The Evolution of iOS: How Steve Jobs' Vision Changed the Face of Technology

Steve Jobs was a pioneer in the world of technology, and his vision for the iPhone revolutionized the way people interact with their devices. The first iPhone was released in 2007, and it quickly became one of the most popular smartphones on the market. But what many people may not know is that iOS, as we know it today, was heavily influenced by a software keyboard and other innovative features.

A Software Keyboard

The introduction of a software keyboard was a game-changer for iPhone users. It allowed for a more streamlined and intuitive user experience, making it easier for people to type on their devices. The software keyboard also came with predictive text and swipe keyboards, which made typing even faster and more efficient. As users became more comfortable with the new keyboard layout, other companies began to explore similar approaches to their products.

Multi-Touch Displays

The multi-touch display, first introduced in the iPhone, was another revolutionary feature that changed the face of technology. Other smartphone makers soon adopted this concept, and it started appearing in appliances, computers, and even cars. The touch screen era was born, and iOS was at the forefront of this movement.

The App Store

One of the most notable additions to iOS came with iPhone OS 2, which introduced the App Store. Steve Jobs was initially opposed to the idea, preferring that third-party developers create web apps instead. However, the App Store turned out to be a huge hit, and it allowed for a vibrant app ecosystem that still exists today. The App Store played a significant role in making iOS one of the most popular mobile operating systems.

Jailbreaking

In the early days of iOS, users began to demand more advanced features, such as custom wallpaper, multitasking, and cut copy and paste. Apple's response was slow, and this led to the rise of jailbreaking. Jailbreaking allowed users to bypass Apple's software restrictions and install software that wasn't available through the App Store. A program called Cydia enabled users to download apps, games, and even operating system tweaks.

Features from Jailbreak Tutorials

The jailbreak community played a significant role in shaping iOS. Features such as screen recording, customizable control center, one-handed keyboard, QR code scanning, and Files were all borrowed from the jailbreak tutorials and implemented natively on iOS. This collaboration between Apple and the jailbreak community helped to refine the features that users wanted most.

The Decline of Jailbreaking

Jailbreaking wasn't as popular as it once was, mainly because iOS had absorbed many of the advanced functionalities that users wanted. With the introduction of universal apps and the seamless integration of macOS and iPadOS, the need for jailbreaking decreased significantly.

Universal Apps

Apple's recent announcement of Project Catalyst aims to bring iPad apps to the Mac. This initiative will result in more high-quality apps being available on the Mac, as well as more capable desktop-class applications for the iPad. Although Apple has stated that they don't intend on merging macOS and iPadOS, they are working towards a universal app ecosystem that will make all of their operating systems work together seamlessly.

The Influence of iOS

iOS's influence has reached further than just the Mac or Apple Watch. Touch-based software is now appearing in products such as kiosks at McDonald's and newer vending machines. Cars like the Tesla Model 3 have taken a software-centric approach to its functionality, eliminating traditional buttons and dials in favor of a large display powered by a multi-touch operating system.

The Era of Touch

iOS essentially started what I call the "era of touch" – where software is designed around our fingers instead of a cursor or stylus. This has been one of the most influential operating systems ever made, and its impact will be felt for years to come.

Protecting Your iPhone

To show appreciation for your iPhone and its OS, it's essential to give it some protection with a clear ESR smartphone case. These cases have actually been named Amazon's Choice and offer great features such as grip, durability, and ease of use. The cutouts on the bottom line up perfectly with the lighting port and speaker grill, making them an excellent choice for iPhone users.

Conclusion

In conclusion, iOS has come a long way since its introduction in 2007. From the software keyboard to the App Store, jailbreaking, and now universal apps, iOS has revolutionized the way we interact with our devices. Its influence can be seen in products such as kiosks, vending machines, and even cars. The era of touch, pioneered by iOS, will continue to shape the future of technology.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eniOS was introduced with the original iPhoneover a decade ago, and has since become aubiquitous part of our everyday lives.But there are some things about the operatingsystem that you may not know, like the factthat Apple initially developed it for theiPad, not the iPhone.But since its release in 2007, iOS has notonly become one of the most powerful mobileoperating systems in the world, but it’shelped reshape the entire tech industry.iOS has transcended the iPhone to become anintegral part of multiple apple products,with underpinnings of the operating systempresent in the Mac, Apple Watch, and AppleTV.And its influence on software in other productslike cars, appliances, kiosks, and even vendingmachines are undeniable.So in this video we’re going to explorethe history of iOS and find out why it’sone of the most important operating systemsever made.This is Greg with Apple Explained, and ifyou want to help decide which topics I cover,make sure you’re subscribed and these votingpolls will show up in your mobile activityfeed.So iOS started off as what we might considertoday a very basic operating system, onlycapable of specific functions like playingmusic, browsing the internet, sending texts,and making calls.After all, the original iPhone only had 15apps, and the App Store hadn’t been inventedyet so there weren’t any third party applicationsavailable.But at the time, iPhone’s OS was consideredto be the most advanced mobile operating systemever built, and it took Apple years to create.Not only had there never been a mass-markettouch-based operating system before, but Applehad never even made a mobile phone.So they were creating the iPhone’s hardwareand software all from scratch.Although this turned out to be for the best,since the iPhone’s software would be perfectlyoptimized for its hardware, and deliver auser experience that no one had ever expectedon a mobile device.But the roots of iOS actually go back furtherthan the iPhone, because Apple was actuallyworking on a multitouch tablet, the iPad,before a smartphone.And it wasn’t until Steve Jobs saw inertialscrolling running on a large multitouch displaythat he realized the software was perfectlysuited for a small mobile phone.That’s when Apple put the tablet projecton hold and decided to start working on theiPhone instead, which would eventually leadto the first version of iOS.Now I should mention Apple never actuallygave the iPhone’s operating system a nameuntil the second version, which they dubbediPhone OS 2.And it’s name wouldn’t change to iOS untilthe fourth version in 2010.But despite not having a name, iPhone OS 1became widely-recognized and respected theday it was introduced.Primarily because it redefined what a smartphonewas capable of.And I think it’s important to remember whatsmartphone software looked like before theiPhone.Here’s one of the most popular mobile phonesof 2006, the BlackBerry 8700.You might think it looks more like a pagerthan a smartphone, but this BlackBerry wasincredibly popular and represented the mostadvanced technology on the market at the time.That may come as a surprise since its operatingsystem looks so archaic, but it did have morefunctionality than standard, less expensivecell phones.Its advertised features included things likeinternet browsing, email, and music playback.But the interface was so clumsy and its technologywas so limited that very few people took advantageof all its capabilities.In fact, here’s what its internet browserlooked like.So you can see why people would rather’veused their computers for any serious web browsing.And that’s exactly why, when Jobs introducedthe iPhone, he said other smartphones havebaby internet and baby email, whereas theiPhone delivered a desktop-class experiencethat rivaled computers.And that was a serious assertion to make backthen, since mobile devices were nowhere nearas powerful as desktop computers.Now I should mention that there were limitationsto iPhone OS 1.For example, it didn’t have Adobe Flash,which used to be a very popular web mediaformat used to create internet applications,websites, web browser video players, amongother things.And this meant you’d come across holes inwebsites where flash was being used.Apple gave a few reasons why they decidednot to run flash on iOS.First, it was a very buggy format that wasknown to crash frequently, even on desktopcomputers.Second, Flash was not power efficient, whichcaused battery drain on mobile devices likeiPhones.And lastly, it was slow and old.With its technology dating back to the mid90s.So instead of including Flash on iOS, Appledecided to bet on HTML5 instead.It was a more modern format that could beused for some aspect of web content, althoughthe technology was much different from Flash.This turned out to be the right move for Apple,since Adobe announced in 2017 that that’dbe killing Flash in 2020, due to the transitionto HTML5.But despite some limitations, iPhone OS 1was a leapfrog operating system that far outstrippedanything its competitors were doing.More importantly, it set the stage for newplayers to enter the smartphone market withsimilar advanced touch screen devices thattraditional phone manufactures were, at thetime, unwilling to make.Mainly because companies like Blackberry andMicrosoft were convinced that business customersneeded smartphones with physical keyboards.And not only was this assumption a criticalmistake, but it demonstrated how being stuckin traditional ways of thinking can cloudyour understanding of where the future isheaded.Even when it was staring them right in theface with the iPhone.Looking back, it’s easy for us to see iPhoneOS 1 and saying “that was definitely thefuture of technology.”But back in 2007, that would’ve been a verycontroversial statement.Some might say the iPhone was simply a toyfor people who don’t understand how to usereal smartphones.They might say a touch-based operating systemdoesn’t make sense for a mobile device sinceit needs the precision of a stylus.And one of my favorite criticisms of the iPhonefrom a friend in high school was “who wouldwant to touch their phone’s screen all thetime?It’s going to get so many fingerprints.”And this is where I think the iPhone and itsOS doesn’t get enough credit.They single handedly convinced an entire industrythat the way they’d been doing things forthe past thirty years was wrong.Mobile phones aren’t meant to have dozensof plastic buttons that take up half of thedevice.No one cares if they have fingerprints ontheir screen.A software keyboard is something you can getacclimated to and perhaps even type betteron with features like predictive text andswipe keyboards.And once people became receptive to thesenew concepts, other companies were able toexplore similar approaches to their products.And this is how the touch screen era was born.Not only did other smartphone makers adoptmulti touch displays, but they also beganappearing in things like appliances, computers,and cars.Now when it came to iOS, Apple began iteratingon it every year.And one of the most notable additions camein iPhone OS 2 with the App Store.A concept that Steve Jobs was initially opposedto, since he thought third party developersshould simply create web apps instead.Well, the App Store turned out to be a hugehit, and allowed for a vibrant app ecosystemthat to this day remains a big reason whypeople choose iPhone.But I should mention a phenomenon that occurredin the early days of iOS that young peopletoday may not know about, and it was calledjailbreaking.You see, Apple has always been known to taketime when implementing new software features.So as competitors like Google were addingfeatures like custom wallpaper, multitasking,and cut copy and paste to their Android mobileoperating system, iPhone users were forcedto wait on Apple to introduce similar featuresto iOS.And because of this high demand to accessmore advanced functionality, it became fairlycommon for iPhone users to jailbreak theirdevice.This would remove Apple’s software restrictionsand allow installation of software that wasn’tavailable through the App Store.A program called Cydia allowed users to downloadapps, games, and even operating system tweaks.You could change the layout of the home screen,download ad-blockers, and customize the keyboard.Jailbreaking was a very important part ofthe development of iOS.Because although Apple heavily discouragedusers from doing it, there were some featuresborrowed from the jailbreak community andimplemented natively on iOS.Things like screen recording, a customizablecontrol center, one handed keyboard, QR codescanning, and Files were all features thatoriginated in jailbroken iPhones.And I actually think this helped Apple understandwhat features their users wanted most sincethey could simply see what Jailbreak tweakswere most popular.Now today Jailbreaking isn’t nearly as popularas it once was.Mainly because iOS has absorbed many of thoseadvanced functionalities that users wanted,giving users less reasons to Jailbreak inthe first place.Now today iOS is about more than just theiPhone.It runs as a slightly modified OS on the iPad,and provided the groundwork needed to createwatch and tvOS.And although the Mac’s operating systemhas existed for decades, it’s being influencedby iOS more and more with every annual update.In fact, Apple recently introduced ProjectCatalyst.Which would allow developers to bring iPadapps to the Mac.It’s a huge step in the direction of universalapps which would not only result in more highquality apps being available on the Mac, buthopefully mean more capable, desktop-classapplications for the iPad.And while Apple has made it clear that theydon’t intend on merging MacOS and iPadOS,they are trying to make all of their operatingsystems work together as seamlessly as possible.But iOS’s influence has reached furtherthan the Mac or Apple Watch.Take a look at some of the touch-based softwarewe’re seeing in products I mentioned earlier.Kiosks at McDonalds and even newer vendingmachines are designed to function like a touchscreensmartphone.Cars like the Tesla Model 3 have taken a verysoftware-centric approach to its functionality.Eliminating nearly all traditional buttonsand dials, in favor of a large display poweredby a multi-touch operating system.Sound familiar?iOS essentially started what I call the touchera of technology.Where software is designed around our fingerinstead of a cursor or stylus.And I think that makes it one of the mostinfluential operating systems ever made.So in order to show some appreciation foryour iPhone and its OS, I recommend givingit some protection with a clear ESR smartphonecase.These two models have actually been namedAmazons’ Choice.They’re grippy and feel great to hold, thecutouts on the bottom line up perfectly withthe lighting port and speaker grill, and theside buttons are firm and easy to press insteadof being soft and squishy like on siliconcases.But my favorite feature is this metal kickstand,whether I’m watching YouTube videos or FaceTimingmy family.So click the link in the description to checkthese cases out for yourself, which are notonly available for the iPhone X but also olderiPhone models and Android devices.Thanks to ESR for sponsoring this video andbe sure to order by July 5th with these promocodes to get 10% off!Alright guys thanks for watching and I’llsee you next time.\n"