IOS

For other uses, see IOS (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with HiOS, an operating system developed by Tecno Mobile.

iOS
Commercial logo as used by Apple since 2017
Home screen of iOS 18, the most recent version, running on an iPhone 15 Pro using the new Dark Mode
DeveloperApple
Written inC, C++, Objective-C, Swift, assembly language
OS familyUnix-like, based on Darwin (BSD), macOS
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClosed, with open-source components
Initial releaseJune 29, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-06-29)
Latest release18.1.1[1] (November 19, 2024; 4 days ago (2024-11-19)) [±]
Latest preview18.2 beta 4[2] (November 20, 2024; 3 days ago (2024-11-20)) [±] ,
Marketing targetSmartphones, tablet computers, portable media players
Available in41 languages[3]
List of languages
Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional (Hong Kong), Chinese Traditional (Taiwan), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian (iOS 18), Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Update methodOTA (5.0–), Finder (macOS 10.15 or later),[4] Apple Devices (Windows 10 version 22H2 or later)[5] or iTunes (Mac OS X 10.4.10–macOS 10.14.6, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later)
Platforms
Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)
Default
user interface		Multi-touch, graphical user interface
LicenseProprietary software except for open-source components
Official websitewww.apple.com/ios/
Support status
Supported
Articles in the series
iOS version history

iOS (formerly iPhone OS)[6] is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its devices. It was unveiled in January 2007 for the first-generation iPhone,[7] which launched in June 2007. Major versions of iOS are released annually; the current stable version, iOS 18, was released to the public on September 16, 2024.[8]

It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone, and is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.[9] iOS formerly also powered iPads until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, and the iPod Touch line of devices until its discontinuation.[10] iOS is the world's second most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. As of December 2023, Apple's App Store contains more than 3.8 million iOS mobile apps.[11]

iOS is based on macOS. Like macOS, it includes components of the Mach microkernel and FreeBSD.[12][13] It is a Unix-like operating system. Although some parts of iOS are open source under the Apple Public Source License[14] and other licenses,[15] iOS is proprietary software.[16][17]

  1. ^ Clover, Juli (November 19, 2024). "Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes". MacRumors. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Clover, Juli (November 20, 2024). "Apple Releases Fourth Betas of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration [Update: Public Betas Available]". MacRumors. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "iOS and iPadOS – Feature Availability". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Tim Brookes (October 17, 2019). "Where Are iTunes Features in macOS Catalina?". How-To Geek. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  5. ^ "Apple Devices Preview - Official app in the Microsoft Store". Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "iOS: A visual history". The Verge. December 13, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "Apple Reinvents the Phone with iPhone". Apple Newsroom. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Clover, Juli (September 16, 2024). "Apple Releases iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 With Home Screen Customization, App Locking, Passwords App, Messages Updates and More". MacRumors. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Espósito, Filipe (April 13, 2020). "HomePod now runs on tvOS, here's what that could mean". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "The music lives on". Apple Newsroom. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  11. ^ "Number of apps from the Apple App Store 2022". Statista. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  12. ^ "Is Mac Os X Microkernel? – LEMP". Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "iOS/About iOS/Mach_and_BSD.md at master · writeups/iOS". GitHub. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  14. ^ "License - APSL". opensource.apple.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Software License Agreement". opensource.apple.com. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Apple Open Source". Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  17. ^ Rogucki, Michał (October 28, 2023). "Why is iOS not open source?". TS2 SPACE. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.