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iOS 5: BBM-style messaging, Android-style notifications, widgets, and more?

iOS 5: BBM-style messaging, Android-style notifications, widgets, and more?

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If you're wondering what's in store for WWDC today, you may be able to take a little breather. We've just gotten info from a source detailing the pieces to come in the latest version of iOS, and while the news may not be completely surprising, Apple is definitely turning up the heat on competitors with its newest additions to the already-powerful OS. Want the details? Keep reading after the break.Messaging

This one is a doozy, and will strike a crazy blow to RIM if true. The word is that Apple is readying its own MMS / SMS protocol which will be a native part of the phone. We're not entirely clear on how this would work, but apparently it will be able to automatically identify iOS users and route the message accordingly. We're told the functionality would be similar to third party applications like Textie, but with less fuss. If this pans out, both carriers and the folks in Waterloo should be very concerned about their ownership of messaging. This would be a game changing addition to the platform.

Notifications

This is the sore thumb that everyone has been drilling Apple on, and based on what we're hearing, the pop-up pain is going away forever. Notifications will now be handled in drop down located at the top of the screen (similar to MobileNotifier, seen in the image above). Messages will appear and then slide back up in a unobtrusive manner, similar to webOS. There have been some leaked screenshots floating around the web for the last 24 hours, but those are not the real deal. The actual window looks more like a white, gradient Growl notification. But that's not all...

Widgets / notification window

The notifications will be constantly accessible through a pulldown window which you reach by swiping at the top of the screen downward... just like Android. Not only will this screen house your recent notifications, but it will tout proper widgets like weather, stocks, and more. Sadly, we're hearing that the weather icon will still not be live, meaning no matter what the weather actually is, you'll see 73 degrees and sunny every time you look at it. An odd choice, but at least Apple has seen fit to add some glanceable info here.

Lock screen

Surprisingly, Apple is making significant changes to the lock screen as well. There will now be notifications shown on this screen with a small icon to the left of each notification — you can drag that icon as you would the unlock slider and you'll be taken directly to the app itself (similar to TouchWiz for Android). You won't get weather or stock widgets here, only notifications — and it's not clear if upcoming calendar events or the like will be represented.

Of course, even through this info sounds like a real possibility for the new OS, we can't be 100 percent sure. Luckily, we'll be liveblogging the proceedings in just a little bit, so all should be revealed soon. Tune in here for the goods, and keep your sync cable handy.

Read the liveblog right here!