The document summarizes the evolution of Apple's iOS mobile operating system from its introduction in 2007 with the original iPhone to the latest iOS 9 release in 2015. It describes the key features and changes introduced in each major iOS version, including the debut of the App Store (iOS 2), copy/paste support (iOS 3), the Retina display (iOS 4), Siri (iOS 5), Apple Maps (iOS 6), the visual redesign (iOS 7), extension of the platform (iOS 8), and new apps like News and CarPlay (iOS 9). The conclusion notes that many iOS 9 features mimic existing Android capabilities and laments the lack of innovation that characterized earlier iOS releases under Steve Jobs.

1. iOS Then and Now:
Survival of the Fittest

2. iPhone OS
The Birth of an Era
In 2007, Apple ushered in a new era of digital
communication with the debut of the iPhone–although
nobody knew it yet. This was a time before the App Store,
multitasking, and homescreen pages, when the iPhone’s OS
offered little more than a simple, touch-based interface.
The first iteration of Apple’s smartphone ran iPhone OS,
which lacked support for third-party apps. Instead, Apple
bundled its mobile OS with a number of stock apps, and
encouraged developers to create web apps for the iPhone.
The bundled apps included Mail, iPod, Calendar, Photos,
Clock, Text, Safari, Notes, YouTube, Calculator, Maps,
Settings, Camera, Stocks, and Phone.

3. iPhone OS 2
Enter the App Store
iPhone OS 2 debuted in 2008, alongside the iPhone 3GS and
perhaps the most significant iPhone component to date – the App
Store. Concurrently with the release of the iOS SDK, Apple’s App
Store opened the door for developers to create countless apps for
the iPhone.
Support for third-party apps pushed the iPhone ahead of the
competition by enabling it to function as a limitless canvas for
ideas. The App Store helped drive the popularity of mobile app
development, leading to the rise of other notable App markets,
like Google Play and the Windows Phone Store.
iOS2
Other notable functionalities introduced in version two of iPhone
OS included iGPS, Microsoft Exchange support, Scientific
Calculator, 3rd party native apps support, and MobileMe.

4. iPhone OS 3
Mind The Gap
Apple’s third mobile OS release, introduced in 2009, was more about filling in the
gaps left by the last two releases than anything else. Some of the missing features
that iPhone OS 3 brought to the platform are:
• Cut + copy + paste support
• Spotlight search
• Push notifications for 3rd party apps
• MMS support
• Landscape keyboard
• USB + Bluetooth tethering
• iOS3
In typical Apple fashion, however, iPhone OS 3 didn’t just integrate missing features
– it introduced several highly innovative features.
Among the most notable of these features are “Find My iPhone,” in-app purchases,
autofill forms in Safari, tap-to-focus within the camera app, and the ability to buy
movies, TV shows, and books from inside the iTunes app.

5. iOS 3.2
“The iPad is just a Larger Phone.”
With its release, the second revision to iPhone OS 3 ushered in a new
naming scheme for the mobile OS: “iOS x.x” was born. iOS 3.2 marked
the release of the original iPad, which received both critical acclaim
and widespread criticisms. Irrespective of public opinion, the iPad
proved to be a revolutionary product that has shaped the future of
technology in countless ways.
The release of the iPad prompted several changes to the functionality
of iOS, in response to new UI paradigms that arose when a larger
screen was introduced.
Among these changes were:
• The introduction of stock apps that take advantage of advances in
readability, such as iBooks
• A new, native app-view for iPad apps
• Bluetooth keyboard support

6. iOS 4
The Retina Display is Born
iOS 4 was released alongside the famed iPhone 4 which turned out to be both a
resounding success, and a brutal disaster. Upon its initial release, users of the
fourth iPhone experienced major signal-loss issues in a scandal that came to be
known lovingly as antennagate.
Apple introduced several important features with this update that have been
incorporated into every subsequent release of the OS. Namely, this includes the
introduction of the Retina Display, FaceTime, multitasking, homescreen folders,
and a unified email inbox.
Subsequent updates to the fourth iteration of the mobile OS brought:
• Game Center
• TV rentals
• HDR photos
• iPad multitasking
• iPad folders
• Verizon support

7. iOS 5
“Siri, open the pod bay doors.”
The fifth release of Apples mobile OS saw the introduction of everybody’s
favorite personal assistant, Siri. Amid a sea of dysfunctional voice-search
implementations, Siri was a breath of fresh air—it just worked. The first
incarnation of the search function had several bugs, but they were hammered
out in subsequent updates to the OS.
iOS 5 introduced iPhone users to iMessage, a web-based instant messenger
service that was integrated into the Messages app, allowing for lightning fast
messaging between iOS devices. Eventually, iMessage was brought to OS X
and the second iPad, and has since become a staple of Apple product users.
iOS5
Other notable new features included:
• Newsstand
• iCloud
• iTunes
• Wi-Fi Sync

8. iOS 6
Who needs Google Maps?
“Who needs Google Maps?”—this is the question that Apple posed to
iPhone users with the release of iOS 6. In its sixth incarnation,
Apple’s mobile OS dropped Google’s maps application in favor of its
own implementation.
Unfortunately, the answer to this question appeared to be a
resounding “lots of people, actually.”
When it was released, Apple Maps was riddled with bugs such as
extensive issues rendering 3D map content, navigation instructions
that attempted to lead users onto airport runways, random sections
of greyscale maps, and entire swatches of map content that had
been designated as “Nature Park.”
Apple brought more to the table with this release than just a poorly
designed Google Maps knockoff—new features introduced in iOS 6
include Panorama mode in the camera app, shared Photo Streams,
and the highly innovative Passbook.

9. The seventh release of Apple’s mobile operating system
marked the first visual overhaul of iOS since its release.
The new interface design was put together under the
watchful eye of Jony Ive, who advocated for flattened
graphics, colorful gradients, transparency, layered
elements, and new animations.
iOS 7 also introduced several innovative features, such as
Control Center, AirDrop, and FaceTime Audio. Of these,
Control Center is perhaps the most significant, as it
represents a departure from the catch-up game that iOS
had played for the previous few releases.
iOS 7
“How do you like me, now?”

10. iOS 8 is the current release, and aims to fill the precedent
set by its predecessor, by building on the stylistic cues,
workflows, and feature set of iOS 7. iOS 8 keeps with the
new design (UI Design & UX) aesthetic of iOS 7, by
emphasizing the same colorful gradients, transparencies,
and layered elements.
Among the most significant changes introduced in this
revision was Apple’s choice to open up the platform in
ways previously only available on Android phones. Namely,
in iOS 8, users are able to install third-party keyboards,
apps are able to share data in new ways, Touch ID has
been opened up to third-party developers, and HealthKit,
HomeKit, and ResearchKit have been introduced into the
ecosystem.
iOS 8
“New power for developers,” finally.

11. iOS 8: Continued
HealthKit is a framework that allows health and fitness apps to communicate amongst
each other in order to facilitate an efficient network of health information. HomeKit is a
similar framework for controlling connected accessories and appliances across a user’s
home, right from a user’s phone.
ResearchKit allows users to participate in research studies just by performing activities
with their iPhone and, in turn, generating statistical data. By utilizing the sensors
embedded in the iPhone in conjunction with the sheer number of iPhones across the
world, ResearchKit promises to revolutionize the way medical research studies are
conducted.
Other notable features include new widgets, QuickType, iCloud Drive, and Family Sharing.

12. iOS 9
What’s next for iOS?
Looking to the future, what can we expect from iOS 9? The ninth iteration of Apple’s mobile OS will bring a number of new features
to the platform, many of which already exist on Android phones. In fact, this release seems to be a step back from iOS 8, which
attempted to depart from playing catchup to Android.
Consider the top additions to iOS 9:
• The News app, which organizes news stories across multiple publishers, in a beautiful way
• Improvements to the Notes app, such as the ability to add notes from anywhere in iOS
• Improvements to the Maps app, such as the ability to use public transportation navigation services–something Android has
offered for through Google Maps for years
• Improvements to Apple Pay, to make it function more like Google Wallet, as well as the ability to access the payment system
even when the iPhone is locked
• The addition of CarPlay
• Smart Siri, a contender to Google Now
• Split-screen view on iPads running iOS 9
• The addition of Low Power mode, which closely resembles a feature already present in Android

13. iOS 9: Continued
Altogether, these updates to Apple’s mobile OS are
relatively substantial. However, many of the features
added to this release are already present in Android, so
while it is understandable that Apple would wish to
supply these features, there is something missing here.
The magic is gone. The innovation that Steve Jobs
brought to Apple’s mobile OS is blatantly missing from
this release, and from many that came before it. The
innovation that Apple once brought to the mobile OS
ecosystem has disappeared.