iOS 4 recreated as a nostalgic iPhone app

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iOS 4 has been recreated using SwiftUI by young developer Zane K.
The app, OldOS, is in beta now for devices running iOS 14.1 and later, but is still only partially functional.

iOS 4, the first operating system for iPhones following the current iOS naming system instead of the older iPhoneOS system, was originally released about 10 years ago in 2011. It brought many new features to iPhones such as folders on the home screen, FaceTime, and Game Center. An 18-year-old developer named Zane has beautifully recreated the iOS 4 experience for those who want to feel nostalgic about the past and those who never got to experience it. The app is pictured below on the iPhone 12.

The app asks for access to users’ data such as photos which then show up within the app’s iOS 4-style photos app. Many apps such as photos, camera, and the old iPod app are all operational within OldOS with more like YouTube and Messages coming soon.

From the app’s developer, Zane:

Today is Launch Day 🚀

Introducing OldOS — iOS 4 beautifully rebuilt in SwiftUI.

* 🎨 Designed to be as close to pixel-perfect as possible.
*📱 Fully functional, perhaps even usable as a second OS.
* 🗺️ Fully open source for all to learn, modify, and build on. pic.twitter.com/K0JOE2fEKM

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— Zane (@zzanehip) June 9, 2021

Similar nostalgic iOS apps have launched before such as Rewound in 2014. Unfortunately, Apple does not seem to be very happy with apps such as this as Rewound was removed from the App Store soon after its release citing store violations.

Due to this, the OldOS app may not last long. For now, though, it is available in beta from Apple’s TestFlight beta distribution app. Zane has also posted the entire source code on GitHub for anyone to save and edit.

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Published to Apple Scoop on 13th June, 2021.