iPhone 2.1 Firmware Undocumented Features

By Gary Ng on September 16th, 2008 129

Last Friday Apple released firmware version 2.1 for the iPhone 3G. After I completed my update I was pleasantly surprised that 2.1 actually made a difference in how the iPhone functioned. One of the most effective changes was the absence of keyboard lag and just a smoother experience when launching and switching between applications.

As for my iPhone 3G battery life, Steve Jobs and his crew mentioned that 2.1 would bring a “significant” increase to battery life. Well, after putting my iPhone 3G to the limit I was able to get the following usage:

That’s right folks, I managed to get 4hrs 32mins of usage (mainly 3G, no WiFi, Fetch every 30 mins, Location Services ON), and 1 day 1 hour of standby time. This is an improvement to what I was able to get before, but it’s not groundbreaking. However, any extra battery life I’m able to achieve through updates is good news for me!

Undocumented iPhone 2.1 Firmware Features

If you haven’t read my Top 5 iPhone Tips for Newbies, you’re missing out. Well, it turns out that there are some interesting undocumented features in firmware 2.1 that has been unadvertised by Apple. A fantastic post was started by justinomg at the MacRumors forums detailing each new feature. I’m going to go over most of them here. Feel free to add any that I missed out on.

- Pause App installations by tapping on the icon.
- Triple-clicking on the iPhone headset button goes to the previous track.
- Podcast listings show partially listened to items.
- iPod song listings show artist and album name.
- Certain Bluetooth headsets now work with the iPhone.
- While a song is playing, tapping the screen briefly will display the lyrics (if you have them added).
- Apps space in use listed in iTunes.
- SMS now has option to load earlier conversation messages.

- Restrictions can now disable the camera.
- iPod volume setting is not linked to the phone ringer volume setting.
- AM/PM now shows on the lock screen on the 12 hour clock setting (how to do this: change to 24 clock setting, reboot. After reboot, change to 12 hour clock setting and AM/PM should now show).

- Double tapping to zoom now works in Mail (previously it was just pinching).
- Album artist and album name now show underneath the song title in the iPod

Now, I don’t understand why Apple doesn’t just LIST these new features instead of letting us “discover” them. Maybe it’s due to the fact that when they are discovered, we get a sense of sudden euphoria, like “OMG APPLE FTW!”. Okay so maybe not THAT extreme, but uncovering these “little gems” does give everyone a tiny bit of excitement. I must say triple-clicking to go to the previous song is one of my favorite “undocumented” features. :)

What “undocumented” features have you discovered? Care to share with us?

Big thanks to justinomg!

OH! We just found out that iPhoneinCanada.ca was featured on segment on Global BC TV! Bradley Shende from media2o mentioned our blog on the air! Thanks Bradley for the kind and unexpected plug (excuse the quality of the vid below–the full segment can be found on the BCTV website)! :)

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  • Corey

    Oh, also… I found that when you are listening to music, and you press the hold button after sending a text or whatever, it tends to stop the music for about two seconds, then it starts up again. Anyone else notice this? Definitely a new glitch with the 2.1 :S

    Also, I think you [iPhoneFan] should add an edit button to the comments :P Allow for less clutter :D

  • Corey

    Oh, also… I found that when you are listening to music, and you press the hold button after sending a text or whatever, it tends to stop the music for about two seconds, then it starts up again. Anyone else notice this? Definitely a new glitch with the 2.1 :S

    Also, I think you [iPhoneFan] should add an edit button to the comments :P Allow for less clutter :D

  • Corey

    Oh, also… I found that when you are listening to music, and you press the hold button after sending a text or whatever, it tends to stop the music for about two seconds, then it starts up again. Anyone else notice this? Definitely a new glitch with the 2.1 :S

    Also, I think you [iPhoneFan] should add an edit button to the comments :P Allow for less clutter :D

  • bc

    I believe this is new in 2.1 :

    in Settings->Sounds you can now individually turn on/off various sounds: ringtone, new txt msg, new voicemail, new mail, sent mail, calendar alerts, lock sound, keyboard clicks

  • bc

    I believe this is new in 2.1 :

    in Settings->Sounds you can now individually turn on/off various sounds: ringtone, new txt msg, new voicemail, new mail, sent mail, calendar alerts, lock sound, keyboard clicks

  • bc

    I believe this is new in 2.1 :

    in Settings->Sounds you can now individually turn on/off various sounds: ringtone, new txt msg, new voicemail, new mail, sent mail, calendar alerts, lock sound, keyboard clicks

  • Jeremy

    Yes, that is new. On my iPod, it all all or nothing for sounds in 2.0.x, now in 2.1 I can turn off the “new mail” sound and leaves the others on.

  • Jeremy

    Yes, that is new. On my iPod, it all all or nothing for sounds in 2.0.x, now in 2.1 I can turn off the “new mail” sound and leaves the others on.

  • Jeremy

    Yes, that is new. On my iPod, it all all or nothing for sounds in 2.0.x, now in 2.1 I can turn off the “new mail” sound and leaves the others on.

  • paskos

    triple clicking is awsome !!!

  • paskos

    triple clicking is awsome !!!

  • paskos

    triple clicking is awsome !!!

  • Peacock

    I believe this is new:

    If you tap the screen while it’s playing a song, you have the option to repeat, genius, or shuffle.

    I never noticed that before.

  • Peacock

    I believe this is new:

    If you tap the screen while it’s playing a song, you have the option to repeat, genius, or shuffle.

    I never noticed that before.

  • Peacock

    I believe this is new:

    If you tap the screen while it’s playing a song, you have the option to repeat, genius, or shuffle.

    I never noticed that before.

  • iPhone Luvr

    I accidentally stumbled upon the Cut & Paste function!!……NOT!

    Damn, Apple….

  • iPhone Luvr

    I accidentally stumbled upon the Cut & Paste function!!……NOT!

    Damn, Apple….

  • iPhone Luvr

    I accidentally stumbled upon the Cut & Paste function!!……NOT!

    Damn, Apple….

  • Bud Colby

    @Peacock, yes it was there before, only the genius has been added.

  • Bud Colby

    @Peacock, yes it was there before, only the genius has been added.

  • Bud Colby

    @Peacock, yes it was there before, only the genius has been added.

  • Peacock

    @iPhone Luvr, is your iPhone jailbroken? Have you tried CopierciN yet? I can’t find any reviews on it yet. It’s supposedly copy and paste for iPhone (beta)
    @Bud Colby, thanks for your reply! I was wondering if it was there before. Now I know.

  • Peacock

    @iPhone Luvr, is your iPhone jailbroken? Have you tried CopierciN yet? I can’t find any reviews on it yet. It’s supposedly copy and paste for iPhone (beta)
    @Bud Colby, thanks for your reply! I was wondering if it was there before. Now I know.

  • Peacock

    @iPhone Luvr, is your iPhone jailbroken? Have you tried CopierciN yet? I can’t find any reviews on it yet. It’s supposedly copy and paste for iPhone (beta)
    @Bud Colby, thanks for your reply! I was wondering if it was there before. Now I know.

  • Kenji

    Regarding battery life I have seen an increase in usage time. Pre-2.1 I was getting about 4-4.5 hours of usage time all on 3g, no wireless with 15-20 hours of standby. Ample time for a days usage. After the update I’m getting about 5+ hours of 3g usage with 20 hours of standby or more.

    BUT!!!! I get a dramatic decrease in TALK time. When I’m using the iPhone as a PHONE and not a wireless device or surfing the internet, and when I’m using the headset while I talk to my gf on the phone, I’m only getting about 2 hours of talk time before the phone drops dead from a full charge.

    On top of that, my iPhone is heating up a lot more than it used to. Anyone else experiencing these problems?

  • Kenji

    Regarding battery life I have seen an increase in usage time. Pre-2.1 I was getting about 4-4.5 hours of usage time all on 3g, no wireless with 15-20 hours of standby. Ample time for a days usage. After the update I’m getting about 5+ hours of 3g usage with 20 hours of standby or more.

    BUT!!!! I get a dramatic decrease in TALK time. When I’m using the iPhone as a PHONE and not a wireless device or surfing the internet, and when I’m using the headset while I talk to my gf on the phone, I’m only getting about 2 hours of talk time before the phone drops dead from a full charge.

    On top of that, my iPhone is heating up a lot more than it used to. Anyone else experiencing these problems?

  • Kenji

    Regarding battery life I have seen an increase in usage time. Pre-2.1 I was getting about 4-4.5 hours of usage time all on 3g, no wireless with 15-20 hours of standby. Ample time for a days usage. After the update I’m getting about 5+ hours of 3g usage with 20 hours of standby or more.

    BUT!!!! I get a dramatic decrease in TALK time. When I’m using the iPhone as a PHONE and not a wireless device or surfing the internet, and when I’m using the headset while I talk to my gf on the phone, I’m only getting about 2 hours of talk time before the phone drops dead from a full charge.

    On top of that, my iPhone is heating up a lot more than it used to. Anyone else experiencing these problems?

  • Matthew

    There also seems to be another addition to the iTunes audiobooks. If you are partially done a file, it says how much time is remaining. This is very helpful when you have a bridged audiobook and you cannot remember which chapter/file you were listening to last.

  • Matthew

    There also seems to be another addition to the iTunes audiobooks. If you are partially done a file, it says how much time is remaining. This is very helpful when you have a bridged audiobook and you cannot remember which chapter/file you were listening to last.

  • Matthew

    There also seems to be another addition to the iTunes audiobooks. If you are partially done a file, it says how much time is remaining. This is very helpful when you have a bridged audiobook and you cannot remember which chapter/file you were listening to last.

  • bc

    re: displaying the 12hr clock with PM in the lockscreen

    I’m able to enable the PM indication on lock screen by setting 24hr mode then reboot, then set back to 12hr mode.

    *BUT* after the iPhone goes to sleep, upon wakeup the PM indication in the lockscreen is gone.

    can anyone else verify the PM display “sticks” after sleep or subsequent reboot? and if so, the specific instructions to make it stick. or is this a bug

    thx

  • bc

    re: displaying the 12hr clock with PM in the lockscreen

    I’m able to enable the PM indication on lock screen by setting 24hr mode then reboot, then set back to 12hr mode.

    *BUT* after the iPhone goes to sleep, upon wakeup the PM indication in the lockscreen is gone.

    can anyone else verify the PM display “sticks” after sleep or subsequent reboot? and if so, the specific instructions to make it stick. or is this a bug

    thx

  • dmurray

    I don’t suppose that “Certain Bluetooth Headsets” includes support for the A2DP standard? It sure would be nice to have a stereo wireless headset…

  • dmurray

    I don’t suppose that “Certain Bluetooth Headsets” includes support for the A2DP standard? It sure would be nice to have a stereo wireless headset…

  • dmurray

    I don’t suppose that “Certain Bluetooth Headsets” includes support for the A2DP standard? It sure would be nice to have a stereo wireless headset…

  • Bud Colby

    BTW… has anyone else noticed that when they removed the lag from texting and the contacts, they seem to have just moved it to ” settings”. It now takes 3 – 4 seconds after I press settings to bring them up?!? Is anyone finding the same issue?

  • Bud Colby

    BTW… has anyone else noticed that when they removed the lag from texting and the contacts, they seem to have just moved it to ” settings”. It now takes 3 – 4 seconds after I press settings to bring them up?!? Is anyone finding the same issue?

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca Gary

    I agree!

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca Gary

    I agree!

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca iPhone Fan

    I agree!

  • someone

    lol @ scene stealer ad, That one is pretty clever. ;) . I don’t quite think the Instinct is nearly as good as Iphone, but it’s a nice ad.

  • someone

    lol @ scene stealer ad, That one is pretty clever. ;) . I don’t quite think the Instinct is nearly as good as Iphone, but it’s a nice ad.

  • Quicken

    I noticed when you update and app it no longer takes the icon to the end of the list. When you update, it now takes it’s place back to where it was before the update! That was getting annoying rearranging my icons every time i updated an App

  • Quicken

    I noticed when you update and app it no longer takes the icon to the end of the list. When you update, it now takes it’s place back to where it was before the update! That was getting annoying rearranging my icons every time i updated an App

  • Quicken

    I noticed when you update and app it no longer takes the icon to the end of the list. When you update, it now takes it’s place back to where it was before the update! That was getting annoying rearranging my icons every time i updated an App

  • http://harrygils.com/ Harry

    Why does my Iphone suck so bad that I have to reboot it to get the mail app to fetch mail?

  • http://harrygils.com Harry

    Why does my Iphone suck so bad that I have to reboot it to get the mail app to fetch mail?

  • eric

    Despite 2.1′s improvements, has anyone else noticed that fetching has basically stopped working altogether? My fetch hasn’t been working since 2.1 at any interval, it seems like a fairly widespread issue on the Apple Discussions forums ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1708956&tstart=0 ).

  • eric

    Despite 2.1′s improvements, has anyone else noticed that fetching has basically stopped working altogether? My fetch hasn’t been working since 2.1 at any interval, it seems like a fairly widespread issue on the Apple Discussions forums ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1708956&tstart=0 ).

  • eric

    Despite 2.1′s improvements, has anyone else noticed that fetching has basically stopped working altogether? My fetch hasn’t been working since 2.1 at any interval, it seems like a fairly widespread issue on the Apple Discussions forums ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1708956&tstart=0 ).

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