As soon as WWDC was announced, we all knew that the latest version of iOS would be announced — it was just a foregone conclusion. But what we didn’t know, was how much it was going to change how we work and what we do. Then the beta testers got their hands on it, spilled the beans to everyone, and now we know all of the facts and info about the latest version that we can. And yet, what we don’t know yet is how it will affect us personally.
Well, you don’t know, but I do. I’ve got iOS 5 running on one of my devices right now, and I’ve gotta say, it’s changed my world completely. I don’t think it can be released fast enough, frankly, and I can’t wait for it to be polished up and perfect for general consumption. Want to know how it’s changed my world and how it’ll change yours? Hit the jump and I’ll tell you.
The Basics
First, let me preface this by saying how I got a copy. A good friend of mine is an iOS developer, and he has me beta test apps for him all the time. It started first with iOS 4.3, and now that iOS 5 is out, he put me on the bandwagon. Now I get to test his apps while using the new system, and that’s pretty cool.
Admittedly, I have this on my iPad, because my iPhone is just too important to risk on beta tests. That said, the subjects I’m talking about are universal iOS features, and not anything iPad specific. Also, I won’t be discussing anything that hasn’t been released by the news media, and I’m not personally under any NDA, either. So now that all that semi-legalese is out of the way, let’s talk about the bold new world of iOS 5.
Notifications
We all know that iOS 5 has a new notification system which uses a menu at the top of the screen that provides all of your alerts. It’s not only a better system than the popups, but it’s nowhere near as distracting.
Now before iOS 5, if I heard my email go off, I’d double click the home button, move over to Mail, and open it up to see what I had. Although this only took a few seconds, this can happen fairly frequently, and it also interrupts any workflow you may have on your iPhone, be it posting a tweet or playing a game. With iOS 5, the top of the screen rolls over and you see the Mail icon plus the subject of the message. Right away you know whether you need to open the email or not, and that saves time and effort. It’s such a simple tweak, but so important at the same time.
This happens with every notification as well. So now, I can just figure out if the alert is important enough to warrant my attention, all from inside the app. Do I need to text her back? Is that spam or an email from my boss? All those notifications and more make it very worth it, and have saved me lots of time.
As an added bonus, you can adjust how the apps alert you as well. If you don’t like those little circular popups to get in your way, turn them off. It’s a good way to reduce clutter on your desktop without losing functionality.
iMessage
In itself, iMessage is not a ground breaking application. It’s basically text messaging and BBMs all in one, which we discussed here recently. There are two aspects to it though that really make life easier, and expand your horizons in the process.
With a BlackBerry BBM, you know when someone is typing back to you, and iMessage works the same way. The application looks essentially the same as Messages does currently, but now there are three dots to indicate when someone is responding. Now, that seems trivial, but think about the last time you had a big text message conversation. For me, sometimes it’ll be minutes or hours between texts, just because I or the other person is busy. At other times, we’re both at our phones typing away furiously and awaiting the other’s response. By having those three little dots, I can tell what kind of conversation I’m going to have right off the bat, which means I can manage it better. I don’t have to wonder when they’ll text back if it’s really important to me, I just have to look. That’s nice.
In addition, using the iPod Touch as an iMessage machine now becomes pretty cool. Between FaceTime and iMessage, all you need now is a solid Internet connection and you’ve got a pretty good communication device. If you’re a parent and you want to give your kid a way to contact you without paying for a cell plan, this may become a good option. After all, kids have access to Wi-Fi at school (or at least some do), and if they’re out with a friend they could pop onto a local network if need be. It’s not a perfect solution for sure, but the door is open at least.
Wireless Syncing and Backups
When’s the last time you backed up your iPhone? If you’re like me, it’s usually a few weeks at least because there’s usually not a reason to do it. I only plug in if I want to put some photos in iPhoto, rearrange my pages quickly or add a few videos — and iOS updates, of course. But my wife never plugged in her iPhone, even when a new update would come down the pike, which would drive me nuts. With iOS 5, none of these are problems.
The freedom it affords is just amazing. I can backup my device quickly and easily, without worrying about whether or not I have an iPod cable floating around the house or not. I can also sync my contacts and email just as easily as I can with my current MobileMe account, but without the $99 yearly fee. Soon my wife can do the same thing, which saves us money and makes her life substantially easier. I can’t wait for that.
Conclusions
We’re all excited for iOS 5 to be out in the wild, but after using it for a few weeks, I now know how exactly it’s going to help me get things done. These are just three of the topics that have helped change the way I do things, and who knows, there may be more once iOS 5 is released. Here’s to hoping.