Apple seeds iOS 5 beta 6 alongside new iTunes, Apple TV, and iWork for iOS betas

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple on Friday provided members of its developer community with the sixth external beta of its forthcoming iOS 5.0 operating system alongside new betas of iTunes 10.5 and Apple TV software that will include support for the new software.



More specifically, Apple issued iOS 5 beta 6 build 9A5302b, iTunes 10.5 beta 6, Apple TV Software beta 5, iWork for iOS beta 2, and Xcode*4.2*and*iOS*5*SDK*beta 6.



The 144MB (153MB CDMA) update arrives roughly two weeks after Apple issued beta 5 of iOS 5.0, which introduced few noticeable changes over beta 4 when the company began testing over-the-air (OTA) updates to developer's iOS test devices.



Due for release this fall, iOS 5.0 includes over 200 new features that will be available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Among them are Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption; iMessage, a new messaging service that lets users easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS devices; and Newsstand, a new way to purchase and organize newspaper and magazine subscriptions.



With iOS 5.0, users will also gain access to the company's iCloud service and will be able to activate and set up their iOS device right out of the box, downloading software updates over the air with no computer required.







For more on iOS 5.0, please see AppleInsider's pair of ongoing series: Inside iOS 5.0 and Inside iCloud



Meanwhile, readers who discover new features in the latest beta can share their findings by tipping news (at) appleinsider (dot) com.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    I hope the AppleTV will get an Appstore this year.
  • Reply 2 of 43
    A question for those in the dev community who are working with this, how close to ready do you think it is? Are they still adding features, or are they now down to just getting the last bugs out?
  • Reply 3 of 43
    juandljuandl Posts: 230member
    Is it possible that Apple could make it possible for the ATV to be able to physically hookup to an external hard drive and used sort of like a Time Machine storage.

    Reason I ask is. I have an iPod Touch, I would like to get an iPad 3. We will soon have iCloud. But some of that will only store stuff for 30 days.

    I just need a wireless storage dump to save everything I need.

    Can't see the day where I could afford an iMac or bigger notebook. Even then, storage would eventually be the problem.
  • Reply 4 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post


    A question for those in the dev community who are working with this, how close to ready do you think it is? Are they still adding features, or are they now down to just getting the last bugs out?



    Well I have agreed to an NDA so I can't reveal specifics, other than it's looking good and very exciting especially with th iCloud and wifi synch, OTA updates. Yes features are added and sometimes disabled, but overall it was very stable for a beta since beta 1.



    I'd say the integration with iCloud is the most changing part and OTA update is also being worked on. The final product will be rock solid
  • Reply 5 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Granmastak View Post


    Well I have agreed to an NDA so I can't reveal specifics, other than it's looking good and very exciting especially with th iCloud and wifi synch, OTA updates. Yes features are added and sometimes disabled, but overall it was very stable for a beta since beta 1.



    I'd say the integration with iCloud is the most changing part and OTA update is also being worked on. The final product will be rock solid



    Thanks!



    I have to admit, my impatience is getting the better of me!
  • Reply 6 of 43
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by juandl View Post


    Is it possible that Apple could make it possible for the ATV to be able to physically hookup to an external hard drive and used sort of like a Time Machine storage.

    Reason I ask is. I have an iPod Touch, I would like to get an iPad 3. We will soon have iCloud. But some of that will only store stuff for 30 days.

    I just need a wireless storage dump to save everything I need.

    Can't see the day where I could afford an iMac or bigger notebook. Even then, storage would eventually be the problem.



    So far no version of iOS has been able to connect to an external HDD. Even if I get what I want ? an IOS-based Apple Home Server ? there is no reason to think Apple will allow the micro-USB port on the AppleTV to be used for HDD connectivity.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Granmastak View Post


    Well I have agreed to an NDA so I can't reveal specifics, other than it's looking good and very exciting especially with th iCloud and wifi synch, OTA updates. Yes features are added and sometimes disabled, but overall it was very stable for a beta since beta 1.



    I'd say the integration with iCloud is the most changing part and OTA update is also being worked on. The final product will be rock solid



    Based on the stability of the first beta I have to think iOS developers were working for a 12 month release cycle without any actual knowledge as to when iOS or the 5th iPhone were to be released. I'd even say it's become less stable with additional betas as features were added. I think beta 5 introduced some odd CocoaTouch artifacts not allowing capacitance touches to always execute the virtual object you've touched. Hopefully that is resolved with beta 6.
  • Reply 7 of 43
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by herbapou View Post


    I hope the AppleTV will get an Appstore this year.



    One word: Channels?. Not worthless apps.
  • Reply 8 of 43
  • Reply 9 of 43
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The 144MB (153MB CDMA) update



    That's not nearly as much fun as when the updates were 666MB...
  • Reply 10 of 43
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Updating... Still hoping for gestures for iPad 1.
  • Reply 11 of 43
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    One word: Channels?. Not worthless apps.



    This.
  • Reply 12 of 43
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    ... I think beta 5 introduced some odd CocoaTouch artifacts not allowing capacitance touches to always execute the virtual object you've touched. Hopefully that is resolved with beta 6.



    This makes no sense to me at all. What kind of touches does iOS allow except for capacitance touches? A what sort of objects could one possibly manipulate except for virtual ones?
  • Reply 13 of 43
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This makes no sense to me at all. What kind of touches does iOS allow except for capacitance touches? A what sort of objects could one possibly manipulate except for virtual ones?



    Lets say you have the keyboard up on your iPad. You hit the letter 'G' squarely but the letter 'B' is registered. You try again and the letter 'T' is registered. Instead of the virtual object you touch a seemingly random top ion near where you actually touch is executed.
  • Reply 14 of 43
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    One word: Channels?. Not worthless apps.



    What would turning the ATV2 into a channel changer accomplish, without CableCARD (or something that would fail similarly)? The cable companies aren't likely to just give away the keys to their kingdom, to Apple or anyone else. If you don't believe me, ask Google or Logitech.
  • Reply 15 of 43
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Granmastak View Post


    Well I have agreed to an NDA so I can't reveal specifics, other than it's looking good and very exciting especially with th iCloud and wifi synch, OTA updates. Yes features are added and sometimes disabled, but overall it was very stable for a beta since beta 1.



    I'd say the integration with iCloud is the most changing part and OTA update is also being worked on. The final product will be rock solid



    The original question is pretty willing if you accept that new iPod devices come in September along with iPhone 5 announcements and such. So if the "I:" world gets updated in late September we likely have 3 or so weeks before golden master.



    Some will say this is jumping to conclusion but i like to think of it as educated guessing.
  • Reply 16 of 43
    hittrj01hittrj01 Posts: 753member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John.B View Post


    What would turning the ATV2 into a channel changer accomplish, without CableCARD (or something that would fail similarly)? The cable companies aren't likely to just give away the keys to their kingdom, to Apple or anyone else. If you don't believe me, ask Google or Logitech.



    I don't think the OP meant channels in the sense of TV channels like ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. If you've ever seen how the Wii's UI is laid out, that would be much more intuitive, and I tend to agree. There is a separate Weather channel, Browser channel, Store channel, etc., and each of these channels are self-contained. Similar to apps, but different. Hard to explain without showing it off first-hand.
  • Reply 17 of 43
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    So far no version of iOS has been able to connect to an external HDD. Even if I get what I want ? an IOS-based Apple Home Server ? there is no reason to think Apple will allow the micro-USB port on the AppleTV to be used for HDD connectivity.



    It is a shame that Apple doesn't see potential in Apple TV beyond well being Apple TV. The device is almost perfect for several uses around the home, one of those would be as a small server.

    Quote:

    Based on the stability of the first beta I have to think iOS developers were working for a 12 month release cycle without any actual knowledge as to when iOS or the 5th iPhone were to be released. I'd even say it's become less stable with additional betas as features were added. I think beta 5 introduced some odd CocoaTouch artifacts not allowing capacitance touches to always execute the virtual object you've touched. Hopefully that is resolved with beta 6.



    I don't even look at Apple betas anymore. To frustrating and frankly time consuming to monkey with. I'd much rather know that something i'm working with will be stable for some time.
  • Reply 18 of 43
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by juandl View Post


    Is it possible that Apple could make it possible for the ATV to be able to physically hookup to an external hard drive and used sort of like a Time Machine storage.



    Reason I ask is. I have an iPod Touch, I would like to get an iPad 3. We will soon have iCloud. But some of that will only store stuff for 30 days.

    I just need a wireless storage dump to save everything I need.

    Can't see the day where I could afford an iMac or bigger notebook. Even then, storage would eventually be the problem.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    So far no version of iOS has been able to connect to an external HDD. Even if I get what I want — an IOS-based Apple Home Server — there is no reason to think Apple will allow the micro-USB port on the AppleTV to be used for HDD connectivity.



    Can't speak for the ATV (though it's been awhile since Apple's done anything major about its hobby and fall announcements seem possible), and my remarks would generally assume access to a computer with a file manager (Finder, MyComputer, etc.) would be helpful, but the iOS SugarSync app lets you work with any files you have stored permanently or interactively in a cloud account with them.



    Check out SugarSync for iOS Devices and "Pushing Data to your iPad or iPhone from the web." So there are ways of having a virtual hard drive on the net - accessible via direct client or through your browser with a number of flexible features. And you can likely use iCloud to achieve some of what you want as well.



    One of the things I liked here was that you seem to able to actually see and work with files in a way PC/Mac users understand on your iOS device based on the screenshots and blurbs I saw (I use it only as my computer backup so far - I've been waiting for iPhone 5 to finally leave my semi-smart old LG behind).



    A recent Endgaget article "The best way to store your stuff in the cloud" ranked SS's solution as the top of 11 considered - which included what they know about iCloud. And in fact it's possible to leverage the advantages of iCloud, DropBox and Sugarsync in serial and partially in tandem to get all kinds of access in all kinds of ways to all kinds of files - in any quantity you need - long as you have a web connection.
  • Reply 19 of 43
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by John.B View Post


    What would turning the ATV2 into a channel changer accomplish, without CableCARD (or something that would fail similarly)?



    Because it isn't a 'channel changer'. It's actual channels. The content is streamed to the Apple TV.



    Have Apple make deals with the channels (heck, I'd prefer SHOWS) themselves. Screw the cable companies. Screw all of them. They're not giving anything away because it wouldn't be their call; Apple would be ignoring them entirely.



    For example, Apple goes to the Discovery Channel people and say, "Hey, we want to make all of your shows available on demand to people who buy them individually on their Apple TVs." They pay monthly for the Mythbusters Channel and they get to watch the back catalog of Mythbusters episodes. Any episode, any time they want. They want to buy the How It's Made channel too? They can. Or they can buy all the Discovery Channel shows at once."



    Then they do the same with all the other channels.
  • Reply 20 of 43
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Which leads me to wonder if iWork is loosing mind share at Apple. Especially in light of the lack of iWork for the Mac not raising its ugly head. I have this feeling the next iWork for the Mac will be iWork 2012.
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