You will have heard, for sure, that when choosing a phone you can bet, mainly, between iOS and Android as the operating system. But exactly what is iOS , where do its acronyms come from or when was this software released by Apple. We summarize everything you should know about iOS, what are its versions or how the operating system that you will currently find on an Apple brand mobile was born.
iOS has been working on Apple phones for more than ten years with updates every year that bring security improvements, promise to improve the autonomy of the phones or that add functions such as animojis, for example, in many other exclusive options such as the use of FaceTime to video calls.
History of Apple and your iPhone
Many years after that Jobs garage in Cupertino, Apple launched its first iPhone. Until then, many were the great milestones the apple company had gone through and many the devices that had changed the lives of countless people around the world. In 1981, the Apple II (created in 1977) had become a success, had sold more than 300,000 units, and Steve Jobs became the youngest person to be a millionaire. A year earlier, Apple had gone public and in 1984 the Macintosh 128K had arrived with a spectacular advertisement that used George Orwell’s 1984 novel as inspiration.
Since this Keynote, with 2,500 people and which was the first intervention of Jobs in such a scenario, until today, many things have happened and there have been many devices that Apple has released to the market. From that Mac until today Jobs was fired, relegated by Sculley, founded NeXT, returned to Apple as interim director in August 1997. And ten years later, seven after the famous iPod, Apple’s first phone, the iPhone , was introduced .
iPhone, App Store, iPhone OS …
The first iPhone arrived in 2007 seeking to revolutionize the telephony market, a phone with a 3.5-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen that allowed to connect to WiFi but also connect to headphones, had a speaker or microphone and three memory options with 4 GB, with 8 GB or with 16 GB. But there was no App Store, as of yet. It arrived in June 2008 and the iPhone began to look a bit more like what we know today, although it was bridging the gap because in 2008 there were only 500 initial applications that could be downloaded and transferred. In 2009, the number was multiplied by 10,000: there were already 50,000 applications available.
In January 2007, Apple already revealed what were the first steps of iOS, an “iPhone OS” that was discussed at the Macworld Conference & Expo but without going into details. It would take several years for the operating system to launch stably and on June 29, 2009 iPhone OS was released. The arrival of the iPhone 4 in June 2020 and the previous arrival of the iPad a few months later, in 2010, was one more step in what we currently know: Steve Jobs went on stage to present his new phone but also to explain that, to From that moment on, iPhone OS would definitely be called iOS.
What is iOS?
iOS is an operating system released and used by Apple. Its name comes from iPhone OS. That is, iPhone Operative System or iPhone Operating System . Using the acronyms, iOS. It was originally released for the brand’s phone, although it has also been used for years in other company devices such as some of the iPod music players or iPad tablets (until the arrival of iPadOS).
It is a closed system that you cannot use except on Apple brand devices. The big difference with Android is this: Google’s operating system can be installed on countless phones of all brands, but iOS is a closed and exclusive system for Cupertino brand devices. Not for others. Like other mobile operating systems, iOS allows us to install applications to add functions to those that come by default on the smartphone. That is, beyond the phone or the messages you can visit the App Store in search of applications that fulfill some function that you need, learn English or make the purchase.
IOS versions
iOS 1.0
In June 2007 the first version of iPhone OS arrived, before being called iOS, as we have explained in previous paragraphs. This version was only compatible with the first generation of the brand’s phones and with the iPod Touch and did not allow application downloads, but you had to settle for those that came as standard or use iTunes to listen to or buy music.
Updates: 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4 and 1.1.5 (only for iPod touch).
iOS 2.0
The App Store arrived in 2008 along with the second version of the operating system and this version was installed on the iPhone 3G compatible with this type of network. In its beginnings, as we have explained, the app store barely had 500 apps available, although soon they multiplied by thousands and thousands.
Updates: 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.2.1.
iOS 3.0
Launched in June 2009 through the iPhone 3GS, it included new functionalities such as MMS, multimedia messages, or the function of copying and pasting text. It was also the first version of the operating system to appear for iPad and had updates until the following year, when the next version would be announced.
Updates: 3.0.1, 3.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3 (latest version for 1st generation iPhone and iPod touch), 3.2 (only for iPad), 3.2.1 (only for iPad) and 3.2.2 (only for iPad).
iOS 4
This version stands out for being the first to stop supporting old devices, that is, it could no longer be used on the first generation iPhone and iPod Touch. It was made available to the public from June 2010 , a year after its predecessor, and brought with it many new features, such as a user interface to switch between applications by double-clicking the start button. His motto was Everything changes again, again.
Updates: 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.1, 4.2 (latest version for iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G) and 4.3
iOS 5
Launched in October 2011 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPod touch 3G, iPod touch 4G, iPad, iPad 2 and iPad 3, it was not possible to use them on older terminals. Among its new features, it introduced the notification center and a gesture as popular and adopted right now as sliding your finger from top to bottom to make notifications appear on the screen. It also involved the launch of some widgets such as time and bag.
Updates: 5.0.1, 5.1 and 5.1.1 (latest version for the original iPad, and the third generation iPod Touch)
iOS 6
It was initially launched in September 2012 with iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod Touch, 4th generation iPad and iPad Mini. Its great novelty was Siri, available since then in many more languages, including Spanish, and with a wide range of functionalities such as opening applications through a voice command. It also introduced the option to make FaceTime calls with 3G.
Updates: 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.1.4, 6.1.5, 6.1.6 (latest version for iPod Touch (4th generation) and iPhone 3GS)
iOS 7
This new version, released in September 2013, added a new user interface and made the control center accessible from the same lock screen . It also enabled full-screen navigation in Safari and automatic updates from the App Store, in addition to other innovations.
Updates: 7.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, 7.0.6, 7.1, 7.1.1, 7.1.2 (latest version for iPhone 4)
iOS 8
It was released on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the two new Apple devices, in September 2014. Among its improvements, it brought with it a redesign of the clock, Passbook and music icons, third-party keyboard support and interactive notifications .
Updates: 8.0.1, 8.0.2, 8.1, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.1.3, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.4.1.
iOS 9
Here Apple made no distinctions with older devices and did not skip updates on these devices. Initially released with the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPad Mini 4 in Fall 2015, it brought updates to Siri and to the intelligence of the operating system. Security was also enhanced through two-factor authentication and default codes.
Updates: 9.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2, 9.1, 9.2, 9.2.1, 9.3, 9.3.1, 9.3.2, 9.3.3, 9.3.4, 9.3.5 and 9.3.6 (Latest official version for iPhone 4S and for first generation iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad Mini)
iOS 10
Introduced in June 2016 at the World Developers Conference (WWDC), it launched in September alongside the company’s two new models, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Its improvements include a change in the design of notifications, the possibility of opening infinite tabs in Safari and a total renewal of Photos, with facial recognition and a functionality that allows photographs to be viewed on a map showing the places in those that were made.
Updates: 10.0.2, 10.0.3, 10.1, 10.1.1, 10.2, 10.2.1, 10.3, 10.3.1, 10.3.2, 10.3.3
iOS 11
Launched in the fall of 2017 with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, it brought with it a revamp of the control center and a change in the way you view notifications on the lock screen, as it allowed you to see all notifications from this screen, with the gesture of sliding your finger to show and hide them. It is only compatible with devices with 64-bit processors, so those devices with 32-bit processors such as the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPad of the fourth generation are excluded.
Updates: 11.0.3, 11.1, 11.1.1, 11.1.2, 11.2, 11.2.1, 11.2.2, 11.2.5, 11.2.6, 11.3, 11.3.1, 11.4 and 11.4.1.
iOS 12
Available to the public since September 2018, it was launched with the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max terminals. This time, Apple did not omit its updates for older devices either. although it has limited support for some teams. It is a general performance improvement over its predecessor iOS 11 and incorporates the option to perform FaceTime with up to 32 participants.
Updates: 12.0.1, 12.0.2, 12.1, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 12.1.4, 12.2, 12.3, 12.3.1, 12.3.2, 12.4, 12.4.1, 12.4.2, 12.4.3, 12.4.4, 12.4.5 and 12.4.6 (current).
iOS 13
The most current version of the Apple operating system was released in the fall of 2019 and has new features such as a dark mode for the whole system, the option to have Siri read messages to you if you are wearing AirPods, the redesign of various apps such as Mail o Photos and improvements to optimize the system.
Updates: 13.1, 13.1.1, 13.1.2, 13.1.3, 13.2, 13.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.2.3, 13.3, 13.3.1, 13.4, 13.4.1 (current)
What version do I have installed?
You can check the version from the settings of your iPad or your iPhone. Just follow some very simple steps and you will know which one it is if you want to know if it is compatible with certain applications and games, for example.
– Open the Settings app
– Go to the “General” option
– Choose “System Information”
– You will find the version that is installed
Differences with Android
The main difference between Android and iOS is that the second is a closed system that only works on Apple phones and whose brand it controls. The Cupertino brand has always been much more closed and rigid also in hardware with specific accessories, exclusive functions and own applications. Android works on phones of all brands and that makes it have a much greater market share thanks to the fact that it is installed on phones of all ranges, all brands and all prices … iOS is exclusive to Apple and Apple.
Applications
Applications are different on both operating systems. In the case of Google, you will have to enter through the Google Play Store and in the case of iOS, you must enter through the Apple App Store. The games and tools that we find may be different, although the amount in both is around two million and there are probably more for Android than for iOS and it is also in the Google market where we find more free applications. However, the quality of iOS applications and games tends to be higher in many cases and many developers test iPhone first before betting on another version.
Own applications also change. For example, on iOS you can use FaceTime to make video calls exclusively with users of this operating system and it comes as a pre-installed app on any device. However, you cannot communicate with anyone on Android devices.
On phones that use Google you find other more global options such as Google Duo, Hangouts or Skype and all the others, with versions open to any operating system. In iOS, in addition, you have access to Apple Maps as a pre-installed application for maps and guides or other standard applications such as the email inbox (not Gmail) or an exclusive and own cloud service such as iCloud with which you will synchronize all iOS devices but with which you will not be able to synchronize your Android devices if you need to.
Voice assistant
Siri is one of the most famous points of iOS, the voice assistant that you ask for what you want and teach it to you, or with whom you can have conversations. It is very practical to search for things on the Internet or ask someone to call, although Google has been boasting Google Assistant for years.
Security
One of the main differences that has always been said is that Android is less secure than iOS but for some months now experts have claimed that this is no longer the case, that hacking an Android phone now costs more than hacking an iPhone phone. As we collected in our site, it is an interview with Detective Rex Kiser, in charge of the digital forensic analysis for the Fort Worth Police Department, assures that in 2019 it was common not to be able to hack iPhones but they could access all Android phones. In 2020, the opposite happens: they can enter iPhone mobiles but Android phones are impossible to hack. This essentially depends on the versions or updates.