The Apple iOS 4.0 Gold Master has hit the iPhone Developer Center and we’re tearing it apart to find out what’s new so that you don’t have to risk your iPhones. Here’s what we’ve discovered so far.
We’ve covered most of the new features of iOS 4.0 when the first beta came, but there have been some minor changes since then. Beta 2 brought us bugs, orientation lock, and iPod controls in the multitasking drawer while Beta 4 got rid of most bugs, brought new wallpapers, and included tethering options. Now iOS 4.0 Gold Master polished all those features—and tweaked others—and got things ready to go.
Based on Apple’s release notes for iOS 4.0, gyroscope and high-resolution screen support is included in the Gold Master. I couldn’t exactly check for those features on my iPhone 3GS though, so I’ll have to trust Apple.
What I could check for is speed and bug fixes! Just about all apps feel faster and more stable than ever—yes, I know I say this each time, but things are even snappier now. I was a bit terrified by how quickly and accurately Maps found my current location and heck, suddenly finding nearby Wi-Fi networks feels faster too.
Bing has been added as a search engine option alongside Yahoo! and Google—though Google is still the default despite rumors claiming otherwise.
There are also a couple of new wallpapers included—making a total of 27 options since some of the older images are gone now. What’s not included though, is the option to use custom SMS tones. Is that really too much to ask for?
Those are the changes that we’ve discovered so far. We’ll update as we find any others and we invite you to send in screenshots and descriptions of what you come across.
