Today is the day that Apple officially releases the next-generation iPhone OS called iSO 4. Here’s what you need to know about this OS, how to make the best of the upgrade, and a few gotchas to be on the lookout for.
Note: The Gold Master of iOS 4 released to developers and the final release are the same build - 8A293.
So, what’s new?
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in iOS 4:
- Multitasking – Well, OK, more of a suspended state where some features of the app continue to work in the background.
- Fast app switching – Goes hand-in-hand with multitasking.
- Folders – Organize your app icons into folders – up to 12 apps per folder.
- Stronger passcodes – Yep, a massive improvement over that 4-digit pincode you get to set.
- Improved built-in apps – Lots of little improvements, some you’ll notice, some you won’t.
- Email improvements – Most significant, unified inbox.
- Game center – Kinda like Xbox Live for the iPhone …
- iBooks – Read books on your iPhone.
- Loads of other minor UI enhancements …
More on iOS 4 from Apple.
Can you upgrade your hardware? Find out here.
The cost to you: $0
Some gotchas I’ve noticed:
- Some photos can disappear after upgrade (although they seem to come back when you take a photo).
- Beware of the notes app’s ability to create notes and upload the to any IMAP email servers you might have configured - it can be a bit of a shock seeing your private notes up on the email server!
- Battery life changes - while I’m seeing some 15% improvement in battery life on my 3GS, some people are seeing their battery life cut.
- Don’t expect multitasking to work for everything as soon as you install iOS 4 - developers have to recompile apps and users have to update.
- Remember that closing apps now doesn’t really close them. A double-tap of the Home button brings up the App bar. To fully close an app, bring up the App bar and press on and hold down on any icon and this makes then wiggle and allows you to fully close an app.
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