iPhone OS
iPhone OS
iPhone OS version 2.2.1
Company /
developer
Apple Inc.
OS family
Mac OS X / Unix-like
Working state Current
Source model
Closed source (with open
source components)
Latest stable
release
2.2.1 (5H11) / 2009-1-27
Latest
unstable
release
3.0 Beta 5 / 2009-5-6
Supported
platforms
ARMv6 (iPhone and iPod
Touch)
Kernel type
Hybrid
Default user
interface
Cocoa Touch (Multi-touch,
GUI)
License
Proprietary EULA
Website
iPhone Dev Center
The iPhone OS or OS X iPhone is the oper-
ating system developed by Apple Inc. for the
iPhone and iPod Touch.[1][2] Like Mac OS X,
from which it was derived, it uses the Darwin
foundation.[3] iPhone OS has four abstraction
layers: the Core OS layer, the Core Services
layer, the Media layer, and the Cocoa Touch
layer. The operating system takes less 240
Megabytes of the device’s total memory stor-
age.[4]
This operating system did not have an offi-
cial name until the release of the first beta
version of the iPhone SDK on March 6, 2008.
Before
then, Apple marketing
literature
simply stated that the "iPhone uses OS X," a
reference to Apple’s desktop operating sys-
tem, Mac OS X.[5]
As of 19 April 2009 (2009 -04-19), there
are over 25,000 applications officially avail-
able for the iPhone and Apple’s App Store
has provided more than 1 billion downloads
as of 23 April 2009.
User interface
The iPhone OS’s user interface is based on
the concept of direct manipulation, using
multi-touch gestures. Interface control ele-
ments consist of sliders, switches, and but-
tons. The response to user input is supposed
to be immediate to provide a fluid interface.
Interaction with the OS includes gestures
such as swiping, tapping, pinching, and re-
verse pinching. Additionally, using internal
accelerometers, rotating the device on its y-
axis alters the screen orientation in some
applications.
A
home
screen
(rendered
by
"SpringBoard") with application icons, and a
dock at the bottom of the screen, showing
icons for the applications the user accesses
the most, is presented when the device