The year apps gained a larger canvas
Apple’s January 2010 iPad announcement introduced a larger touchscreen device and described compatibility with much of the existing App Store. It also presented iPad-specific software. The important design question was no longer simply whether an app could fit on a phone, but how the same task should work on a different screen.
iPhone 4 added new design material
The iPhone 4 announcement highlighted its Retina display, FaceTime, camera improvements, and gyroscope. Those capabilities gave developers new possibilities for visual detail, communication, and interaction.
A new sensor or display does not automatically make an app useful. The interesting examples are the ones that connect a hardware capability to a task people actually want to complete.
System changes affected everyday use
Apple’s iPhone OS 4 preview described multitasking services, folders, and other platform changes. These affected the way people organized and moved between apps, rather than merely adding another standalone download.
Taken together, the changes suggest a platform becoming more interconnected. That is an editorial interpretation of the announcements, not a measured ranking of the year’s most popular features.
Keep retrospective claims bounded
A period “top trends” article should identify its evidence. Hardware announcements show what became possible; they do not alone prove adoption, revenue, or user satisfaction. App charts, developer accounts, and contemporary reviews answer different questions.
This replacement is a sourced retrospective, not the recovered text of the January 2011 post. It avoids assigning an unsupported winner or presenting historical launch promises as current product specifications.