Well folks, prepare to be notified: Apple iOS 5 beta is available to registered developers, and if there’s one thing people will forever remember about this iteration of the mobile market’s dominating operating system, it’s Notification Center. Something about clouds too, but there’s little to say about the processes surrounding that particular subject – far from a bad thing and I’ll do my best to fill you in regardless.
If you’re reading this review it’s likely you remember the significant leap in awesome the iPhone took going from 3G S to 4. Apply the same degree of change to the jump between iOS 4 and 5 and you’ll begin to understand what a formidable release this is set to be. No later than this fall, iPhone, iPod, and iPad users will be using iMessage to textually converse with one another on a vastly matured system. The revamped notification system everyone’s been pining for finally makes its debut in full force. Not only does iOS 5 have Android-style alterts on a full Notification Center page that’s accessible by pulling down the top menu bar, but the notifications present themselves otherwise in a much cleaner in less obtrusive manner – sliding down from the screen’s top and stacking atop one another on the lock screen. Jailbreak fans can kiss IntelliScreen and LockInfo goodbye; Apple has you covered with Notification Center!
One of my personal favorite aspects of iOS 5 is the instant access camera. Simply double-tap the home button and it pops up on the lock screen. At first I thought it’d make more sense to show the camera icon by default but after some consideration an extra tap isn’t much to ask for such quick access, and hell, my thumb is already there anyway. The camera pulls up in less than a second and snapping photos with the volume increase button works like a dream. I tried to create moments where it’d be realistically challenging to remove the device from my pocket and snap a quick photo and didn’t miss a single opportunity. The quick access is nice but the real hero is the volume key. It’s remarkable what a minor detail change can add to the user experience, and the level of excitement that came as a response to this feature’s announcement shows that you’re all ready and waiting to test this one out; know in advance that it works beautifully!
So how about this cloud business? iCloud is certainly something to look forward to considering it’s, well, the future. Apple’s offering an unmatched cloud storage service that many are already aware covers most everything data outside of videos. Covers how, you ask? Here’s a story: earlier today I downloaded a song from iTunes onto my computer. The end! That’s how the story used to go, but there’s now a second part that goes something like this: I went to retrieve my lonely iPhone from its car prison and found that the song I downloaded to my computer was already on my iPhone. That is the essence of Apple’s iCloud service, and I’m here to verify that it works seamlessly and flawlessly. There is zero effort aside from enabling the feature when you first configure your iPhone. From then on, your apps, documents, photos, songs, etc. – whatever you choose and on whatever iDevice – it will appear on your desktop PC, laptop, iPod, iPhone, and iPad automatically and simultaneously. So go ahead and cut that cord because these iProducts work as standalone devices straight out of the box!
There are over 200 new features available in iOS 5 and I doubt I’ve experienced much more than half of them. Safari Reader is a great addition for iPad users who want to rid their web pages of clutter and it’s nice on the iPhone as well, but zoom works well enough that I’m not terribly excited about Reader. The Reminders app is a sort of Notes spinoff that was much needed for the many iOS users using the latter to replicate the former’s functionality. Now you can keep those to-do lists separate from your notes on how to complete said to-dos! This sort of split reminds me of the iPod app’s disappearance. It’s now replaced with a Music app, likely do to iCloud being unable to covers videos, which are now housed inside the Videos app. It’s an extra app to deal with by default but a necessary split for the time being. We can only hope the time will come sooner rather than later that Apple decides to store our videos as well. In the meantime, iOS 5 is looking ridiculously sharp and already functions beyond my expectations. I’ll certainly be looking forward to the full release this fall!
