Apple, 11 years ago introduced iOS 4 at the WWDC 2010 event. Steve Jobs took to the stage excited revealing the iconic operating system that booted the first-ever iPad and then the legendary iPhone 4. Also, starting iOS 4, the Cupertino giant renamed the then iPhoneOS to iOS as part of the same expanding to the original iPad beyond just the iPhone. Speaking of which, a new app has emerged that goes by an apt name.
Meet OldOS. OldOS app by developer Zane brings the iOS 4 operating system to any iPhone running iOS 14 and later in the form of a simple iPhone application. Take a look at a few screenshots as you read.
Today is Launch Day 🚀
Introducing OldOS — iOS 4 beautifully rebuilt in SwiftUI.
* 🎨 Designed to be as close to pixel-perfect as possible.
*📱 Fully functional, perhaps even usable as a second OS.
* 🗺️ Fully open source for all to learn, modify, and build on. pic.twitter.com/K0JOE2fEKM— Zane (@zzanehip) June 9, 2021
GUIDE: How to install iOS 15, iPadOS 15 Developer Beta for free.
Skeuomorphism is timeless!
As you can see above, OldOS to its best ability replicates the good old iOS 4 experience and it should because it’s build using SwiftUI. Henceforth, what we get to feel here is the fluidity and clarity of the user interface as it is. For now, the default system apps work here provided you grant all of the permissions OldOS asks for but there’s still a lot of bug fixing and hiccups to be sorted out.
The iPhone 4 home button has been provided here complete with haptic feedback to simulate a real click, Spotlight search appears to be working only for the system apps. The Safari browser appears to be doing its job too and we just went down memory lane with this one.
And yes, the iPod app is here but options like Albums, Genres for example do not work at all. Also, we couldn’t find the beautiful CoverFlow interface upon rotating the iPhone. However, keep in mind this app is currently in its early beta stage and a lot of developments are to come over time.
The current iOS 15 design practically dates back to 2013 when Apple decided to steer away from the skeuomorphic design and switch to a flat and simpler look and feel with iOS 7. We have used pre-iOS 7 versions and understand its depth and the thought that has gone into creating a pixel-perfect user interface. We really miss the good old iOS days. For those who never got to experience the timeless iOS 4 design, well, now you may have a chance.
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Test run OldOS
OldOS is available on Apple’s beta testing TestFlight program. So hurry up and register via your iPhone to get your chance to test the app and help in its development process. Also, the app is completely open-source and its source code is on GitHub.
Thank you for reading!