iOS 5 Beta Available for Devs, First Hands On, and Gallery - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 5 Beta Available for Devs, First Hands On, and Gallery

4ded50c31c652110606221219 4ded50eab1714110606221258

BGR posts a hands on and screenshot gallery of the newly released iOS 5 developer beta which adds a number of new features to iOS. Here are some early observations:

• Preference to open pages in Safari in a new page or in background (amazing!).
• More alert choices for emails, calendar, and the ability to buy more.
• Ability to create keyboard shortcuts (autotext) to replace custom phrases. The default entry is “omw” which is replaced with, “On my way!”
• Software update option in settings to check for the latest OS.
• Sync now button to wireless sync to iTunes
• Ability to customize how notifications in Notification Center look — you can customize how many recent ones to show, 1, 5 or 10, if it’s showed in the lock screen, if it’s in Notification Center, and also the alert style, banner or alert style.

iOS 5 is due for general release in the fall, and is presently available for download for registered iOS developers.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...

Top Rated Comments

195 months ago
Can you FINALLY attach a picture within the Mail app to an email???

This was only possible to do via the photo film roll (totally backwards)

In fact can you now attach anything from within the mail app e.g. docs, pics instead of the photo / pages app
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
195 months ago
I bet intelliscreen and lockinfo devs are sighing and saying well, it was a nice run.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThE.MeSsEnGeR Avatar
195 months ago
hey guys keep on checking this page! it updates every now and then...

iOS 5 Hands-On (http://www.bgr.com/2011/06/06/apple-ios-5-iphone-ipad-2-hands-on/)



* Preference to open pages in Safari in a new page or in background (amazing!).
* More alert choices for emails, calendar, and the ability to buy more.
* Ability to create keyboard shortcuts (autotext) to replace custom phrases. The default entry is “omw” which is replaced with, “On my way!”
* Software update option in settings to check for the latest OS.
* Sync now button to wireless sync to iTunes
* Ability to customize how notifications in Notification Center look — you can customize how many recent ones to show, 1, 5 or 10, if it’s showed in the lock screen, if it’s in Notification Center, and also the alert style, banner or alert style.
* Twitter installs directly from the settings page if it’s not installed directly, you aren’t even taken to the App Store.
* FaceTime button in iMessage messages at the top now
* Tweeting photos is, so so slick. It displays on Twitter as powered by Photobucket, and it’s from iOS.
* There’s a new option to print out from the Maps app… hilarious.
* You can make new albums right from the device itself in Photos.
* You can move and add photos to albums.
* Doesn’t look iMessage is fully baked in here yet.
* You can customize the default alert times. This is so needed — so now when you enter a calendar entry, you don’t have to set the default alert time you like — I’m a 15 minute calendar alert type of guy.
* Email flagging doesn’t look to be enabled in this beta, though S/MIME support is. Never mind, it is. You have to go into the message and tap “mark”.
* It seems that Reminders sync with Exchange (Tasks basically), but you can’t set location-based reminders if you’re on Exchange, just with iCloud. You can selectively choose where to sync the reminder though, it’s just not streamlined if you use Exchange.
* You can set the caller ID for FaceTime calls, so if you call someone, you can choose it to display your cellular number or email address.
* In the weather app, there is a new pane for a current location which will show you weather for wherever you are.
* When syncing with iTunes you can use the device normally ‚ no more syncing screen!
* You can delete individual calls from the call list — I know a lot of people that just got super excited.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
195 months ago
I'm really curious how this is going to work with multiple users using the same Apple ID and iCloud account.

Me to. My wife and I use the same Apple ID.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WeegieMac Avatar
195 months ago
I'm not a fan of all-CAPS for the folders

Eh? It's his phone, who cares what you're a fan of when it comes to his personal choice of set up?

Jesus ...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
195 months ago
You could always just use separate Apple IDs for stuff like this. Same with stuff like Game Center.
No you can't, at least not if you want to share iTunes purchases (or share an "itunes match" yearly purchase).
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)