How Apple Optimized iOS 4.2.1 With Web Devs In Mind


Apple has included a major amount of fixes and tweaks in iOS 4.2.1 — here’s a look at a few at what’s new in Safari that will entice Web Developers and how Apple is working to squash a sluggish user experience.

Better RAM Management — Apps Faster Over Beta Versions

A large concern iOS users have with every new major release is how their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch will handle it. IOS 4.0 caused problems for iPhone 3G owners as they were plagued with slow launching Apps which  restarts only solved some of the time. These issues can be attributed to the lack of RAM in the iPhone 3G —128 MB compared to the 256MB available in the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone 3GS.

Apple has kept the complaints of iPhone 3G users in mind as iOS 4.X builds have continually focused on better RAM optimization. The Italian site IPad Device put together a breakdown of how Apple has changed RAM allocation between some of its iOS Apps.

Safari Improvements — HTML 5 Updates & Hardware APIs

Safari has also been updated to take advantage of more HTML5 features and adds support for the Gyroscope and Accelerometer according to Mobile Web Programming via The iPhone Blog.

An independent test by Mobile Web Programming of Safari’s new features  includes:

Accelerometer & Gyroscope support through the DeviceOrientation API
WebSockets API from HTML5
Updated HTML 5 Form Support
Partial XHR-2 Support
New JavaScript data types
New DOM events
Enhanced SVG and Canvas support

If you are a web developer I highly encourage you read Mobile Web Development’s complete breakdown of Safari’s newest features.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

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  1. Hi Patrick, thanks for catching that typo, it’s fixed. The iPad automatically correct its as it’s every time you type it which was the case here.