SISAREA

We knew it had to happen eventually — iPhone OS has been renamed to iOS with the bump to version 4. Some 1500 new features are coming along with the name change, including biggies like multitasking, a unified inbox, app folders, and data detectors. Although Apple is encouraging devs to tweak their apps for the iPhone 4’s new Retina Display, iOS4 will also automatically redraw text and controls for existing apps to make them play nice with the new higher pixel density. Bing search integration has also been added to iOS 4 in addition to Google and Yahoo — Google is still the default, though. The golden master is available to devs today, and Steve says the 100 millionth iOS device — that’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad — will be sold sometime this month. That’s a lot of devices! We found out about most of the features of iOS 4 at the SDK event, so check here for the full rundown.

Apple says iOS 4 will arrive for the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and the iPod touch on June 21 — and it’ll be free to iPod touch owners for the first time, which is nice. Not all features will be supported across all devices: the first-gen touch is left out entirely, and the 3G won’t do multitasking, as we heard at the SDK event. We’ll see if there are any other limitations and let you know.

Amusingly, an iOS trademark is currently owned by Cisco — just like the original iPhone trademark — so we’ll see if Apple’s lawyers actually called ahead this time around or if they’ll have to fake-tussle and make nice again.

Check out more from WWDC 2010 in our liveblog!

iPhone OS 4 renamed iOS 4, launching June 21 with 1500 new features originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t get a straight answer on the exact jailbroken status of iPhone OS 4, but MuscleNerd of the iPhone Dev Team (and recent iPad hacking fame) is sure hinting heavily. He’s got Veency (a VNC server) and Cydia running on iPhone OS 4 on video, something he claims “you’ll only find on JB 4.0.” Of course, he also has the dev tools at his disposal and all the bugs and loopholes of an early beta, so we can’t be exactly sure what’s going on. There’s also not much point to releasing an OS 4 beta jailbreak to the public, and MuscleNerd himself recommends not bothering with the betas, as they’re “very buggy.” Still, it’s fun to see these tools alive and well on the newfangled multitasking OS. Check out the video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iPhone Dev Team’s MuscleNerd shows off VNC on iPhone OS 4 beta, hints at jailbreak

iPhone Dev Team’s MuscleNerd shows off VNC on iPhone OS 4 beta, hints at jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Of the 1,500 or so new developer APIs and over 100 new user features mentioned by Steve and Co. yesterday, only a handful were covered in any detail. As usual, Apple was careful not to reveal anything about the next generation iPhone hardware expected to launch this summer. Fortunately we can spelunk the iPhone OS 4 SDK developer preview for hints of what’s to come. TUAW found a new “iChatAgent” process running on OS 4 devices — purpose, unknown — but surely an indicator that Apple’s finally set to launch a mobile iChat app. The fact that Apple hasn’t already is one of those great iPhone / iPad / iPod touch mysteries. We’ve also peeled back the SDK to find evidence supporting those rumors of a front-facing camera (AVCaptureDevicePositionFront), flash (AVCaptureFlashModeOn/Off/auto), and torch/flashlight (AVCaptureTorchModeOn/Off/Auto) all declared in the AVCaptureDevice.h. Who cares, right? Front-facing video cameras have been implemented on a variety of mobile devices for years. Trouble is, how many people actually use them to video conference? And if Apple’s late contribution to copy and paste can be used as a guide for setting expectations (and it can), then we expect Apple’s iChat implementation to be done with the same grace and ease of use — something that should have its carrier partners a bit worried if it’s allowed to function over 3G data.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

iChat video with front facing camera evidence mounts in iPhone OS 4 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone OS 4.0 spotlight lets you directly search web, Wikipedia originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re on the ground outside of Apple’s iPhone OS 4 event, awaiting the doorbuster stampede we hope to be a part of soon. Keep it tuned here, and check back at the times below for the official start!

07:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris
09:00PM – Moscow

Continue reading Live from Apple’s iPhone OS 4 event!

Live from Apple’s iPhone OS 4 event! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not quite at the height of Apple frenzy, but looking at the bell curve, we’re only a standard deviation or two from its zenith (we imagine the fever pitch will be in tandem with Saturday’s iPad launch, if history and human nature tells us anything). Of course, that doesn’t stop the rumor mill from amping up production, and so on with the show! First on the docket, remember last month’s discovery of multitasking comments in the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta? Well, Apple Insider’s apparently got it on word from its network of sources that OS 4.0 will in fact include multitasking, with app switching purportedly done by double-tapping the home button and selecting the appropriate active app icon. If you ask us, that sounds similar in function to command / tab switching, but the people claiming to be in the know liken it more to Expose for OS X.

Taking a step back to focus on the actual hardware for a moment, iPad in Canada is hearing that local Apple store employees have been told April 24th is a “black out period,” meaning no one is allowed to take that day off. That usually coincides with major product launch, and we did hear the international iPad debut would be late April, but Apple’s yet to make its non-US plans concrete. It is the last Saturday of the month, however, and perhaps it’ll coincide with the other countries as well. As always, none of this is confirmed and shouldn’t be taken as gospel in any way, shape, or form. We can’t stop you from getting your hopes up, but don’t blame us if those dreams get shattered by a sucker punch of reality.

Apple rumor twofer: Expose-like multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0, international iPad launch on April 24th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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