Apple’s mobile operating system is called iOS. It was created for the iPhone and provides the software framework for features such as the touchscreen interface, phone calls, messaging, cameras, notifications, and apps.
iOS was introduced with the first iPhone in January 2007 and released publicly in June 2007. It was originally called iPhone OS; Apple renamed it iOS in 2010. The system is based on Darwin, the Unix-like foundation also used by Apple’s desktop operating systems, although iOS itself is proprietary software with some open-source components.
A frequent mix-up is confusing iOS with iPadOS. Apple once used iOS on both iPhones and iPads, but introduced iPadOS as a separate iPad-focused operating system in 2019. Similarly, macOS is designed for Mac computers, while Android is a competing mobile operating system developed primarily by Google and used by many other manufacturers.