iOS 5 hands on (photos)

CNET takes a hands-on tour of some of the new features of Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 5.

Kent German

Aug. 10, 2011 12:16 p.m. PT

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Notifications

Swiping down from the top of the screen (much like Android) will open the long-awaited new Notifications Center. You'll see a complete list of your missed calls and messages, app updates, a stock ticker, and the current weather.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Lock screen

Notifications also will show up on the lock screen.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Over-the-air updates

The "PC Free" feature enables wireless device activations and software updates. The updates will serve only the changes, so they'll be shorter.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Wireless syncing

Thanks to the new iCloud service, you'll also be able to wirelessly sync, back up, and restore your device.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

App updates

App updates will happen over the air as well. As you might have guessed, the idea is to never have you plug your device into a computer again. Or if you prefer, you won't have to own a computer at all.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Photo stream

iCloud also will deliver a photo stream of stored images to your device.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

iMessage

The iMessage app looks just like the text messaging feature.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

iMessage settings

iMessage will let you send text and multimedia messages to individuals or groups.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Camera

The option to add grid lines now appears above the HDR control, which shows a tweaked design.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

More camera

After taking a photo, you can crop and rotate your image and access color correction and red-eye reduction controls.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Tweet a photo

You'll be able to post a photo to Twitter directly from the media gallery app.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Twitter integration

And speaking of Twitter, the social network service will get tighter integration with your device. You'll be able to add a location, sync Twitter with your contacts list, and tweet directly from YouTube, Safari, and Maps.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Tweet time

Here's the interface when tweeting. It's user-friendly and the @ symbol is prominently surfaced.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Mapping

When planning a route in Google Maps, you can select from multiple route options.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Safari Reader

The Reader option in the Safari browser will strip down articles into a simple, easy-to-read format.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Reading List

Also in Safari, you can save bookmarks for later perusal.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Reminders

With this new app you can save multiple to-do lists with dates for each event and categorize reminders by location.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

To-do list

And once you're finished with a task you can check them off. Reminders can be shared between devices and sync with iCal on the Mac with CalDAV, and on Windows with MS Exchange.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Newsstand

The Newsstand app's design is similar to iBooks. You can add subscriptions from the App Store and new issues will be delivered automatically.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Personal dictionary

Thanks to the personal dictionary you can avoid future auto-correct mishaps by adding slang, acronyms, and other unrecognized words to your device's dictionary.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Define this

Get a definition by tapping unfamiliar words.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Dictionary

You'll then jump directly to the definition.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Game Center

The Game Center gets new features like profile photos, achievement point comparison, friends of friends, recommended friends and games, and support for turn-based games.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Purchase games

What's more, you can buy apps directly from the app.

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Screenshot by Josh Lowensohn/CNET

Accessibility

iOS 5 also adds new accessibility options including LED flash and custom vibration settings to let you see and feel when someone's calling.

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iOS 5 hands on (photos)

Notifications

Lock screen

Over-the-air updates

Wireless syncing

App updates

Photo stream

iMessage

iMessage settings

Camera

More camera

Tweet a photo

Twitter integration

Tweet time

Mapping

Safari Reader

Reading List

Reminders

To-do list

Newsstand

Personal dictionary

Define this

Dictionary

Game Center

Purchase games

Accessibility

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