6 ms·

iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th

99 points by jasonlbaptiste 18y ago

bprater 18y ago
Man, at least tease us a little about what's coming!
- weaksauce 18y ago
  Well it is not a point release so expect something as big or close to the changes from 1.x to 2.x. In that case it was the ability to run third party apps. This one should fix some of the deficiencies in the OS like push notifications, copy and paste, etc.... In any event I am looking forward to the changes.
  - fortybillion 18y ago
    I would like to see a refresh of the notification system, and status messages on the lock screen, which I believe was hinted at a while back in a patent filing. Would be nice just to hit the home button while the device is in standby and see a list of recent emails, SMSs, etc.
    - Skeuomorph 18y ago
      On the contrary, please don't show a list of my info to someone when my phone is locked.
      - weaksauce 18y ago
        It would be opt in I would hope.
      - fortybillion 18y ago
        I imagine it would be disabled if you had a passcode set up.
      - dkokelley 18y ago
        I think they mean locked as in, screen powered off, slide the block to unlock - not "enter your password" locked.
- ajju 18y ago
  Ironically, that's the point of this event. They don't have anything ready, they just want to tell people what's coming. If they tell you now, their precious event will be pointless.
scblock 18y ago
I think it would be prudent to retitle this as "Apple expected to announce and demonstrate iPhone OS 3.0 March 17" or similar.
- jwilliams 18y ago
  Or simply keep original engadget title with any editorializing: "iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th"
  - scblock 18y ago
    Engadget's title originally did not include the word preview, and hence was misleading.
    - jwilliams 18y ago
      Okies -- they might have copped the same thing.
- jasonlbaptiste 18y ago
  Title Updated I just used whatever title the bookmarklet grabbed from Engadget at the time.
  - scblock 18y ago
    I noticed that, and the blame appears to rest with them. Appreciate the update all the same.
pstinnett 18y ago
Pretty excited about this considering how big the change was from 1.x to 2.x. Does anyone else remember if the iPhone 3G was announced when the 2.0 software was announced? I'm still using a first gen iPhone and I'd like to upgrade, but I figure I'd skip the 3G and just pick up whatever is coming next. I've seen some news saying that Apple has been buying up Flash memory from manufacturers and that goes in line with what happened previously. Wondering if I should hope for a new iPhone model on the 17th in addition to the software.
- Raphomet 18y ago
  This is just a preview, not the release. I expect the software release to be simultaneous with the hardware release, which Tim Cook has been hinting will be in June. As with the iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0, they're likely to release exclusively on the new device first before making the update available to older generations. There will probably also be some hardware-based features exclusive to iPhone 2009 to incentivize paying for a refresh.
abl 18y ago
terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) capability for third-party apps built into the sdk would be a nice addition. how do you guys work around this now?
- thorax 18y ago
  Pretty much: * A remote site that monitors info and sends you SMS or email * You jailbreak your iphone and use Backgrounder
dkokelley 18y ago
I am going to officially start the rumors for the 3.0 release: Copy-Paste, Push Gmail, Background IM apps, and wireless iTunes sync. This is really just my personal wishlist, but if the rumors spread, enough people will be expecting these features that Apple will have to build them in (since they're already so receptive to external input). It's a self fulfilling prophecy!
- rscott 18y ago
  Add video in there and I'll help your cause.
  - Hexstream 18y ago
    Wouldn't that drain the battery too fast?
    - aditya 18y ago
      Qik does it on jailbroken iPhones, and does it quite well from what I've seen. Trust me, 3G is a much bigger battery whore.
- pieter 18y ago
  Push GMail would be very welcome. I have separate Yahoo! account now for the push feature, but it's worthless. Just to name a few: * It often doesn't work. I put it on 'fetch', but that sometimes doesn't work either, so then I have to wait for hours to receive my email * Worst webmail interface ever * No support for forwarding / pop / imap / whatever * OMG, the ads I'd drop it in a second if gmail push was there
- fortybillion 18y ago
  Push Gmail would be doable on 2.2 if Google enables the feature in their ActiveSync implementation. They already have contacts and calendar sync working. 3.0 could add shortcuts like Yahoo's though, to make setup simpler.
- agotterer 18y ago
sachinag 18y ago
More interesting: predict the steals from Palm Pre's WebOS.
- unalone 18y ago
  The big thing with the Pre is the card-like metaphor for navigation. I doubt Apple will steal that for the iPhone, though it might be possible that we see a command-line launch system similar to the Pre's.
- mike9r 18y ago
  I imagine that iPhone OS v3.0 has been in the works for awhile, far before the WebOS was unveiled. I bet there are similarities (especially if they revamped the Springboard app) but other things were just being developed while Palm was doing their thing. I can't see folks at Apple seeing the Pre demo and scrambling to rip-off a bunch of stuff in the remaining months of development.
martythemaniak 18y ago
They say updated SDK - so maybe we'll finally see 3rd party being treated fairly - access to data, background processes, system event listeners etc. Unlikely, but one can hope.
callmeed 18y ago
A day before the YC S09 deadline! ... I predict some 11th hour application updates.
- unalone 18y ago
  Are there many people who apply with iPhone apps nowadays? I'm curious.
Frocer 18y ago
As long as they fix the drop calls and bad receptions I will be extremely happy
tocomment 18y ago
I'd love to see a better camera. I lately always forgo bringing an actual camera on vacations since I have a camera on my phone, but I'm inevitability disappointed when I get home and review my pics on the computer.
- mrtron 18y ago
  It is just an OS update - but a 3rd party app I have does a better job at reducing blur. But don't expect too much more from the camera, the hardware is pretty weak.
  - aditya 18y ago
    Is "Night Camera" the 3rd party app you're referring to? It is definitely much better, although the UI needs polishing...
absolut_todd 18y ago
All i wish for is working volume controls on my Apple in-ear headphones.
zafarali 18y ago
Ok... 3.0 is probably not going to bring anything awesome to the table but it will satisfy those long lost things that were omitted from the iPhone. ->MMS(why not, its all in the software) ->Background Apps(why not, its all in the software- however you may need an update to the phone to run it really really smoothly. There will probably be a limit to the number of background apps you can run) ->Copy/Paste(why not, its all in the software, its not like they have to build a special button for it.) ->Video(I'm not sure if this requires a hardware upgrade) These would be the most obvious additions to the iPhone. and they will advertise it like: And now. You can copy. And paste. or Capture your life, with video.
- dingobingo 18y ago
  agreed.

Man, at least tease us a little about what's coming!

weaksauce 18y ago
Well it is not a point release so expect something as big or close to the changes from 1.x to 2.x. In that case it was the ability to run third party apps. This one should fix some of the deficiencies in the OS like push notifications, copy and paste, etc.... In any event I am looking forward to the changes.
- fortybillion 18y ago
  I would like to see a refresh of the notification system, and status messages on the lock screen, which I believe was hinted at a while back in a patent filing. Would be nice just to hit the home button while the device is in standby and see a list of recent emails, SMSs, etc.
  - Skeuomorph 18y ago
    On the contrary, please don't show a list of my info to someone when my phone is locked.
    - weaksauce 18y ago
      It would be opt in I would hope.
    - fortybillion 18y ago
      I imagine it would be disabled if you had a passcode set up.
    - dkokelley 18y ago
      I think they mean locked as in, screen powered off, slide the block to unlock - not "enter your password" locked.
ajju 18y ago
Ironically, that's the point of this event. They don't have anything ready, they just want to tell people what's coming. If they tell you now, their precious event will be pointless.

I think it would be prudent to retitle this as "Apple expected to announce and demonstrate iPhone OS 3.0 March 17" or similar.

jwilliams 18y ago
Or simply keep original engadget title with any editorializing: "iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th"
- scblock 18y ago
  Engadget's title originally did not include the word preview, and hence was misleading.
  - jwilliams 18y ago
    Okies -- they might have copped the same thing.
jasonlbaptiste 18y ago
Title Updated I just used whatever title the bookmarklet grabbed from Engadget at the time.
- scblock 18y ago
  I noticed that, and the blame appears to rest with them. Appreciate the update all the same.

pstinnett 18y ago

Pretty excited about this considering how big the change was from 1.x to 2.x. Does anyone else remember if the iPhone 3G was announced when the 2.0 software was announced? I'm still using a first gen iPhone and I'd like to upgrade, but I figure I'd skip the 3G and just pick up whatever is coming next. I've seen some news saying that Apple has been buying up Flash memory from manufacturers and that goes in line with what happened previously. Wondering if I should hope for a new iPhone model on the 17th in addition to the software.

Raphomet 18y ago
This is just a preview, not the release. I expect the software release to be simultaneous with the hardware release, which Tim Cook has been hinting will be in June. As with the iPhone 3G and iPhone OS 2.0, they're likely to release exclusively on the new device first before making the update available to older generations. There will probably also be some hardware-based features exclusive to iPhone 2009 to incentivize paying for a refresh.

abl 18y ago

terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) capability for third-party apps built into the sdk would be a nice addition. how do you guys work around this now?

thorax 18y ago
Pretty much: * A remote site that monitors info and sends you SMS or email * You jailbreak your iphone and use Backgrounder

dkokelley 18y ago

I am going to officially start the rumors for the 3.0 release: Copy-Paste, Push Gmail, Background IM apps, and wireless iTunes sync. This is really just my personal wishlist, but if the rumors spread, enough people will be expecting these features that Apple will have to build them in (since they're already so receptive to external input). It's a self fulfilling prophecy!

rscott 18y ago
Add video in there and I'll help your cause.
- Hexstream 18y ago
  Wouldn't that drain the battery too fast?
  - aditya 18y ago
    Qik does it on jailbroken iPhones, and does it quite well from what I've seen. Trust me, 3G is a much bigger battery whore.
pieter 18y ago
Push GMail would be very welcome. I have separate Yahoo! account now for the push feature, but it's worthless. Just to name a few: * It often doesn't work. I put it on 'fetch', but that sometimes doesn't work either, so then I have to wait for hours to receive my email * Worst webmail interface ever * No support for forwarding / pop / imap / whatever * OMG, the ads I'd drop it in a second if gmail push was there
fortybillion 18y ago
Push Gmail would be doable on 2.2 if Google enables the feature in their ActiveSync implementation. They already have contacts and calendar sync working. 3.0 could add shortcuts like Yahoo's though, to make setup simpler.
agotterer 18y ago

sachinag 18y ago

More interesting: predict the steals from Palm Pre's WebOS.

unalone 18y ago
The big thing with the Pre is the card-like metaphor for navigation. I doubt Apple will steal that for the iPhone, though it might be possible that we see a command-line launch system similar to the Pre's.
mike9r 18y ago
I imagine that iPhone OS v3.0 has been in the works for awhile, far before the WebOS was unveiled. I bet there are similarities (especially if they revamped the Springboard app) but other things were just being developed while Palm was doing their thing. I can't see folks at Apple seeing the Pre demo and scrambling to rip-off a bunch of stuff in the remaining months of development.

martythemaniak 18y ago

They say updated SDK - so maybe we'll finally see 3rd party being treated fairly - access to data, background processes, system event listeners etc. Unlikely, but one can hope.

callmeed 18y ago

A day before the YC S09 deadline! ... I predict some 11th hour application updates.

unalone 18y ago
Are there many people who apply with iPhone apps nowadays? I'm curious.

Frocer 18y ago

As long as they fix the drop calls and bad receptions I will be extremely happy

tocomment 18y ago

I'd love to see a better camera. I lately always forgo bringing an actual camera on vacations since I have a camera on my phone, but I'm inevitability disappointed when I get home and review my pics on the computer.

mrtron 18y ago
It is just an OS update - but a 3rd party app I have does a better job at reducing blur. But don't expect too much more from the camera, the hardware is pretty weak.
- aditya 18y ago
  Is "Night Camera" the 3rd party app you're referring to? It is definitely much better, although the UI needs polishing...

absolut_todd 18y ago

All i wish for is working volume controls on my Apple in-ear headphones.

zafarali 18y ago

Ok... 3.0 is probably not going to bring anything awesome to the table but it will satisfy those long lost things that were omitted from the iPhone. ->MMS(why not, its all in the software) ->Background Apps(why not, its all in the software- however you may need an update to the phone to run it really really smoothly. There will probably be a limit to the number of background apps you can run) ->Copy/Paste(why not, its all in the software, its not like they have to build a special button for it.) ->Video(I'm not sure if this requires a hardware upgrade) These would be the most obvious additions to the iPhone. and they will advertise it like: And now. You can copy. And paste. or Capture your life, with video.

dingobingo 18y ago
agreed.