Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About the iPhone 4

Software

Apple is rebranding the operating system that powers the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone to “iOS”. This is a clarifying move, as it was once referred to as the iPhone OS, but that is no longer quite accurate. Apple claims that iOS 4 has over 100 new features, and the update will bring additional feature parity between the iPad and iPhone devices.

iOS 4

Version 4 of the iOS will ship with the iPhone 4 and will be available as a free update for the iPhone 3GS/3G, and iPod Touch 2nd and 3rd gen in the near-future. The first generation iPhone and iPod Touch are being left behind with the release of iOS 4. Multitasking (one of the big features of iOS 4) will only be available on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3G and presumably the iPod Touch 2nd gen will not be able to multitask in iOS 4. And yes, you read that part — about the update being free for iPod Touch users — correctly. Apple has previously charged iPod Touch users $10 for each major update to the OS. Now they say “we finally found a way to get them for free to our iPod touch users.” [Source: Engadget Keynote Live blog]

Multitasking and Folders

Per the supported devices listed above, iOS will enable multitasking. Check the video below (folders will be available for all supported iOS 4 devices):

iOS 4 will offer local as well as push notifications. What this means is that you can run an IM or VoIP application in the background, for example, and receive a local notification if you have an incoming call or IM. Instead of a push notification, which has to run through a push server then get sent to your device through the web – the backgrounded applications will be able to simply notify your device directly, then you can simply switch to the app when it requires your attention.

Facetime Video Calling

The iPhone 4 will utilize the front and rear cameras for video calling, which Apple is naming “Facetime”. Apple says that Facetime will be limited to WiFi for 2010, but it sounds like they are hoping to work with carriers to get it working over 3G in the future. For now it works between iPhone 4 users only, and can be enabled while on a phone call, or directly from your contacts list. Apple has a zero-configuration back-end which connects the phones over WiFi once the Facetime call has been enabled, which is rather impressive, as users will be able to do video calls to other iPhone 4 users right out of the box — no screen names or accounts to deal with. Users will be able to flip between the front and rear cameras on the fly. Check out Facetime on the iPhone below:

Video Publishing and Editing with iMovie for the iPhone 4

The iPhone 4’s 5MP rear camera will take HD video up to 1280×720. While previous devices featured a simple but effective video cropping method, the iPhone 4 will be able to do advanced multi-clip video editing with Apple’s iMovie app which will be priced at a reasonable $4.99. With iMovie, you’ll be able to clip and crop multiple files together into a finished video with transitions, titles, and music. Once you are done, the iPhone can export at 360/540/720p to be sent via email, MMS, MobileMe gallery, or sent to YouTube.

Additional Questions?

If you didn’t find the information that you were looking for in this post, drop me a line in the comments section and I’ll do my best to get you an answer.

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