Apple iOS 5 Pro Reviews

While the distance between iOS and its contemporaries has shrunk, Apple's baby is certainly more polished and feature-complete than it ever has been. With gripes like notifications and wireless sync behind us, Apple's been able to hone in on breaking new ground with features like Siri, iCloud and iMessage -- all in an extremely refined way. And that's when it hit us. Other than turn-by-turn navigation, more multitasking APIs and some delectable widgets, there isn't much, headline-wise, left on Apple's hit list for iOS 6. The OS that once was functionally limited, yet smooth and pretty, has blossomed into something that is powerful and yet also slick. It's certainly not the OS for everyone, but from a macro perspective, you really can't argue with its laser focus on attention to detail.

I find myself coming away from iOS 5 very pleased by what it brings to the table. It fixes the single biggest issue with iOS dating back a few generations and integrates a few new features very seamlessly without changing the feel or polish of the OS. However, at the same time, I find myself wishing Apple had tried something more daring with the design of iOS 5, especially in light of the significant redesigns Microsoft and Google are in the process of giving their mobile platforms. But iOS has definitely been a success for Apple, so you can’t fault it for not messing with what has worked so well thus far. This is, of course, only part of the story. The rest is with the hardware side - half written already with the iPad 2, and the other half set to come in a few days time with the iPhone 4S.

As you can see, there isn't much left to ask of the iOS. The fifth version brings the platform up to speed and the iPhone 4S promises to push its limits even further with the Siri intelligent assistant. Surely, there are still lots of things missing - like Flash support, proper USB storage management, wider codec support and more. But most of the missing features go against the Apple doctrine, so we are probably never going to see them implemented. As we see it right now, the future of the iOS is about novel native apps such as the upcoming Siri assistant, rather than integrating mainstream features. It seems the iOS core is almost complete, so it’s probably time for Apple to concentrate on making cool new apps and value-adding services - social, business, etc. The iOS 5 is as good as any of the previous iOS updates - bringing just enough new features to be evolutionary, but not revolutionary. It's the same straightforward mobile OS we saw on the first iPhone, it's just becoming more complete. There are many people loving and hating the Apple way of handling things, but it's still the winning way on the current market - because it’s simple, it works as promised and offers the biggest mobile application store to date. The iOS has always been an app-centric rather than a feature-rich platform - exactly the thing that sets it apart, and puts it ahead of rivals.

Apple iOS 5 fixes many of the quibbles that iFans have had with Cupertino's mobile OS, while simultaneously adding new features to increase the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad's functionality.

There are still areas that could be improved, of course. Incoming calls could be better dealt with, sharing could be more encompassing, and we've picked out some niggles above, but in reality, iOS 5 has dealt with some of our biggest bugbears. For us, notifications is the change we appreciate the most as they are now much more dynamic, much more useful and acknowledge the level of notifications that modern smartphone users now get.

As with previous iOS updates, iOS 5 is totally free. As such, it’s hard to argue against installing it, especially as developers begin to take advantage of more and more of the under-the-hood features it offers. But that’s not to say that this initial release is all sunshine and daisies. I ran across quite a few bugs and flaws in the software as I tested it, and while none are significant enough to recommend against upgrading, this strikes me as the least polished major iOS update in quite some time.

As a free upgrade, it’s difficult to argue with iOS 5. We’ve grown used to our devices gaining new functionality as the months go by: people even buy products today based on what they may well do tomorrow. Nonetheless, as updates go, iOS 5 is a considerable one. If Apple was charging for iOS 5, we’d tell you to pay for it. Free, and with iCloud services thrown in too, it could well be the bargain of the year.