Apple on Tuesday announced that iOS 5 and its new iCloud service will both be available on Wednesday, October 12, 2011. iOS 5 is a free update for all eligible iOS devices and iCloud is also free, though Apple offers subscription tiers for users who require extra storage space.
iOS 5
Apple counts more than 200 new features in iOS 5. Among them are iMessage, an integrated text messaging service that lets you send text, videos, photos locations and contacts; Notification Center, a reworked notification system that helps you keep track of all app notifications in one place.
Twitter, the popular microblogging service, has been integrated into iOS 5, so you can now tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube or Maps. Contacts now applies your friends’ Twitter handles and profile pictures, and iOS 5 can also add locations to tweets.
iOS 5 improves photo management with support for cropping, rotation, built-in enhancements and red-eye removal. Safari now supports tabbed browsing, adds a Reading List feature for later reading, blocks ads, and improves performance.
Wi-Fi Sync is another key feature of iOS 5 – it enables you to synchronize iOS device content with a Mac or PC over a shared Wi-Fi connection. Each time you connect your iOS device to a power source, it automatically syncs and backs up content to iTunes.
Mail, Calendar, Game Center and other aspects of iOS have gotten overhauls, too.
iOS 5 will be available for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad and iPod touch (third and fourth generation) models. It’ll also come preinstalled on the iPhone 4S, which will be released on Friday, October 14, 2011.
iCloud
iCloud is a suite of interconnected cloud-based services that include iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud. They’re designed to help Mac and PC users automatically and wirelessly share and store content with iOS devices including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
iTunes in the Cloud lets you automatically download new music to all your devices without having to manually sync them to a computer. You can download music and TV shows, including previously purchased content.
iTunes in the Cloud is free, but another music-related cloud service, iTunes Match, will set you back $24.99 per year. The software scans the content of your music library and matches it to the music available on the iTunes Store. Music that doesn’t match is automatically uploaded, so you can play any of your music on any of your iOS devices.
Photo Stream makes it possible to take a photo on one device and have it automatically appear on other devices; a photo taken from your iPhone is sent to iCloud, distributed to your computer and other iOS devices, or shared on your Apple TV using a Photo Stream album. It will show your last 1,000 photos, and pushes copies of photos you’ve imported from a digital camera over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
Documents in the Cloud helps keep iWork documents (Pages, Keynote and Numbers) in sync across devices. Apple is offering up the Application Programming Interface (API) to third-party developers to encourage support in their own applications. And iCloud Backup securely backs up content daily over Wi-Fi, whenever your iOS device is connected to a power source.
Find My Friends is a new app you’ll be able to download for free form the App Store that will let you share your location with select groups of people – friends and family with access to the info can see where you are; you get notifications when you get new friend requests. It also supports parental controls, so parents can keep an eye on wayward children (and limit their usage of Find My Friends).
iCloud is free, but only comes with 5GB of storage. 10GB, 20GB and 50GB storage upgrades are available for $20, $40 or $100 per year respectively.