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iOS

4,818 'iOS' stories August 2010 - July 2025
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The world’s most advanced mobile operating system

iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system that runs on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Historically, Apple releases a new iOS version once a year, the current version is iOS 13.

In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone and iPhone OS. During the event, Jobs referred to the operating system as OS X because it shared a similar Unix core compared to the Mac. When Apple launched the iPhone SDK a year later, they officially changed the name to iPhone OS.

In the summer of 2008, Apple added the App Store to iPhone OS with version 2.0, and this set the stage for the “app economy” that we still enjoy to this day.

Version 3.0 was released in 2009, and it included copy/paste, MMS support, Spotlight, mobile tethering, and push notifications for 3rd party apps.

In version 4, Apple finally renamed iPhone OS to iOS (with the iPad sharing the same software). The major features were multitasking and FaceTime.

iOS 5.0 introduced Notification Center, iMessage, Siri, and iCloud.

iOS 6.0 removes Google Maps in favor of Apple Maps and added the Passbook app (now known as Wallet).

Version 7.0 brought a dramatic redesign of iOS with a new font, flatter icons, a and new Photos app. The redesign was led by Jony Ive.

Version iOS 8.0, Apple finally allowed third-party keyboards and the ability to share files from different apps.

Version 9.0 included Apple Maps, an overhauled Notes app, and multitasking for iPad.

Version 10.0 included an SDK for Siri, Maps, and iMessages.

Version 11.0 included a new iPad Dock, Customizable Control center, drag and drop on iPad, and the Files app with third-party integration.

Version 12.0 added Screen Time features for managing your time on devices, the Shortcuts app, ARKit 2.0, and Memoji.

iOS 13 added Dark Mode, swipe-style typing, a redesigned share sheet, made app downloads 50% smaller, 2x faster app launch speed, Memoji Stickers and Memoji Makeup, HomeKit-enabled routers and HomeKit Secure Video, a new “Sign in with Apple” option for logging into third-party services, all-new Apple Maps, and much more.

Compatible Devices with iOS 13

  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE
  • iPod touch (7th generation)

Liquid Glass in iOS 26 beta 3 less dramatic as Apple optimizes redesign for usability

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 7 2025 - 11:42 am PT
89 Comments

Sorry or you’re welcome? Apple’s new Liquid Glass visual element is getting any icy design change in some places before it reaches customers. iOS 26 developer beta 3, which will likely be iOS 26 public beta 1 later this month, reduces the transparency effect in a number of places like navigation bars in certain apps. In the example above, the top shows beta 2 while the bottom shows the current look in beta 3.

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iOS beta code includes new references to Apple’s upcoming smart display home product

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Jun 17 2025 - 6:14 am PT
11 Comments
HomePad WWDC

Apple was most recently rumored to be readying an unveiling of its upcoming smart display product in the spring, but the device’s dependence on the troubled Siri features seemingly put the launch on hold.

Nevertheless, it seems work on the project continues as we have found new assets meant for the device, hidden inside the just-released iOS 18.6 beta. The asset may even reveal the screen resolution of the device …

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iOS 26 developer beta 1 for iPhone now available

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 9 2025 - 12:05 pm PT
9 Comments

iOS 26 beta 1 for iPhone is now available for developers. Apple announced the next major software update for iPhone today as part of its WWDC 2025 keynote event. iOS 26 follows iOS 18 as each Apple operating system replaces the incremental version number with a reference to the year ahead.

The update is available as an over-the-air software update in the Settings app on devices with the developer beta software option enabled.

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This iOS accessibility feature allows you to clone your voice, here’s how it works

Avatar for Fernando Silva Jun 3 2025 - 6:08 am PT
6 Comments

With every iOS update, Apple quietly adds additional features under its accessibility category. These features are there to give people and customers alternatives to how they interact and use their iPhones. When iOS 17 was announced, they added a new feature called Personal Voice. This new feature seemed terrific; it was a way to train your iPhone to speak and sound like you, literally. But now it’s been almost 2 years since its release. So, how well does it work?

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Remembering the controversial iOS 7 introduction

Avatar for Marcus Mendes May 30 2025 - 2:02 pm PT
17 Comments

With just days to go before WWDC, the consensus is that Apple will unveil a big, visionOS-inspired redesign across its operating systems. And while some might be dreading a repeat of the iOS 7 announcement from a decade ago, it’s been long enough that many readers might not remember (or may have never even seen) what that overhaul actually looked like.

So here’s a quick refresher on what happened, and why this year will likely (I mean, hopefully?) be different.

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A tweet asked for a simple finance app: Two hours later, it existed

Avatar for Fernando Silva May 6 2025 - 7:17 am PT
25 Comments

Every day, it seems like hundreds of finance-related apps hit the App Store. Some focus on budgeting, others on credit card points, investing, or even trying to do it all. While scrolling through X, I came across a tweet from someone who said they just wanted a finance app that tracked three things: what they spent today, this week, and this month. The idea was so simple, yet so valuable. A few hours later, I saw that developer Steven Zhang had actually built it. In just two hours. Here it is.

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Finding any movie & where to watch it just got easier with new Kernel update

Avatar for Fernando Silva May 2 2025 - 8:00 am PT
8 Comments

Last year, YouTuber and Apple enthusiast Nikias Molina released an app called Kernel. This app was created primarily to help people discover which streaming service hosts certain TV shows and movies. I use this app a ton as someone with six different streaming providers. If I ever needed to find out where a movie was, I would search it, and it was correct 100% of the time! I love how simple and elegant it was to use. Its newest update now adds Kernel AI, recommendations, and more.

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I tested iPhone AI voice assistants: here’s the best one

Avatar for Fernando Silva Apr 30 2025 - 6:47 am PT
14 Comments

It’s been about a year since Apple announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024. Since then, Siri has received a visual refresh with its new rainbow animation, text-to-Siri support, visual intelligence, and image generation. Features like Genmoji are also available in iOS 18. However, the most critical aspects of Siri, like being conversational and having contextual awareness, are still missing. Meanwhile, AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity are leaps and bounds ahead of Siri in many ways. So, I wanted to put all three to the test to see who deserves to be your go-to voice assistant on the iPhone today. Here is what I found.

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