Ultimate list of iOS 5 features discovered so far [Complete Reference] [Updated Beta4]

iOS 5 has been the best ever release from Apple so far thus dumping almost all the Jailbreak tweaks. Apple Unveiled iOS 5 at the WWDC 2011 with over 200 new features of it predecessor. By this time, you must have read about the activation bypass method and some fixes to iTunes error that I posted earlier. Now, let me sort down a list of the new features that I’ve been aggregating over the past month after exploring iOS 5.

 


[alert_box]Please add the missed out features in the comments section. I’ll update them here.[/alert_box] [alert_box type=”Success”]System Wide Changes [/alert_box]

  1. Newstand: A new app to manage your subscriptions
  2. Reminders: A to-do list with location aware API to push a reminder when you reach a particular place
  3. Notification Center: The best feature so far. Swipe down from status bar and it will show you all the notifications
  4. Twitter Integration: System-wide integration of Twitter. Share links, photos and videos from almost anywhere
  5. iCloud Integration: A new service making use of the new datacenter. Enables you to backup, restore and sync everything on your iDevice
  6. Open Camera.app from lockscreen
  7. Airplay Mirroring for iPad 2: Mirror the iPad 2’s screen on TV without wires. [iPad only][iPhone 4 only]
  8. OTA updates: Update iOS firmware right from your device (Now can update over WiFi and 3G)
  9. Delta updates: Update only the changes and not the entire app itself as it was before
  10. Activate iOS features without the need of Mac or PC. Completely PC free
  11. WiFi Sync: Sync your device with iTunes on your Mac or PC without wires
  12. Purchased section of the app store displayed all your purchased apps
  13. 4 finger swipe upward will bring Multitasking bar [iPad only]
  14. 4 finger swipe to right or left will switch between apps [iPad only]
  15. 4 finger pinch on any app will bringup the homescreen [iPad only]
  16. Split Keyboard for easier typing [iPad only]
  17. Keyboard shortcuts. Assign Keyboard shortcuts from Settings app.
  18. Emoticons: In-built emoticons for all the apps. Can be enabled in keyboard settings
  19. Custom tone for Voice mail
  20. In-built dictionary: Select a word and tap define to get the definition of the word
  21. Create and store personal words in dictionary
  22. Change device name from settings app
  23. Speak text based on selection
  24. iTunes Tone Store: Allows you to purchase and download tones from iTunes
  25. Improved FaceTime video quality
  26. Delete data of specific apps under settings app
  27. Delete apps while downloading
  28. Tap and hold hyphen (-) to change to En dash (–)
  29. Status bar now displays when your device is being synced via WiFi
  30. Change in Slide to view/Slide to reply
  31. Drag the keyboard through the screen [iPad only]
  32. FaceTime can now be activated via email or WiFi
  33. Supports 3rd party TV cables for streaming
  34. FaceTime over 3G
  35. Use RSA ID when configuring VPN
  36. Disable In-app purchases. For kids protection
  37. Pause Timer instead of Cancelling it.
  38. Enable or Disable Voice Dial on lockscreen
  39. Hide Keyboard whenever not necessary. Useful when reading long notes on Notes.app [iPad only]
  40. New tones for both messages and calls.
  41. FaceTime AirPlay mirroring
  42. Improved Notifications and incoming calls UI
  43. New Alert tones.
  44. Cellular reception toggle in iPod. [iPod Only]
[alert_box type=”Success”]iCloud[/alert_box]
  1. Backup and Restore apps, Music, SMS, MMS and Phone logs
  2. Schedule iCloud backups
  3. Choose between WiFi, 3G and EDGE to download apps
  4. Sync iBooks bookmarks
  5. Sync Game data between devices connected to same iCloud ID
  6. Free @me.com ID. Read how to get free iCloud ID here.
  7. Download apps in the background
  8. Check iCloud usage space in Settings.app
  9. Download more than one app simultaneously. Read more about it here.
  10. “Install” link instead of the price of the app already purchased
  11. Improves Password restrictions
  12. Find My iPhone integration with iCloud
  13. Document Sync via iCloud
[alert_box type=”Success”]Notification Center[/alert_box]
  1. Displays Calendar, Stocks and Weather
  2. Upcoming tasks remain in Notification Center until they hit their expiry
  3. New Glossy notifications on Lockscreen
  4. Switch ON or OFF icon badges
  5. Slight change in the font for Calendar notifications. It is now in italics.
  6. iTunes error notifications now show up.
[alert_box type=”Success”]Camera.app[/alert_box]
  1. Use Volume-up button to take picture in Camera.app
  2. Pinch-to-zoom geatures
  3. A new Grid based layout: Provides better focusing
  4. Camera.app shortcut in lockscreen: Double tap home button when locked will bring a camera icon nest to “Slide to unlock”
  5. Tap to Auto-Focus and Auto-Exposure
  6. Crop Photos
  7. Rotate Photos
  8. Red-eye removal
  9. Enhance color tones
  10. Lock the exposure and focus
  11. Swipe gesture to camera roll: Swiping left on your camera will open Camera roll
  12. Upload photos automatically to iCloud
  13. Organize photos and create events in Camera roll
  14. Tweet photos directly from camera roll
  15. “Tell a friend” now sends more information about the App in HTML format
  16. View JPG and PNG images in Photos.app
  17. Take pictures using headphone button
[alert_box type=”Success”]Messages.app[/alert_box]
  1. iMessage: The new way of text messaging similar to BBM and WhatsApp Messenger
  2. Redesigned TimeStamp display method
  3. Hide keyboard on scrolling through conversation
  4. Backup and Restore SMS and MMS messages to iCloud
  5. Slight Change in the Font and UI
  6. iMessage color = Blue and SMS message color = Green
  7. Group Messaging
  8. Displays name of the person who replied when sending SMS
  9. Choose your Caller ID when using iMessage under settings app
  10. Read receipts for iMessages
  11. Typing indication for iMessage
  12.  Devilery reports for iMessages
  13. Animated GIF images support for iMessage
[alert_box type=”Success”]Mobile Safari[/alert_box]
  1. Tabbed browsing for iPad [iPad only]
  2. Remove website specific data individually
  3. New Reading list: Save what you want to read for later. Syncs via iCloud
  4. Safari Reader: A RSS like reader. Focuses on the content
  5. Private Browsing: Can be enables in Settings.app
  6. Tweet from Safari
  7. Improved Nitro Engine for better JS rendering
  8. Show history on tapping back button [iPad only]
  9. Kinetic Scrolling
  10. Enhanced HTML 5 rendering. Renders much better than Mozilla and Chrome
  11. Open links in background
[alert_box type=”Success”]Mail.app[/alert_box]
  1. Sync Exchange tasks
  2. Improved Unified inbox
  3. Rich Text Formatting: Format mail messages with Bold, Italic, Underline, etc.
  4. Improved offline messages support
  5. Indentation control
  6. Improved Search
  7. Flag Emails
  8. Sync Exchange tasks
  9. Improved Conversation view
  10. Custom tone for Sent messages
  11. Custom tone for Received mail
  12. Mark all as read
  13. Drag and Drop email address between To, CC and BCC fields
  14. Maximum limit for email download is extended to 1000: It was 200 previously
  15. Switch between another account’s email inbox by swiping left or right
  16. Tweet locations
  17. Reminds to add subject line if you forget to add.
  18. Hotmail now supports images and folders
  19. Sync and create mail folders
[alert_box type=”Success”]Game Center[/alert_box]
  1. App Store in Game Center: You can now buy apps right inside Game Center
  2. Play turn-by-turn games within Game Center
  3. New Achievements like Points and Perks
  4. Profile picture in Game Center
  5. Game recommendation engine based on your interest
  6. Friends-of-Friends list
[alert_box type=”Success”]Calendar.app[/alert_box]
  1. Custom tone for Calendar events
  2. Year view [iPad only]
  3. Week view on iPhone and iPod: Change the orientation and it will change the view automatically
  4. Swipe to navigate between days
  5. Displays current time in Landscape mode
  6. Hold and drag events between dates
[alert_box type=”Success”]iPod.app[/alert_box]
  1. Completely redesigned app for iPad [iPad only]
  2. Longer song titles now scrolls through
  3. Delete songs from iPod app directly on your device
  4. Smart Playlists: You can now sync smart playlists from your iTunes library
  5. New song information bubble: Tap and hold on a song and it will show you its information
  6. Separate app for Videos
  7. Group by Artists
  8. Re-designed Videos timeline
  9. Support for multiple audio devices
  10. iPod.app now transmits song information via Bluetooth
  11. 1080p playback support on iPad [iPad only]
  12. YouTube HD streaming if on 3G
  13. Improved Sound Check for songs
  14. Improved Equalizer
  15. Balance Control for speakers. Read how to change the balance here.
  16. Double tap home button on YouTube to see who uploaded the video
  17. Rename music titles on the device
[alert_box type=”Success”]Maps.app[/alert_box]
  1. Maps now displays alternative routes
  2. Print your maps
[alert_box type=”Success”]Phone.app[/alert_box]
  1. Clear all or individual call log
  2. Displays the city name if the the incoming call number is not in contacts
  3. In-Call invitation alerts
[alert_box type=”Success”]Accessibility[/alert_box]
  1. LED Flash light indication for incoming calls and notifications for better accessibility
  2. Custom vibrations for incoming calls
  3. VoiceOver improvements
  4. New voices for VoiceOver
  5. Custom vibrations for each contacts
  6. Custom gestures to unlock the phone
  7. Assistive Touch
  8. Mono audio output
  9. New Assistive Gestures. Removes the necessity to use the hardware buttons
[alert_box type=”Success”]Weather.app[/alert_box]
  1. Hourly updates of weather
  2. Location based weather with On-Location features
[alert_box type=”Success”]Stocks.app[/alert_box]
  1. Realtime updates
  2. Can sit in the Notification Center
[alert_box type=”Success”]Contacts.app[/alert_box]
  1. Social Media accounts integration with contacts
  2. New family relationship fields
  3. Sync Twitter Profile picture with Contacts
[alert_box] I will add more and more features as and when I find them. Until then, Follow me on twitter (@ImKarthikK) or subscribe to my RSS. [/alert_box]

  • Pingback: Ultimate list of iOS 5 features discovered so far [Complete Reference] | JAILBREAKI()

  • Wow awesome! Thank you for this!

  • Tejaswin

    Notification Centre is by far the best feature.

    • Yeah! Exactly. It’s very powerful! 🙂

  • Max

    So how can you “Rename music titles on the device”? Please explain it 🙂

    • That is a yet to be implemented feature. May be we can see it in the next beta. 🙂

  • Tejaswin

    Just one question. The iMsg feature, being one of the most attractive and awaited features of the iOS 5, does it match up with BBM?
    BBM is really addictive having features like profile pictures and status updaates. WhatsApp has no profile picture feature and the status updates are very user UNfriendly. To update your own status message, you have to go through a longer procedure and those 10 seconds extra spent are quite frustrating. BBM makes it quite easy and hence its way more used. BBM also has it own network and you have to subscribe to it seperately after contacting your network operator. These small things get you addicted to BBM. Now the big question is, does even iMsg have such features? Okay it might not have a seperate network like BBM(where you have to pay extra from before) but does it atleast have features like profile picture and easy updates of status msgs?

    • Manik

      Whatsapp and iMessage both use the contact picture , so yes there’s a picture!
      You don’t have to file an affidavit to change your status so the procedure is same for all three.
      Its the exact copy of BBM but is not SP based, and the only reason BBM is used more is ’cause its original and came a long time back.

      • Tejaswin

        Whatsapp uploads a picture only and only if your contact has a picture. If your contact hasn’t been assigned a picture, whatsapp won’t show any picture. To change the status, you gotta go to the already set statuses, and edit one of them. That’s inconvenient compared to changing the status in BBM. It might seem a small matter as we talk but those 10 seconds extra will be frustrating. Atleast for a user like me. And I might be a little unaware but what does SP based mean?

  • kmdf

    Does the Mail app finally support SMIME encryption?

  • Legba

    • is it possible to set your own URL Shortener API like you do in Twittter app?

    • how do you do this? “Create and store personal words in dictionary”

    • You can’t add your own URL shortener. And the feature is coming in the next few betas.

  • Legba

    • how can you set a Reminder to use GPS locations like they showed off during the keynote?

    • The location based reminders were available in the previous betas. It’s not present in beta 4. They are coming for sure.

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  • Kat.W

    Any word on if you can speak your texts, etc. like on Android? I use this feature daily when I’m driving and can’t tap out a whole text.

    Also, has the mail app gotten more gmail friendly? It was pretty bad when I had my iPhone4.

    And will you be able to hold down letters on the keyboard to type numbers? (also on some Androids)

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  • Facetime over 3G does not work!

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