A study of the iOS : An exploratory article on how large of a role the iOS has played in the success of the iPhone

Abstract: The iPhone has become a top selling smartphone since its launch in 2007 and has along with its iOS (Apple's mobile operating system) overtaken many popular and established mobile phone brands in the ratings. Some competitors have not been able to provide a competing smartphone while others have grouped together to withstand the Apple onslaught. There are probably quite a few reasons why the iPhone has become such a success, and one could likely write a report solely about those reasons. I will focus on one of them in this study, maybe one of the most important reasons: the iPhone came with a revolutionizing user interface. I have studied iOS applications and their user interface components along with related research in order to try and find out what exactly makes it so attractive and also to uncover any flaws I might stumble across along the way. In order to answer this, and to gain a better insight into the iOS, I have developed an iPhone application from scratch covering all of the basic functionality usually found in any other iPhone application. The results will show that most of it seems to relate with Apple enforcing very strict rules and guidelines, along with limitations placed on the developer and the process as a whole. This strict process ends with Apple evaluators performing a review of the finished product, using their guidelines as heuristics. These guidelines will be proven to have scientific credibility, and the controlled development process will be a key to defining the iOS success.