Skip to main content

iPhone OS 3.0 ? Installation and Overview

Apple’s new (and much-hyped) operating system update is already bundled inside the iPhone 3G S, but existing iPhone owners can now download iPhone OS 3.0 right from iTunes – though be patient, as Apple’s servers are currently experiencing traffic jams.

In case you’re unfamiliar with what’s new, more than 100 features have been added to iPhone OS 3.0, most notably: The ability to copy/cut and paste text between programs (the process is quite intuitive); landscape typing in email and notes (widening the "soft" keyboard, making it easier to type on); support for MMS (to send photos and videos to other cell phones); voice memos (which you can then email or sync to a PC); search capabilities that span across the entire iPhone (slide your finger left from the main menu to access); and the option to download TV shows and movies (rent or buy) on the iPhone itself.

iPhone Landscape Typing

We also tested the "Find My iPhone" feature through Apple’s MobileMe service, which not only lets you remotely wipe clean a lost or stolen iPhone to prevent someone accessing personal information and files, but also helps you locate the iPhone using mapping software on a PC. What’s more, you can send a message that will appear on the screen (e.g. "Call 212-555-1212 if found") or play an audible sound to help you locate one that’s gone missing in your home, even if your phone is set to silent.

Recommended Videos

To download the new iPhone OS 3.0, simply connect your iPhone to your PC or Mac, launch iTunes and click "Check for Update."

Christopher Nickson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Nickson is a journalist who's written extensively about music and related fields. He's the author of more than 30…
An iPhone plant in India reportedly avoided hiring married women
View outside an Apple Store.

Apple -- and its contract manufacturer, Foxconn -- don’t have a particularly stellar track record with labor rights and affording workers the best conditions to make arguably the most premium products in their respective segments. According to a fresh investigation, the hiring practices at the Foxconn unit that assembles iPhones in India discriminated against married women, citing reasons like women “have babies after marriage” and “many issues post-marriage.”

Reuters visited the company’s plant in Sriperumbudur over 20 times in just over a year, speaking to former employees and candidates seeking to work at these plants. The news outlet also got access to recruitment documents and other related material. What reporters came across was a stunning tale of discrimination against married women.

Read more
Apple’s AI features for the iPhone just hit a major roadblock
Summarization of notification and emails on iPhone with Apple Intelligence.

Earlier this week, the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, told CNBC that Apple had some “very serious” issues as it tries to comply with the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA) tech legislation. These were the rules that finally forced Apple to open iPhones for alternative app stores, allow external browser engines, and enable third-party payment options, among other things. It seems those rules also mean the best of iOS 18 won’t make it to the EU bloc either.

Apple has confirmed that a trio of crucial iPhone upgrades that it announced at WWDC 2024 earlier this month won't appear on iPhones in the EU later this year. The biggest of those would be Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI features deeply integrated within iOS 18 that are aimed at redefining what iPhones can do in the age of generative AI tools like Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot.

Read more
Apple is working on a futuristic iPhone feature that sounds too good to be true
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

Apple’s numerous teams are constantly working on innovative projects and regularly file new patents for them. One of the company’s recent patents pertains to a new feature for the iPhone that, if brought to fruition, could significantly transform how we use our mobile devices.

Patently Apple recently discovered a new patent that covers a concept for a new iPhone that would allow you to replace the standard back panel with something else. In other words, it would add modularization to the iPhone.

Read more