What is iOS?

iOS is Apple's mobile operating system used to run the popular iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. Formerly known as the iPhone OS, there are over 300,000 iOS applications available for download in the Apple app store, the most popular app store of any mobile device. iOS utilizes a multi-touch interface where simple gestures are used to operate the device, like swiping your finger across the screen to move to the next page or pinching your fingers to zoom out.

An “Operating System” is the system that all other programs “Operate in”.   An iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad is really a portable computer.  An “App” is really a computer program.

The operation system on a PC is “Windows”.  The operating system on a Mac is “Mac OS X”.  The operating system is what you see after you turn on a computer for the first time, but before you install any programs.

Apple's mobile operating system for its iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV and similar devices. iOS was originally called the iPhone OS but was renamed in 2010 to reflect the operating system’s evolving support for additional Apple devices.

Since its release, iOS has gone through multiple updates, with recent updates adding the ability to create folders for app icons and the ability to multi-task. The updates are generally free for iPhone and iPad users, while iPod Touch users are sometimes required to pay a nominal fee.

Apple iOS is currently in v6.x release, with iOS 6 having debuted in October 2012 in conjunction with the release of the iPhone 5.  Recent versions of iOS have introduced a number of powerful new features to the mobile OS, most notably a built-in instant messaging client (iMessage), built-in support for Apple's iCloud personal cloud storage service and Apple's Siri advanced voice recognition application.