iPhone OS 3.0 first impressions and photos [Updated]

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2019
Developers late Tuesday evening are downloading a widely distributed beta of Apple's new iPhone 3.0 software, installing it on their handsets, and weighing in with some first impressions and screen shots, all of which follow. [Updated with video.]

The beta is available in a variety of distributions for the various multi-touch products Apple has released over the past two years, each of which weighs in around 250MB. The updated version of the iPhone SDK is much heftier, at around 2.5GB.

Generally speaking, developers are excited about the release and say the beta is stable enough for them to use as their primary iPhone OS for the time being, though the software is clearly 'not something Apple would ship' at this point.

In particular, Spotlight is said to be very responsive and functions just as you would expect having used the feature previously on a Mac. Copy & paste is also well received, but feels somewhat flaky. Developers have experienced some difficulty making selections in Safari, which may suggest a slight learning curve like that required when exploring the iPhone's touch keyboard for the first time.

Below are a series of screenshots highlighting some of the widely publicized features of iPhone 3.0 and some that have gone unmentioned, like encrypted iPhone backups, background messaging and Camera app tweaks. Two apps that have reportedly seen no changes as of yet are Weather and Clock.

Copy and paste

Copy and paste works across all applications. We've detailed the process for text, web content, and photos in a series of annotated screenshots here. Below are some additional examples, including copy and paste of MMS messages. There's also an interface in Safari for copying URLs.

iPhone 3.0


iPhone 3.0


iPhone 3.0


iPhone 3.0


Messages

One cool feature of Apple's new MMS "Messages" app is the ability to send messages in the background, which lets you type out your second message while you're waiting for the first to send. It's quite helpful when sending very large media messages:

iPhone 3.0


Voice Memo interface

Apple's new Voice Memo application lets you record voice memos for yourself, which can then be trimmed and sent to friends, family, or coworkers via email of MMS.

iPhone 3.0


iPhone 3.0


Spotlight and Mail search

Spotlight search is accessible by flicking the iPhone's home screen to the right (as if there was a home screen to the left). In addition to serving as a global search app, it can also act as a quick application launcher.

iPhone 3.0


Mail, Notes, iPod and Calendar also have their own integrated search interface (seen in the shots below, which are flanking the new home screen). If the mail search doesn't turn up any results from messages stored on your iPhone, it will move on to search messages still located on your mail server.

iPhone 3.0


Key apps getting landscape mode

Among the apps gaining true landscape mode with a landscape keyboard are Mail, Stocks, Notes, and Messages:

iPhone 3.0


iPhone 3.0


Camera and Photos

A new version of Apple's Camera app shows you the last photo you snapped in the lower left-hand corner of the application. Meanwhile, the new Photo album app allows you to copy, delete, or share multiple photos via email.

iPhone 3.0


YouTube and Settings panel

A new version of the YouTube app due in iPhone 3.0 will let you log into your account and see subscriptions, playlists, and history. Below is also a photo of the iPhone's general preference pane thrown in for good measure. There are reportedly few changes in the settings.

iPhone 3.0


Parental controls & contact sharing

Below are some of the new parental controls and the dialog that allows sharing of contact cards (vCard standard) over MMS.

iPhone 3.0


New screenshot interface

The version of the App Store application included with the iPhone 3.0 beta includes a slightly revised and quirky interface for viewing screenshots:

iPhone 3.0


Encrypt iPhone backups and Note syncing

Below are two screenshots from the current version of iTunes showing options to encrypt iPhone backups and sync notes to handsets running iPhone OS 3.0.

iPhone 3.0


Video walkthrough

YouTube user Jon has posted the following nine-minute walkthrough video of iPhone OS 3.0:



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 101
    cubertcubert Posts: 728member
    The features highlighted today blew me away!



    The ability to create third party apps that can interface with an accessory (via the dock connector or bluetooth) is the future of the platform.
  • Reply 2 of 101
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cubert View Post


    The features highlighted today blew me away!



    The ability to create third party apps that can interface with an accessory (via the dock connector or bluetooth) is the future of the platform.



    Heh, I thought the ability to write third-party apps that could find other nearby apps was the future of the platform... I guess if the platform has multiple futures, though, that's a good thing.
  • Reply 3 of 101
    Does anyone know if you are able to copy/cut/paste full events in calendar?
  • Reply 4 of 101
    only thing is MMS Disabled in the Beta cause I can get it to send a normal text message but whenever try to send a message with a picture it fails :'(
  • Reply 5 of 101
    Does that mean syncing of notes between Mail.app and iPhone's Notes app? That would be great!
  • Reply 6 of 101
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Traveler View Post


    Does that mean syncing of notes between Mail.app and iPhone's Notes app? That would be great!



    That's exactly what it means! Hopefully Apple will update MobileMe with a Notes tab. Also still missing is ToDo support!



    All in all, a good day!
  • Reply 7 of 101
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SteveLV702 View Post


    only thing is MMS Disabled in the Beta cause I can get it to send a normal text message but whenever try to send a message with a picture it fails :'(



    It's working for me.
  • Reply 8 of 101
    Is To Do the same as notes? I don't see a Note creation in iCal, but there is a differentiation in Entourage between Notes and Tasks (or To Do's.) Thanks!
  • Reply 9 of 101
    is there gonna be a new way to add people to the sms list thing they used to have... like u would have to find the person. click them. go back to sms. find another person. click them, go back to sms. find another person. click them.. blah blah.. ya know? i might not be making sense, but will there b a way to just check mark the ppl we wanna text, instead of having to go back and forth on the messaging app?
  • Reply 10 of 101
    royleeroylee Posts: 8member
    Forwarding SMS messages would be nice...but I guess at least now you can copy and paste the contents into a new message.
  • Reply 11 of 101
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by roylee View Post


    Forwarding SMS messages would be nice...but I guess at least now you can copy and paste the contents into a new message.



    That's included. Multiple forwarding and deletion of specified texts
  • Reply 12 of 101
    I'm disappointed they didn't call it Lip Service.
  • Reply 13 of 101
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    It's working for me.



    hmmm interesting wounder why its not working for any of our phones :'(
  • Reply 14 of 101
    Is Mail still limited to ONE unified signature for ALL email accounts?? This would be a real bummer, as we need different signatures for each different email account that we use!
  • Reply 15 of 101
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SteveLV702 View Post


    only thing is MMS Disabled in the Beta cause I can get it to send a normal text message but whenever try to send a message with a picture it fails :'(



    I think it's huge that you can turn settings on and off for SMS and MMS....Huge !!!....for me, anyway!
  • Reply 16 of 101
    ksecksec Posts: 1,569member
    Syncing Notes and Email.

    No longer do i have to dowload those email again over the STUPIDLY SLOW Wifi and 3G connection
  • Reply 17 of 101
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SteveLV702 View Post


    hmmm interesting wounder why its not working for any of our phones :'(



    Interesting. I sent a mms text to my boss earlier... I just tried again just now and it isn't working.
  • Reply 18 of 101
    walshbjwalshbj Posts: 864member
    Nice overview Kasper. Looking forward to my first iPhone in June-July...
  • Reply 19 of 101
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    This is great. I find that the iPhone already syncs just fine to multiple computers (not the same data types for each). Currently I sync email settings and photos with my laptop, and I sync iTunes and calendar with my desktop. Now I'll sync notes with the laptop as well.



    ( I just wish backups were optional: I don't feel the need to have BOTH machines make a backup every time I sync. So I click cancel when using the laptop.)
  • Reply 20 of 101
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    That's exactly what it means! Hopefully Apple will update MobileMe with a Notes tab. Also still missing is ToDo support!



    All in all, a good day!



    I'm sorry I don't understand your post completely, but are you running the 3.0 software and confirming no ToDo support? I was eagerly looking for mention of that support in the presentation but didn't see anything.



    --Dave
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