An Exhaustive List of iOS 5 Features and Changes

ios 5 features1

Since the release of first iOS 5 Beta last week, people have been diligently documenting all the new features Apple has introduced in the upcoming version. Apple claims over 200 new features have been added, but have only spelled out a fraction of those. On our iPhone/iOS Blog we've already covered some of the biggest changes. These include:

iOS 5 Streams Track/Artist Information to Bluetooth Audio Devices
Multiple Routes Supported in iOS 5 Google Maps
iOS 5 Brings Improvements to Weather App
iOS 5 Includes Airport and Time Capsule Setup Software
iOS 5 Allows You to Tap Out Custom Vibration Patterns
Screenshot of iOS 5's New iPad Music App
Demo of iPad's AirPlay Mirroring in iOS 5

MacRumors forum user hellomoto4 has compiled a longer list with screenshots of many of the new findings, such as:

318057560
iCal in landscape mode

usage
Storage space for Apps

The most complete list of changes we've seen, however, is from forum user benna who has compiled 153 changes/features as of this writing. There are some duplicates and only a few screenshots, but it's the most exhaustive list we've seen. Here are some excerpts of some of the more interesting changes:

- You can choose what applications to be included in Notifications Center
- Ability to Set Left or Right for Mono Audio
- You can create additional @me.com email address within the Mail settings
- New Private Browsing option in Safari
- Set custom text tone for each contact.
- You can use your phone while its being synced with iTunes.
- Multitasking Gestures in iPad. Use four or five fingers, swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, pinch to return to the Home screen, and swipe left or right to switch between apps.
- Camera, use two-finger spread/pinch gesture to zoom in/out accordingly (Thanks @Alan)
- When your alarm goes off you can snooze it from lockscreen or slide to turn off
- Ability to set maximum messages downloaded through email to 1000 instead of 250
- Links can be opened in the background

iOS 5 is presently in developer beta release and will be released to the public in the fall of this year.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Neutral)
Related Forums: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and iPod

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...

Top Rated Comments

gatearray Avatar
189 months ago
Apple is saving features for iPhone 5 launch

I have a feeling that Apple is purposely holding back on some big new iOS 5 features for the unveiling of the next iPhone, like Nuance speech recognition, etc.

If the hardware will be largely similar to the iPhone 4, they will need some new "wow moments" for the keynote, and I don't believe for a second that the 10 new features they focused on at WWDC are the only crown jewels of the new OS.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr Lizard Avatar
189 months ago
When your alarm goes off you can snooze it from lockscreen or slide to turn off

Been doing that for ever!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rickdollar Avatar
189 months ago
"133. Sponsored links in Google Maps"

We could probably do without this one.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
189 months ago

- When your alarm goes off you can snooze it from lockscreen or slide to turn off

This has always been possible in iOS from the start.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dagamer34 Avatar
189 months ago
Need podcast subscriptions straight on the phone!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
southernpaws Avatar
189 months ago
I followed the link and read the article on ieatapples.

I was amused by the part where it talked about how developers are "pissed" at the reminders and camera apps. It pretty much falls into the "competition is good!" category. If they want to keep their apps alive, they need to update their apps with new ideas. Did they think they'd be able to come up with something and just coast on the idea for years? Development isn't a cakewalk, and people who treat it like such, or who got on board thinking they'd be able to make a quick buck, should fall to the wayside and make room for more committed developers.

I admire the guy from instapaper. at first, he was upset that apple duplicated his functionality. Then he basically said "well. Time to start coming up with some new updates and new functionalities." He will do fine because he'll always look to stay ahead of the curve, and those are the developers that are worth buying from.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)