Introduction

iPhone and iPod touch are sophisticated devices that combine the revolutionary Multi-Touch interface with powerful features, such as email and instant-messaging capability, a full-featured web browser, iPod, and, in iPhone, a mobile phone. iOS is the system software that runs on iPhone and iPod touch. With the advent of the iPhone SDK, these powerful features are extended to include significant developer opportunities. In addition to creating web content for use on iOS-based devices, developers can use the iPhone SDK to create native applications people can store and use on their devices.

Read this document to learn about the range of application types you can develop for iOS and the human interface design principles that form the foundation of great iPhone applications. In this document you learn how to follow those principles as you design a superlative user interface and user experience for your iPhone application. Whether you’re an experienced computer application developer, an experienced mobile-device application developer, or a newcomer to the field, the guidelines in this document will help you produce iPhone applications users want.

Organization of This Document

iPhone Human Interface Guidelines is divided into two parts, each of which contains several chapters:

• The first part, ‚ÄúPlanning Your iPhone Software Product‚Äù describes the iOS environment and the types of software you can develop for it. It also covers fundamental human interface design principles and describes how to apply these principles to the design of your iPhone application.

• The second part, ‚ÄúDesigning the User Interface of Your iPhone Application,‚Äù delves into the components you use to create the user interface of your iPhone application. It describes the various views and controls that are available to you and provides guidance on how to use them effectively.

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