Ultimate iOS 5.1 Guide: Features, What’s New for iPhone 4S and iPad 3


New Features

As I mentioned, this update is more incremental and less major overhaul, so the list of new features isn’t long. But iPhone and iPad users will get a few new things.
New Mail Keyboard


The keyboard available in the Mail app is slightly redesigned and now includes an @ symbol for faster addressee entry, among other things.



New Camera Lock Screen Slider

the the lock screen slider will now also have a persistent Camera button. If the user slides that, it will take them right to the camera app. We’ve seen this in several Android phones, including the Galaxy Nexus, and given Apple’s price in the iPhone 4S camera, this is an unsurprising move (if true).




Enhanced Stock Notes App

shows some upgrades to the stock Notes app, which is pretty basic right now. The new version will supposedly allow for a range of font colors, perhaps multiple fonts, plus simple formatting like bold, italics, underline, strike, and bullet points


Siri Dictation

Some tantalizing hints in the beta version pointed to the possibility of Siri-like dictation on the iPod touch and the iPad. This means that user will be able to turn on dictation from the keyboard and speak their tweets, email messages, and more instead of tying. A lot of iPad owners are hoping for full Siri on the tablet, but that may have to wait for later in the year when Apple is ready to release a more major Siri update.



Enhanced Features

Battery Life




iTunes Match Over 3G

This service, introduced with iCloud, matches music from a user’s collection even if it wasn’t purchased on iTunes to the vast Apple library of tracks. Any tracks that aren’t in the library, users can upload to iCloud so it’s available to other devices. Right now uploading is restricted to Wi-Fi, but the update will allow uploads over 3G. Of course, this will use up a chunk of that data, so users will want to be selective

PhotoStream

Now users will be able to delete individual photos from PhotoStream, which will remove them from other devices. Great for when you accidentally take a picture you don’t want or need preserved on the cloud.

How To Upgrade



Apple promised that, after iOS 5.0, all upgrades will be available over the air (OTA), so users won’t need to plug into their computers and hook up with iTunes. We expect this to be true for 5.1.
As with iOS 5.0.1, all users need to do to get the OTA update is to go to Settings > Software Update and follow the instructions

Should I Upgrade?


There is no reason not to upgrade if your iPhone or iPad is NOT jailbroken. iOS 5.1 will offer some nice enhancements you’ll want to check out.
However, if you did jailbreak your iDevice or intend to do so, you should hold off on updating until the devs working on the jailbreaks have done their magic with 5.1.

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