iOS (formerly iPhone OS)[7] is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its smartphones. It was unveiled in January of 2007 for the first-generation iPhone,[8] launched in June 2007.
It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone. It was also used on iPads (introduced: January 2010; availability: April 2010) until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, and on the iPod Touch devices, which were discontinued in mid-2022.[9] It is the world's second-most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. It is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.[10]
As of December 2023, Apple's App Store contain...
iOS (formerly iPhone OS)[7] is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its smartphones. It was unveiled in January of 2007 for the first-generation iPhone,[8] launched in June 2007.
It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone. It was also used on iPads (introduced: January 2010; availability: April 2010) until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, and on the iPod Touch devices, which were discontinued in mid-2022.[9] It is the world's second-most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. It is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.[10]
As of December 2023, Apple's App Store contains more than 3.8 million iOS applications.[11] These mobile apps have collectively been downloaded more than 130 billion times.
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]
