iOS – Sitting on top of the World

Apple has taken on another meaning in the 21^st century– no longer just a red, green , or yellow fruit, but rather an ever-expanding world of technology that is growing at an exponential rate. In a few short years, Apple has managed to develop numerous iPod players, 4 generations of mobile devices, and two generations of iPads. Apple products are nothing less than “trendsetters”, often forcing the competition to innovate or crumble.

Formerly known as iPhone OS prior to 2010, iOS is Apple’s Mobile Operating System. Originally intended for the iPhone, iOS has since made its way to other hardware devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. As of this year, Apple’s App Store contains more than 500,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 15 billion times. As new reports show, the iPhone is still on top when it comes to the number of apps available for the platform with the Android not too far behind.

Apple never fails to push the limits in its iOS updates. This fall, we can look forward to iCloud. “What is the iCloud?”, some of you may ask? iCloud is the newest way for your iPhone or Mac to store your music, pictures, applications, calendars, and documents virtually in the cloud. The iCloud will also wirelessly push content to all your devices effortlessly. “It’s the easiest way to manage your content — because now you don’t have to” says Apple. In addition, when you sign up for iCloud, you get 5GB of free storage space.

This new service is the natural progression of MobileME which Apple acquired many years ago and promised to revamp. Despite a couple tries at reinventing the service, they had been met with tepid reviews. Now, the iCloud is shaping up to be a formidable platform integrated and made possible by iOS 5. The latest iOS operating system includes more than 200 features for your iPad, iPhone, or iTouch. A fun fact about the iOS platform is when you update your devices to iOS 5, your Apple apps will all sync with iCloud. This means no more downloading the same app or different music to each device. Your life has just become a bit more luxurious and I must admit, more carefree — or as my parents like to call it; lazy. So, for all you developers out there, let’s see how you will continue to push the bar on technology and push us [consumers] to actually make the purchase.

Filed under: Product Engineering | Topics: iOS, iPhone, iphone developer, mobile