With its easy-to-use interface, amazing features, and rock-solid stability, iOS — Apple’s mobile operating system — is the foundation of iPhone. And even as other phones try to catch up, the technologies and features built into iOS 4 keep it years ahead of the competition.

Elegant and intuitive interface.

The first time you pick up an iPhone, you know how to use it. That’s because the revolutionary Multi-Touch interface in iOS was designed for the most natural pointing device ever: your finger. So whether you’re using one of the built-in apps or one of the over 350,000 apps and games available from the App Store, you control everything with a tap, drag, swipe, pinch, flick, or twist of your fingers. Even tasks that might seem complicated — such as starting a FaceTime call or editing a video with iMovie — are simple, easy, and fun.

Hundreds of amazing features.

The features included with iOS 4 make iPhone powerful, innovative, and a pleasure to use. Here are just a few. Visit the Features page for more

FaceTime + iOS 4

FaceTime is just another way iOS 4 seamlessly integrates hardware and software to make every iPhone feature as easy to use as it is groundbreaking. Now when you wish your friends could be there, they actually can be. With just a few taps, you can see your friends and family while you talk to them — iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 or new iPod touch over Wi-Fi. Learn more about FaceTime

Game Center

iOS 4 introduces the Game Center app. An out-of-the-box social gaming network for iPhone 4 and iPod touch.¹ Invite friends to join. Then totally crush them. Take a look at how your score ranks among your friends and other players of each game. Compare game achievements with your friends. Get matched up and put together a select group of friends to play. Or choose to automatically go up against people you don’t know in a multiplayer game. Learn more about Game Center

Multitasking

iOS 4 introduces a whole new way of multitasking. Now you can run your favorite third-party apps — and switch between them instantly — without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily.² This smarter approach to multitasking is available only in iOS 4. Learn more about multitasking

The world’s largest app platform.

With over 350,000 apps in practically every category, iOS 4 is the platform for the world’s largest collection of mobile apps. Apple gives third-party developers a rich set of tools and APIs, and they’ve been creating apps and games that redefine what a mobile device can do. Where to find these apps? Just browse the App Store from your iPhone and download them with a tap. Learn more about developing for iOS

Performance and stability that lead the industry.

iOS 4 is a desktop-class OS that’s been reinvented for mobile devices. Because it’s based on the world’s most advanced computer operating system — Mac OS X — performance in iOS 4 is fast and stability is rock-solid. iOS 4 manages power efficiently and delivers the best possible battery life. And multitasking — using multiple apps at the same time — in iOS 4 doesn’t slow down the performance of the foreground app or drain the battery unnecessarily.²

Hardware and software made for each other.

Because Apple makes both the iPhone hardware and the operating system, everything works together seamlessly and intelligently. This integration enables apps to take full advantage of iPhone hardware features such as the Retina display, the Multi-Touch interface, the accelerometer, the three-axis gyro, GPS, accelerated graphics, and more. FaceTime is a perfect example. It uses both iPhone 4 cameras, the display, one of the two microphones, and your Wi-Fi connection. If you’re on a voice call with someone and want to start a video call, FaceTime switches mics, turns on the front camera, and verifies your Wi-Fi connection — quickly and invisibly.

Safe and secure by design.

iOS 4 is highly secure from the moment you turn on your iPhone. All apps run in a safe environment, so a website or app can’t access data from other apps. iOS 4 supports encrypted network communication to protect your sensitive information. Optional parental controls let you manage iTunes purchases, Internet browsing, and access to explicit material. To guard your privacy, apps requesting location information must get your permission first. You can set a passcode lock to prevent unauthorized access to your phone and configure iPhone to delete all your data after too many unsuccessful passcode attempts. And in the event your iPhone is lost or stolen, Find My iPhone allows you to locate it on a map, lock its screen, and remotely delete all your data. If you get it back, you can restore everything from your last backup.

Ready for business.

Businesses around the world are choosing iPhone for its enterprise-ready features and powerful security. iOS 4 works with Microsoft Exchange and standards-based servers to deliver over-the-air push email, calendar, and contacts. iOS 4 protects your data by encrypting information in three separate areas: in transmission, at rest on the device, and when backed up to iTunes. You can securely access private corporate networks through industry-standard VPN protocols. And companies can easily deploy iPhone across an enterprise using configuration profiles.

Accessible by everyone.

iOS 4 comes standard with a wide range of accessibility features that help people with disabilities experience everything iPhone has to offer. For example, the built-in VoiceOver⁴ iOS 4 also offers out-of-the-box support for over 30 wireless braille displays and many other accessibility features, such as dynamic screen magnification, playback of closed-captioned video, white on black text, and more.

Works all over the world.

iPhone and iOS 4 are made to be used around the world. The user interface is localized into over 30 languages, and you can easily switch between them. Because the keyboard is software based, you can select from over 50 different layouts with support for language-specific features including diacritic marks on characters, handwritten input for Chinese, and contextual character options for Japanese. In addition, the built-in dictionaries support 50 languages and dialects, VoiceOver reads screens in 33 languages, and Voice Control understands 24 languages.

Free iOS Updates

Your iPhone gets better with every iOS update. Right now, you can get the most current update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Just connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC, open iTunes, and follow the instructions to download the update

iOS 4.3 is the latest software update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. And it’s now available as a free download. Learn more.