iOS is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also included the versions running on iPads until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, as well as on the iPod Touch devices, which were discontinued in mid-2022. It is the world's second-most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. It is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. It is proprietary software, although some parts of it are open source under the Apple Public Source License and other licenses.
FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later. FaceTime supports any iOS device with a forward-facing camera and any Mac computer equipped with a FaceTime Camera. FaceTime Audio, an audio-only version, is available on any iOS device that supports iOS 7 or newer, and any Mac with a forward-facing camera running Mac OS X 10.9.2 and later. FaceTime is included for free in iOS and in macOS from Mac OS X Lion (10.7) onwards. Since the release of iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, non-Apple systems can be used to participate in FaceTime calls using a web client.
iCloud is a cloud-storage and cloud-computing service from Apple Inc. launched on October 12, 2011. As of 2018, the service had an estimated 850 million users, up from 782 million users in 2016.
Messages is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for its macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS operating systems.
Apple Maps is a web mapping service developed by Apple Inc. The default map system of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, it provides directions and estimated times of arrival for driving, walking, cycling, and public transportation navigation. A "Flyover" mode shows certain densely populated urban centers and other places of interest in a 3D landscape composed of models of buildings and structures.
iOS 7 is the seventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 6. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2013, and was released on September 18 of that year. It was succeeded by iOS 8 on September 17, 2014.
Health is the health informatics mobile app announced on June 2, 2014 by Apple Inc. at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The app is included with iPhones and iPod Touch that run iOS 8 or later, and the Apple Watch starting with watchOS 1.
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services.
watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone and iPod Touch, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only device that runs watchOS. watchOS exposes an API called WatchKit for developer use.
tvOS is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the second generation and later Apple TV digital media player. It is based on the iOS operating system and has many similar frameworks, technologies, and concepts.
macOS Sierra is the thirteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to uniform the operating system's name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.
Weather is a weather forecasting mobile app developed by Apple Inc, available on iOS since the release of the iPhone and iPhone OS 1 in 2007. It allows users to see the conditions, forecast, temperature, and other related metrics of the device's current location, as well as a number of other cities. A version of Weather is also available for watchOS; however, it is limited in functionality. Prior to iPadOS 16 and MacOS Ventura, Weather only existed as a widget for iPadOS and macOS devices with similarly limited functionality.
iOS 12 is the twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvements and security updates. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, 2018, iOS 12 was released to the public on September 17, 2018. It was succeeded for the iPhone and iPod Touch by iOS 13 on September 19, 2019 and for the iPad by iPadOS 13 on September 24, 2019. Security updates for iOS 12 continued for three years following the release of iOS 13 for devices unable to run the newer operating system. Security updates then ceased for iOS 12, making 12.5.5 the last update for iOS 12.
iOS 14 is the fourteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPhone and iPod Touch lines. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020 as the successor to iOS 13, it was released to the public on September 16, 2020. It was succeeded by iOS 15 on September 20, 2021.
The (Google/Apple) Exposure Notification (GAEN) system, originally known as the Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing Project, is a framework and protocol specification developed by Apple Inc. and Google to facilitate digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. When used by health authorities, it augments more traditional contact tracing techniques by automatically logging encounters with other notification system users using their Android or iOS smartphone. Exposure Notification is a decentralized reporting based protocol built on a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy technology and privacy-preserving cryptography. It is used as an opt-in feature within COVID-19 apps developed and published by authorized health authorities. Originally unveiled on April 10, 2020, it was first made available on iOS on May 20, 2020 as part of the iOS 13.5 update and on December 14, 2020 as part of the iOS 12.5 update for older iPhones. On Android, it was added to devices via a Google Play Services update, supporting all versions since Android Marshmallow.
Fitness, formerly Activity, is an exercise tracking companion app announced by Apple Inc. during their September 2014 Special Event. The app is available on iPhones running iOS 8.2 or above for users with a connected Apple Watch. The application displays a summary view of user's recorded workouts from the Apple Watch or supported third-party apps and exercise equipment.
Pre-installed iOS apps, referred to in the App Store as 'Built-In Apps', are a suite of mobile applications developed by Apple Inc. which are bundled with iOS and installed by default or through a system update. Many of the default apps found on iOS have counterparts on Apple's other operating systems macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS, which are often modified versions of or similar to the iOS application. As each app is integrated into the operating system itself, they often feature greater support for system features than third-party alternatives and are quick to adapt new features of iOS.
iOS 15 is the fifteenth and current major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone and iPod Touch lines of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7, 2021, as the successor to iOS 14, and released to the public on September 20, 2021.
macOS Monterey is the eighteenth and current major release of macOS, Apple's desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to macOS Big Sur, it was announced at WWDC 2021 on June 7, 2021, and released on October 25, 2021. macOS Monterey will be succeeded by macOS Ventura, which was announced at WWDC 2022 on June 6, 2022.
iOS 16 is the 16th and upcoming major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone line of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6, 2022, as the successor to iOS 15.
