Apple announced iOS 4.1 as the next release of iOS 4 with bug fixes, especially the signal problem. This iOS 4.1 will be available for free download from next week for all iPod Touch and iPhone users. All iPod Touch and iPhone users are also recommended to do the updates, because this update will fix the earlier bugs with proximity sensors, Bluetooth, and some issues with iPhone 3G.
Besides the fixes for the signal, iOS 4.1 also added a lot of new features such as high dynamic range photos (HDR photos), HD video upload over Wi-Fi, and TV show rentals. And with the iOS 4.1 release, Apple also released iTunes 10 and Apple’s Game Center. These will work on iPhone and iPod touch as well.
What are high dynamic range photos (HDR photos)? This feature creates a photo by combining 3 images taken in quick succession at varied exposure levels. These 3 images are then combined to create one enhanced composite image using some algorithms. See the example below:
Apple’s Game Center allows iPhone and iPod touch users to play games online with others. Gamers can invite each other, play games together, post scores, view online leaderboards, and more. With iTunes TV show rentals, you can rent TV shows commercial-free right from your iPhone for just 99¢ an episode and start watching them in minutes on your iPhone or iPod touch. And iTunes Ping allows you to take advantage of new social discovery features in iTunes. Keep up with your friends’ music and follow your favorite artists.
And last but not least, Steve Jobs promised to release iOS 4.2 by November. It will bring much-needed iOS 4.x support to the iPad with features like wireless printing and AirPlay (which replaced AirTunes from Apple TV). iOS 4.2 will be compatible with iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.