Apple states that there are one hundred new features included in their iOS 4 update, a free download for owners of the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, second-generation and third generation iPod Touch, but you'll be challenged to find a list for them all or instructions as to how to find them on their website, so I've put together this quick guide to help you access the main ones, the major features that will also be included in the new iPhone 4 launching in a few days in the US and in a few weeks here in Canada.
Truth is, when Apple uses the number "100" they're including even the smallest changes, like replacing the location icon in Google Maps from a reticule to an arrow or changing the style of the icon for the calculator. When you boil it down to the most significant changes, there's only a handful of noticeable innovations, but they offer a real difference in how you'll use your device.
Multitasking
The first thing to try is double-clicking the Home button below the screen. Your screen will darken and you'll see a small menu screen of four icons rise up from below. These are the apps you've been using the most and if you scroll to the right you can continue down through the rest of your App collection. (note: this feature not available on Second Gen iPod Touchor iPhone 3G)
Tap one of these apps to launch it, then double-click the Home button to bring that menu back and you can tap a second app to launch it. Both apps will now run at the same time. Double-click the Home button again and you can use the menu again to switch between the two running apps. You can use this trick to launch as many apps as your device will support and switch between them. Because this is a new feature, not all apps may support it and, as with all software systems, there's a chance that one App might freeze or crash. It's unlikely, but when it happens simply open that menu again and tap and hold the app icons until they "jiggle" and then press the red minus icons to shut it down.
One more trick with that new menu. Double-click the Home button to bring it up and this time scroll to the left to access playback controls. These will work for any media app running, not just the iPod features, but other music-based apps you might have too.
Folders
If you download a lot of apps and are getting tired of flipping through screen after screen to find the one you want, you can now organize them into folders.
Tap and hold an app icon until it "jiggles" and then drag-and-drop it onto another app. A folder creation screen will appear and you can enter your own label or use the one suggested (based on the categories of the apps you're combing). Click on the Home button to return to normal. Now when you tap the folder icon, a screen will appear so you can access it's contents. To remove an app from a folder, simply tap and hold it until everything "jiggles" and then drag-and-drop it out of the folder to an empty space on the main menu screen.
New Options
There are a number of new options to explore throughout the existing features of your device. Here's a quick tour.
Mail
You'll now find an "All Inboxes" section that displays all of your incoming e-mails from all your accounts in one place. It doesn't allow you to access the different folders of each account (send, delete, etc.), you'll still have to go to the specific account listing for that, but it offers a quick glance of your e-mail as a whole. Perhaps the more valuable change is the introduction of threaded e-mails, now e-mails that are linked by replay all or forward all commands, etc. are displayed together. Just like for the little number icon next to an e-mail, it tells you how many messages are included with it when you open it.
A spellcheck feature is now included for both e-mails and messages. You'll be alerted to unrecognizable words with the standard red underline. Previously, the software merely used autocorrect to suggest words it thought you were trying to use.
Camera
The next time you go to take a picture, tap on the screen just as you would normally to focus. This time you'll see a slider bar appear that let's you zoom in. It's only a 5x digital zoom, the quality of your image will lessen if you use it, but it's handy. Switch the camera over to camcorder mode and you'll find that it can now use the tap to focus feature, previously available just for still photos.
In the camera roll section you'll find two new options. Images on your phone that have been geo-tagged or identified with face recognition (through iPhoto for example) can now display that data. Clicking on the "Places" tab will bring up Google Maps and show red pins for all the locations where your photos were taken.
If you choose to e-mail a large photo from your collection, you'll be greeted with a new option screen allowing you to scale the size of the photo down to consume less data in transit.
iPod
A feature I'm sure a lot of people have been waiting for is the option to create your own playlists on your device, rather than having to wait until you get back home to create them and sync them from your home computer. Where should you create your playlists? Where you listen to your music and for most people that's with their iPod or iPhone.
Wallpaper
In the Settings menu you'll now find controls for your device's wallpaper. You can select a pattern of a photograph for both the lock screen that appears when you first power on your device and the background image for the main menu screen. (Note: Although it seems like a fairly simple feature, it's sadly not available for iPhone 3G or Second Gen iPod Touch)
Calendars
There is now an option to display birthdays in your calendar. The menu screen (button is upper left of the calendar view) allows you to choose between displaying your appointments, birthdays, or both.
Improved Search
In the spotlight search screen (scroll left from the main menu) you'll now find options to perform searches across the web or Wikipedia. In your Messages app, scroll to the top to find a new search field to search through your instant messages. In the Safari browser, when you type in a new address it will display a history that includes both the title and full url address of sites you've been to previously. And if you look in the Setting Menu options or Safari you'll find three options for your default search engine - Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.
iBooks
Now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the update includes the ability to sync content across your different devices, add better options for bookmarking, fonts, and paper colour while giving you mobile access to the iBooks store, which still lacks publishers here in Canada. The iBooks app is not included in the software download itself, you have to download it from the Apps Store.
Bluetooth Keyboards
If you have a bluetooth wireless keyboard, the kind that does not use a USB transmitter, you can now connect and use it with your device. Unfortunately this is also one of the features not available to the iPhone 3G or second generation iPod Touch.
Game Center
One of the features Apple spoke about when they first presented their iOS 4 update was the launch of a social network for video games, a place where gamers could sign up for profiles, connect to each other, and earn special trophies or achievements. It's missing from the software update and Apple has clarified that this is something they will have to launch later this year.
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