iPhone OS 3: Filling the Gaps and Powering the iPad

Apple announced iPhone OS 3 on March 17, 2009 and it was released to the public on June 17, 2009. This brought many significant features that the users had been clamoring for ever since the iPhone was introduced in 2007–copy and paste, MMS, Spotlight search (how did it not have this from day one?) while offering an overall faster experience.

iPhone OS 3 was also the first version of the software to power iPad, although its intuitive for tablet computing because it would technically worked on the ipad (which launched in 2010). It was a crucial development to help make the iPhone OS further into an actually implemented, fully made use of mobile operating system.

Copy and Paste: Finally Here

Two years of pleading, and iPhone OS 3 finally added system-wide copy, cut, and paste:

Supported text fields, notes, iMessage text bubble, mails and Safari.

Added shake-to-undo and -redo for text actions

Text editing and productivity were greatly enhanced by this addition, making the platform more competitive with other smartphones at the time.

MMS and Enhanced Messages App

Upgrades to the Messages app that included support for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

Permitted to send photos, videos, audio clips, contact cards and location infos by the normal celluar messagingYLONBOT

The iPhone 3G and 3GS also supported MMS, but not the first generation iPhone.

While carriers like AT&T in the U.S. delayed the rollout, support for IPv6 was baked into the OS from day one.

This was one of the biggest feature gaps between the iPhone and other phones at the time.

Spotlight Search: Instant, Universal Access

In iPhone OS 3 iPhone OS 3 Spotlight results for a search including both contacts and apps

Facilitated searches across apps, contacts, emails, calendar events and media for the users

Provided a fast, more centralized solution for finding content and opening apps.

This would become a core feature that Apple later improved upon in future releases of iOS.

Tethering and Internet Sharing

We first saw tethering support in iPhone OS 3, and this allowed users to share their iPhone’s cellular data connection with a laptop or another device:

Supported USB and Bluetooth connections.

Carrier support & feature-blocked depended on carrier.

Enter the Personal Hotspot feature which iOS 4.3 fleshed out even further.

Voice Memos and Native Features

This update included the brand new Voice Memos application giving you the ability to:

Capture, crop and share audio recordings.

Sync voice recordings to iTunes, share via email, or MMS.

Have assisted journalists, students & professionals to capture their thoughts & ideas on the Move.

A few other non-critical updates included shake to shuffle in the Music app http://www.

Landscape Keyboard Support & Improved Typing

The iPhone OS 3 also made sure that the landscape keyboard is supported by native apps like:

Mail, Messages, and Notes.

Improved typing, particularly on the iPhone 3G/3GS smaller screens.

This was a very popular feature that made life a lot easier for people who text or email heavily.

IN-APP PURCHASES It has parenthesis of (NEW) and this gives an Apple the flexibility to enforce or not enforce — obviously following their guidelines.

IPhone OS 3 brought a big shake-up to the app store ecosystem:

In-App Purchases (IAPs) available to developers, which enables content like subscriptions, new features, and more to be sold in apps.

This feature became crucial to the freemium model — one that is now pervasive throughout the app economy.

App Store gift card and promo code redemption directly from the device.

These changes also helped to cement the App Store as a substantial revenue stream for Apple and developers.

Find My iPhone (MobileMe Integration)

Apple introduced Find My iPhone with iPhone OS 3.0 through its MobileMe subscription service:

A tool for finding, messaging locking or wiping a lost or stolen iPhone.

This set the stage for the original Find My app, and subsequently Activation Lock in later versions of it.

Apple’s first foray into this came via MobileMe users only, but ultimately grew to be a core security and anti-theft feature on iOS.

iPad and iPhone OS 3.2

The first-generation iPad was specified with iPhone OS 3.2 and released in March 2010.

Implemented changes specific to the newly larger iPad screen: popover menus, split views, and a new keyboard.

This version didn’t get multitasking or folders, but represnted the first appearance of iPhone OS on a larger screen.

E Chiang/Getty Images The iPad brand would eventually follow the iPhone (with iPadOS), but this was where it began.

Device Support and Performance

This means that the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, first- and second-gen iPod touch had iOS4 but no multitasking; despite somewhat better hardware the same fate befell the iPad (1st gen) when released.

With others—like MMS, voice control, and video recording—restricted to newer hardware (in this case, the iPhone 3GS).

Last version for the original iPhone and iPod touch (1st gen) iOS 3.ximinary name is ‌iPhone OS‌ 3.2.

In Summary

IPhone OS 3 was a crucial maintenance update which gave out essential features for those should have been implemented in an intuitive phone operating system — think copy/paste, MMS, Spotlight search and tethering. Which also expanded the App Store economy with in-app purchases, introduced the first version of Find My iPhone, and even supported the debut of the iPad with version 3.2. Although not as glamorous as future releases, iPhone OS 3 was a key step in evolution the platform and setting the stage for more expanded device categories (like the iPad) with power features of tomorrow.