Sep. 18, 2023, 6:32 AM ET (The Indian Express)
iOS, formerly iPhone Operating System, multiplatform operating system (OS) created and developed by Apple Inc. for its iPhone. The platform formerly also supported the company’s iPad (until 2019) and iPod Touch (until 2022) devices. The software is based on Mac OS X (after 2016, macOS), which Apple has used since 2001 to power its Macintosh computers. In turn, iOS was the template for watchOS, tvOS, and iPadOS, the systems that support Apple Watch, Apple TV, and iPad, respectively. In 2022 iOS remained the second most-installed mobile OS in the world.
The debut of iOS on the first-generation iPhone in 2007 was a significant advance on existing multitouch technology, which enables users to operate computers with contact pressure, such as via a stylus or hand gesture. The system’s update in 2008, which allowed users to buy new applications from third-party developers, made the iPhone not only a financial success but one of the most significant new consumer products of the 21st century.
When Apple Inc. began developing the iPhone in 2005, the company already marketed and sold the iPod, a compact media player, and the Mac, a desktop computer. American businessman and Apple Inc. cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs was faced with the decision of whether to achieve the new product’s desired functionality by scaling up the OS of the iPod or scaling down the Mac OS. Rather than choose outright, Jobs placed the engineering teams responsible for each device in competition with each other. The team behind the Mac OS X, led by Vice Pres. Scott Forstall, won the race by successfully running the Mac OS on an iPhone prototype.
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