Image Source: geek.com

BY EVAN THOMAS

You're watching global multisource video news analysis from Newsy.

Apple released iOS 5 Wednesday, two days ahead of its newest phone. Now that the tech community has had a chance to play with Apple’s latest interface-- what’s the verdict?

It may not have been what gadget fans were expecting, but if the reviews are anything to go by-- the new software is already growing on them.

Ars Technica says this OS may make the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever. Why?

“… because of the sheer number of new and improved features that make the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad more usable than ever.”

Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walt Mossberg says almost all of the improvements to the iPhone and its OS are internal. Devices running iOS 5 will get over-the-air software updates and free messaging to other iOS 5 devices. And for those users with the new iPhone 4S-- voice assistant Siri.

“They’ve done a lot inside the phone and with the software to make this an improved model.... Siri is a voice-controlled artificial intelligence system. It’s not a simple voice command system that says things like ‘play the Beatles,’ or something. You can actually ask it a vast array of questions in natural language and it answers back in natural language.”

Lifehacker breaks down some of the software’s new cloud support, iCloud. A new program called iTunes Match lets you move music from device to device without plugging in.

“iTunes Match will let you download your music directly onto your device if it was on another device. It will match songs in your iTunes library if you’ve bought them before or ripped them from a CD, so that way you’ll get iTunes copies as well. And you can listen to them from anything.”

It’s not all smooth sailing, though. The Register reports Apple’s having trouble keeping its servers up for all the users who want to update their current hardware with the latest software. Some users got update error messages.

“Wednesday's glitches are an embarrassing reminder that there are notable exceptions to the Mac tagline ‘It just works.’ Users who haven't updated their iDevices yet are probably better off waiting until Apple admins bring in reinforcements.”

And Mobot suggests these server problems may only get worse as users start saturating the cloud with more and more data.

“The error doesn’t bode well for iCloud... users’ photos and documents and emails and junk all automatically sync across their iDevices, meaning Apple’s servers will be getting horsed on a permanent basis.”

Despite the hangups, The New York Times says Apple has a winner on its hands, and an important salvo against its main competitor, Android.

“Android phones seem to come out every Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. Apple updates iOS and the iPhone only once a year. So Apple had a lot of catching up to do, even some leapfrogging. There are some rough spots here and there... But over all, Apple has done an excellent job.”

The iPhone 4S with iOS 5 pre-installed will be released on Friday.