Evolution of iOS

As you all know iOS is the most popular operating system for the mobile in the world. It was designed by the Apple Inc., a California based IT giant, in 2007 and was initially launched for iPhone and iPod but later has been extended to support iPad and Apple Smart TV.

iOS has undergone tremendous changes since its initiation. Way back in 2007, it all started with iPhone OS 1.0. Later it has seen different versions and multiple upgrades. iPhone OS 1.0(later iPhone OS was changed to iOS) was an innovative software but it was shipped with only a handful of apps-mail, photos, clock, text, safari. It didn’t include app store or iTunes store.

The successor of iPhone OS 1.0 was iPhone OS 2.0. Unlike its predecessor, this version was launched with an incredibly designed App Store for iOS devices. The store included thousand of apps belonging to different categories. The highlight of this version was that it came up with various features like ability to capture screenshots, open MS Office doc files, playlist creation etc.

Next came iOS 3.0. Though it didn’t include any mind-boggling features, it had added some to its long growing list of features. It came up with cut, copy and past feature, GPS accuracy was improved, SMS app was renamed as Messages etc.

iOS 3.2 was an incremental update to its predecessor. This version allowed the users to personalize their devices.

Then came iOS 4.0 which took the Apple devices to next level. This version included video chatting, multitasking feature, digital zooming in camera etc.

Until 2009-10, it was Apple all the way. During this period, Android OS(developed by Google) started gaining popularity. To give stiff challenge to its competitors, Apple came out with all guns blazing. It rolled out iOS 5.0 in 2011 which included over 200 new features. This update was the biggest iOS update Apple has ever released. Some of the features in iOS 5.0- iMessage (similar to BlackBerry Messenger), Read-Later feature to Safari, Wireless-Syncing etc…

Have a look at the infographic for evolution of iOS