Inside Apple's iOS 5: Calendar improvements help make iPhone, iPad PC-free

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
With iCloud connectivity and the ability to add calendars directly on iOS devices, updates to the native Calendar application in Apple's iOS 5 will play a major role in the company's PC-free push.



With iOS 5, users will be able to add, rename and delete calendars directly from an iPhone or iPad. Previously, these activities required tethering to a PC via USB.



Event attachments can also be viewed from directly within Calendar, with no need to switch to another application to view associated content.



In the current iOS 5 betas available to developers, the option to add calendars is already in place on the iPad. However, the ability to create a calendar on the iPhone does not appear to have been included in the first build.



But new features can already be found in the first beta of iOS 5 for iPhone users, specifically a new landscape view. Turning the iPhone into landscape mode automatically presents a segmented week view.







One major new feature of the updated Calendar is default alert times. With this, users can, for example, have their iOS device automatically set a reminder alarm for each event they create, making it unnecessary to change settings and add alarms for every new event.



The new Calendar software also allows users to set different default alarms for different types of events. With this, custom settings can be changed for event categories such as birthdays, regular events and all-day events.









Also new on the iPad is a yearly view. With this option, users can view with color coding how busy their days are. A free day is white, representing no events, while more crowded days are yellow and orange, and a jam-packed schedule is presented in red.







Events can be added or edited by tapping on the calendar. From there, users are given two drag points so they can easily change the duration of the event.









Events can also be dragged around the calendar to change days or times. On the iPad, timelines are highlighted in 15-minute intervals, making it clearer for users where they should drop an event for proper placement.



iOS 5 also offers deep connectivity with Apple's new iCloud service. With iCloud, users will be able to share their calendars with others, and keep events in sync across a range of devices.







For more, see AppleInsider's extensive coverage of iOS 5, including the in-depth features below:



Inside Apple's iOS 5: iTunes Tone Store will offer more text alert options



Inside iOS 5: Notification Center, banner alerts.



Inside Apple's move to open up SMS-style messaging to not-mobile clients



Inside Apple's iOS 5: Reminders app offers location-aware to-do lists



Inside Apple's iOS 5: Safari Reader, private browsing, tabs on iPad



Inside Apple's iOS 5: PC Free setup, keyboard shortcuts



Apple unveils 'PC-free' iOS 5 with wireless updates, Notification Center, coming this fall
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    I guess these really are post-PC devices. You'll get no complaints from me.
  • Reply 2 of 37
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 584member
    Any idea if Apple is going to start supporting Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in their applications? As someone who travels a lot, I'm using this "world time" more and more to keep time standardized.



    I was hoping this might be in the new OS's....
  • Reply 3 of 37
    bwestonbweston Posts: 6member
    I'm sorry to see they haven't yet improved the Alerts options to allow ME to specify how many minutes/hours before the event.



    Also, I get very tired of my phone going off at 11:15pm at night alerting me to the "All Day" event the next day.
  • Reply 4 of 37
    edporrasedporras Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EMoeller View Post


    Any idea if Apple is going to start supporting Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in their applications? As someone who travels a lot, I'm using this "world time" more and more to keep time standardized.



    I was hoping this might be in the new OS's....



    Emoeller:



    They already do. You can enable Time-Zone support on iCal (desktop) and then select the event's time zone when creating it. Likewise, you can set the current time zone on your iOS device's Calendar settings, which I wish would somehow do automatically. I do it as soon as I'm about to take off for a different time zone.
  • Reply 5 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bweston View Post


    I'm sorry to see they haven't yet improved the Alerts options to allow ME to specify how many minutes/hours before the event.



    Also, I get very tired of my phone going off at 11:15pm at night alerting me to the "All Day" event the next day.



    AMEN! I cannot believe they have not included a better way to handle "Day Of" events. Hopefully that will come sooner than later because Alarms going off at midnight are annoying.
  • Reply 6 of 37
    joseph ljoseph l Posts: 197member
    Meh. Outlook has done all this stuff for years now.



    But I wonder if I can now add an appointment on my iPhone, and have it show up in Outlook when I'm back at the computer? Or would I have to use Apple's version to get that to work?
  • Reply 7 of 37
    edporrasedporras Posts: 2member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    With iCloud connectivity and the ability to add calendars directly on iOS devices, updates to the native Calendar application in Apple's iOS 5 will play a major role in the company's PC-free push.



    One thing that drives me nuts about the Calendar app is the Location field: can you finally click it to see a map or do something (anything!) with it?



    Also, it was quite annoying that you couldn't add invitees to a Gmail calendar although that could be an API issue.
  • Reply 8 of 37
    ameldrum1ameldrum1 Posts: 255member
    Landscape week view on the iPhone - hallelujah. (i guess that will put a few 3rd party Apps out of business)



    any word on whether the current laughable situation whereby iCal invitations cannot be "accepted" on iOS devices will be resolved? Even between MobileMe members...



    It almost beggars belief that Apple would provide a calendar app on a mobile device without this functionality.
  • Reply 9 of 37
    oflifeoflife Posts: 120member
    1) Google calendar has done this for years. 2) Apple could have implemented it in iOS 1.0 from day one with about half a day of coding and 3) Done the cloud syncing of calendars and contacts etc back then too, even on 2G networks. (I have an iPhone 1.0 and it syncs with Google fine over 2G!) 4) Apple intentionally left out this feature in order to make those who are too non critical of the company to wait and wait, buy the next device and wait for the nex upgrade. It is all about money, and very sad. 4 years!
  • Reply 10 of 37
    rabberrabber Posts: 8member
    There is one feature I will need in order to drop my Mac and depend upon mobile iCal. The ability to duplicate an event. I have a number of appointments that have name, location, duration, alarms etc. all built in. When I finish the appointment I work with my client to reschedule the next appointment. The only thing that will change is the date and possibly the time. Much faster to duplicate the event I just finished than create a new one.
  • Reply 11 of 37
    surefiresurefire Posts: 11member
    After 5 years u still can't do custom repeats on the iOS calendar.

    As a student, how do I enter my classes that occur 2 or 3 times a week?

    How do I set the repeat to M W F or T TH



    And this is supposed to be a post PC device that still needs a PC to set calendar custom repeats...
  • Reply 12 of 37
    joseph ljoseph l Posts: 197member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rabber View Post


    There is one feature I will need in order to drop my Mac and depend upon mobile iCal. The ability to duplicate an event. I have a number of appointments that have name, location, duration, alarms etc. all built in. When I finish the appointment I work with my client to reschedule the next appointment. The only thing that will change is the date and possibly the time. Much faster to duplicate the event I just finished than create a new one.



    Just set the appointment as "recurring" or whatever Apple calls it. Then, each week, drag the appointment from the "repeated" location to the right place on the right day. Or at least, that's how Outlook does it, and the article said that Apple was going to implement drag and drop.





    P.S. Or just cut the current appointment and paste it into the new spot.



    PPS - Another way to do it is to just drag the contact onto the calendar. It will open up with all the fields filled in, except for date and time.
  • Reply 13 of 37
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Oflife View Post


    1) Google calendar has done this for years. 2) Apple could have implemented it in iOS 1.0 from day one with about half a day of coding and 3) Done the cloud syncing of calendars and contacts etc back then too, even on 2G networks. (I have an iPhone 1.0 and it syncs with Google fine over 2G!) 4) Apple intentionally left out this feature in order to make those who are too non critical of the company to wait and wait, buy the next device and wait for the nex upgrade. It is all about money, and very sad. 4 years!



    Ridiculous.



    If they've patiently waited for this feature for four years, why wouldn't people be excited? And Apple left this feature out to lure me into buying the next generation iPhone? lol



    Of course it's all about the money - Apple is a business, but do you really believe Apple wouldn't be sitting on $65 billion had they implemented this in version one?
  • Reply 14 of 37
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Joseph L View Post


    Meh. Outlook has done all this stuff for years now.



    But I wonder if I can now add an appointment on my iPhone, and have it show up in Outlook when I'm back at the computer? Or would I have to use Apple's version to get that to work?



    Yeah, well as much as I like outlook, and I do, if apple can get recurring meetings to work correctly and not require re installation to remove after cancellation, I'm all for it.



    I've had several meetings I cancelled that just could not be removed, they'd just keep showing up as cancelled reminders, ironic as that is.



    I just refused to sign up for any more.
  • Reply 15 of 37
    joseph ljoseph l Posts: 197member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jcoz View Post


    I've had several meetings I cancelled that just could not be removed, they'd just keep showing up as cancelled reminders, ironic as that is.






    From what the article said, Apple is getting serious now. Seemingly, they are ready to catch up on the basics, and even to add some new sorts of stuff.
  • Reply 15 of 37
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ImmortalSix View Post


    AMEN! I cannot believe they have not included a better way to handle "Day Of" events. Hopefully that will come sooner than later because Alarms going off at midnight are annoying.



    Do you mean it just doesn't work correctly?



    Oh wait NM, I see, if you chose all day instead of setting hours it literally tells you 5 min or whatever before the DAY begins? Thats kind of hilarious, but sad at the same time.
  • Reply 17 of 37
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Joseph L View Post


    From what the article said, Apple is getting serious now. Seemingly, they are ready to catch up on the basics, and even to add some new sorts of stuff.



    Well I'm all for it, but I didn't realize it had so many fundamental issues, if the users above are correct....



    I mean, thats some pretty basic stuff. And the fact that it hasnt been fixed yet does not instill confidence.



    But I hope you are right, I dont require extensive functionality (I thought) but some of the those complains are simple core things any functional calendar should do.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by surefire View Post


    After 5 years u still can't do custom repeats on the iOS calendar.

    As a student, how do I enter my classes that occur 2 or 3 times a week?

    How do I set the repeat to M W F or T TH



    And this is supposed to be a post PC device that still needs a PC to set calendar custom repeats...



    Anyone with iOS 5 that can address these concerns? Wondering if they've fixed this.
  • Reply 19 of 37
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jcoz View Post


    Anyone with iOS 5 that can address these concerns? Wondering if they've fixed this.



    What's to address? He made a factual statement and then asked three questions he already knows the answer to.
  • Reply 20 of 37
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    What's to address? He made a factual statement and then asked three questions he already knows the answer to.



    The title of his post said "major fail if?"



    Thought that implied he didn't know yet.
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