iOS 10 had limited support on the iPhone 5, iPhone
5C, and 4th gen iPad, since those devices have 32-bit processors.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 10 were hiding of most stock apps, new sounds
for keyboard clicks and device locking, expressive messaging, iMessage apps, Maps extensions,
face and object recognition in Photos, Memories, the Home app, Apple News, raise to wake, voicemail
transcription, and Apple Pay in Safari.
The release of iOS 10.2.1 brought support for the 5th gen iPad, and iOS 10.3.2 brought
support for the 2nd gen iPad Pros. iOS 10.3.3 is the final supported release for the iPhone
5, iPhone 5C, and 4th gen iPad and the last iOS version to run on 32-bit processors.
Apple announced iOS 11 on June 5, 2017, and it was released for download on September
19 alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. This is the first version of iOS to be exclusively
available to 64-bit devices that only ran 64-bit apps. Also, iOS 11 has limited support
on devices with an A7 processor.
Some of the features introduced in iOS 11 are a redesigned App store, a more natural
voice for Siri, Siri language translation, indoor maps for major airports and shopping
centers, do not disturb while driving, new iPad features, markup, files, and augmented
reality.
As of this video, iOS 11 is the most recent version but rumors of iOS 12 are everywhere
in the Apple community. Let me know in the comments what new feature you’d like to
see in iOS 12. Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next time.