iPhone news, iPhone updates and iPhone information

Developers, get your [REDACTED] on.

iOS 5 beta 1 is now available for download from Apple's developer site. You must be a paid $99/year developer to gain access to this beta. Sign in with your dev credentials to gain access.

The beta is, as always, released under the terms of Apple's NDA. For that reason, exploration of new APIs and features are left as an exercise for the reader.

To access the new beta, you must sign an updated developer agreement. The site is a bit glitchy right now so be patient.

Happy developing everyone!

iOS 5 Beta 1 ready for download. Kind of. originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While everybody was gawking at the news coming in from the WWDC 2011 Stevenote today, Apple silently slipped in an update to the iOS iTunes and App Store apps. The update, which was made on Apple's servers, adds a feature that was described in the keynote -- the Purchased button.

As you can see in the screenshot at right, looking at Updates in the App Store app now displays a Purchased button. Tap on it, and you see a list (below) of every app you've purchased. There's a tab displaying all purchased apps, and another showing just those that have been purchased but are not currently installed on the iOS device.

The apps that you've purchased and haven't installed (or that you've removed) display a little cloud button with a downward-pointing arrow, indicating that you can tap that button to install the app on your device.

For iTunes, the Purchased button is located in the bottom toolbar (see below). A tap displays all songs that you have purchased, recent purchases, and then an alphabetical list of every song purchased by artist. When you find a song or album that you own, but that isn't currently on your iOS device, a tap on the cloud icon downloads it immediately.

The change isn't immediately noticeable to the user who only occasionally visits these apps, but it is going to be very useful for owners of iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches who might need to remove apps or music to gain storage space, and then want to reload their content.

Update: One more little detail. When you're in iTunes and music that you've purchased is being downloaded, there's a small red indicator that appears down in the bottom right of the toolbar and counts down as the songs appear. Cool!

iOS iTunes, App Store apps silently updated to add Purchased button (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While everybody was gawking at the news coming in from the WWDC 2011 Stevenote today, Apple silently slipped in an update to the iOS iTunes and App Store apps. The update, which was made on Apple's servers, adds a feature that was described in the keynote -- the Purchased button.

As you can see in the screenshot at right, looking at Updates in the App Store app now displays a Purchased button. Tap on it, and you see a list (below) of every app you've purchased. There's a tab displaying all purchased apps, and another showing just those that have been purchased but are not currently installed on the iOS device.

The apps that you've purchased and haven't installed (or that you've removed) display a little cloud button with a downward-pointing arrow, indicating that you can tap that button to install the app on your device.

For iTunes, the Purchased button is located in the bottom toolbar (see below). A tap displays all songs that you have purchased, recent purchases, and then an alphabetical list of every song purchased by artist. When you find a song or album that you own, but that isn't currently on your iOS device, a tap on the cloud icon downloads it immediately.

The change isn't immediately noticeable to the user who only occasionally visits these apps, but it is going to be very useful for owners of iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches who might need to remove apps or music to gain storage space, and then want to reload their content.

Update: One more little detail. When you're in iTunes and music that you've purchased is being downloaded, there's a small red indicator that appears down in the bottom right of the toolbar and counts down as the songs appear. Cool!

iOS iTunes, App Store apps silently updated to add Purchased button (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Short of time? Intimidated by a huge sprawl of WWDC news? Here's the most important things for iPhone users to know about what changes we'll be seeing in the fall when iOS 5 is available for our phones.

1. iCloud

Probably the biggest change to how we'll use our iOS devices going forward, iCloud is the glue that binds it all together. It has a number of big features of its own: buy music on your iPhone and copies of the same songs will appear on your Mac and iPad, for example. Work on a Pages document on your Mac, and the same file will be available on the iPhone. iCloud also shows a simple list of all the apps and music you've purchased, so you can easily re-download things you've already bought but deleted.

iCloud also plays an important supporting role in many of the other features iOS 5 brings to the table -- I'll highlight them as we go through the following sections.

2. PC free

No more cables! With iOS 5, your iPhone will be able to sync your iTunes content over your Wi-fi network and download new iOS updates on its own without having to connect it to iTunes first. Plus, iCloud will automatically back up important content on your iPhone -- such as game saves and photos -- once per day. When you get a new phone, a quick sign-in with your iTunes account will have it automatically downloading the last backup. Now, more than ever, the iPhone can claim to be a post-PC device.

Continue reading Seven things iPhone users should know about today's announcment

Seven things iPhone users should know about today's announcment originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Short of time? Intimidated by a huge sprawl of WWDC news? Here's the most important things for iPhone users to know about what changes we'll be seeing in the fall when iOS 5 is available for our phones.

1. iCloud

Probably the biggest change to how we'll use our iOS devices going forward, iCloud is the glue that binds it all together. It has a number of big features of its own: buy music on your iPhone and copies of the same songs will appear on your Mac and iPad, for example. Work on a Pages document on your Mac, and the same file will be available on the iPhone. iCloud also shows a simple list of all the apps and music you've purchased, so you can easily re-download things you've already bought but deleted.

iCloud also plays an important supporting role in many of the other features iOS 5 brings to the table -- I'll highlight them as we go through the following sections.

2. PC free

No more cables! With iOS 5, your iPhone will be able to sync your iTunes content over your Wi-fi network and download new iOS updates on its own without having to connect it to iTunes first. Plus, iCloud will automatically back up important content on your iPhone -- such as game saves and photos -- once per day. When you get a new phone, a quick sign-in with your iTunes account will have it automatically downloading the last backup. Now, more than ever, the iPhone can claim to be a post-PC device.

Continue reading Seven things iPhone users should know about today's announcment

Seven things iPhone users should know about today's announcment originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.