Apple has just started rolling out iOS 6, which might not look like a big update on paper but adds many key updates to the already polished operating system.
While one recognizes it is the engine behind the incoming iPhone 5, it will also breath new life into current Apple products that include the iPhone 4S, the new iPad, the iPad 2, the iPhone 4, the fourth generation iPod touch and the iPhone 3GS. Let us take a look at what new features iOS 6 brings with it.
Maps:
Perhaps the headlining feature of iOS 6 is the new Apple designed maps. This comes at the cost of Google Maps, which has been a robust solution since the inception of the iPhone. In iOS 6 Apple has come up with its own end-to-end solution, which comes with turn-by-turn navigation and a new 3D feature called ‘Flyover’. While this might sound great, the stark reality is that Apple’s maps are no where close to Google Maps both in terms of details and features. On top of this, Apple’s maps will remain dump maps in India and many other countries. Forget ‘Flyover’ Apple’s maps would not support turn-by-turn navigation or even provide simple directions. To make matters worst, Google has activated voice based turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic updates in India for Android devices.
Facebook Integration:
After Twitter integration in iOS 5, iOS 6 introduces system wide Facebook integration. This one is pretty straight forward. All devices eligible for the iOS 6 update will receive this feature.
Siri:
Siri will finally come to the new iPad with iOS 6. It has learned new tricks can now launch apps, present score cards, search for movie tickets, and book tables at restaurants. However, these features will not work in India.
UI tweaks:
When one loads iOS 6, numerous UI tweaks will be seen all over the place. Apple has opted for a light white backdrop for the dialer on the phone. The sliders on the volume controls have been changed a little bit. One can also now send messages while declining calls and there is even a ‘Do not disturb’ option hidden well inside the settings menu. Apple has even changed the sharing menu, instead of the old textual list now we get vibrant icons of all apps that can be used to share content.
Mail:
The Mail app now supports VIP accounts and this feature will again come down to all the devices that are eligible for iOS 6. One can even use a different signature for different email accounts with the new Mail app.
Safari:
Safari borrows a page out of Google Chrome and now using iCloud, it can synchronize tabs across all Apple devices that are synced to a particular iCloud account. Additionally, Safari on iOS 6 features a brand new Java Script engine, which makes Safari significantly faster. Users will also be able to view websites in a full-screen mode.
New App Store:
Earlier in the year Apple acquired an app discovery service called Chomp and the fruits of this new company are visible in the new App Store. It gives version histories for each and every app and generally it will attempt to make finding new apps more fun and intuitive. Furthermore, apps will now get updated automatically in the background and whenever one downloads a new app, it will get a ‘new’ sticker on its icon.
Photo Streams:
A new feature that comes to iOS 6 is Photo Streams. It allows one to create Photo Steams, which allows users to create and share them with other users via iCloud. This attempts to tow a middle ground between a full fledged social photo sharing service like Instagram and a cloud based photo repository like Picasa.
Panorama:
The camera app on the iPhone 4S will receive a new Panorama mode, which was demonstrated as a new feature on the iPhone 5. The Panorama mode, unlike the ones seen on Android smartphones, works in portrait mode and clicks shots and stitches them into one panorama shot that can go up to 28-megapixels.
The Complete Change Log:
This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:
- Maps
- Apple designed vector based maps
- Turn-by-turn navigation with spoken directions on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (2nd and 3rd generation)
- Real-time traffic information
- Flyover for photo-realistic, interactive 3D views of major metro areas on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad (3rd generation), and iPod touch (5th generation)
- Local search results with Yelp photos, ratings, reviews, and available deals
- Siri integration for requesting directions and finding places along a route
- Siri improvements
- Sports: scores, player stats, game schedules, team rosters, and league standings for baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey
- Movies: trailers, showtimes, reviews and facts
- Restaurants: reservations, reviews, photos and information
- Send a Tweet
- Post on Facebook
- App launch
- Eyes Free in supported automobiles
- Local search available in Siri supported countries (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
- Additional country and language support for Canada (English and Canadian French), China (Mandarin), Hong Kong (Cantonese), Italy (Italian), Korea (Korean), Mexico (Spanish), Spain (Spanish), Switzerland (Italian, French, German), Taiwan (Mandarin), US (Spanish)
- Supported on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad (3rd generation) and iPod touch (5th generation)
- Facebook integration
- Single sign-on from Settings
- Post from Photos, Safari, Maps, App Store, iTunes, Game Center, Notification Center and Siri
- Add location and choose audience for any post
- View up-to-date Facebook profile photos and contact information in Contacts
- View Facebook events and birthdays in Calendar
- Like content and see your friends’ Likes in App Store and iTunes Store
- Shared Photo Streams
- Share selected photos with the people you choose
- Friends can view shared photos in Photos app, iPhoto and Apple TV
- Friends can like and make comments on individual photos
- Passbook
- One place for boarding passes, store cards, movie tickets and other passes
- Barcode display for boarding flights, buying coffee, getting into movies and other actions
- Passes displayed on Lock Screen based on time or location
- Passes can be automatically updated
- Supported on iPhone and iPod touch
- FaceTime improvements
- FaceTime over cellular support for iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (3rd generation)
- Receive FaceTime calls, sent to your iPhone number, on your iPad and iPod touch
- Phone improvements
- Do Not Disturb to suppress incoming calls and notifications
- ‘Reply with message’ option when declining a call
- ‘Remind me later’ option based on time or location when declining a call
- Mail improvements
- VIP mailbox to quickly access mail from important people
- Flagged email mailbox
- Insert photos and videos when composing email
- Open password protected Office docs
- Pull down to refresh mailboxes
- Per account signatures
- Safari improvements
- iCloud tabs to see open pages on all your devices
- Offline Reading List
- Photo upload support
- Full screen landscape view on iPhone and iPod touch
- Smart app banners
- JavaScript performance improvements
- App Store and iTunes Store improvements
- Updated store design
- iTunes Preview history
- Complete my season
- Complete my album
- Game Center improvements
- Challenge friends to beat high scores and achievements
- Post high-scores and achievements to Facebook and Twitter
- Friend recommendations based on your Facebook friends
- Accessibility improvements
- Guided Access to limit device to one app or restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen
- VoiceOver integration with Maps, AssistiveTouch and Zoom
- Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids for iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S
- Improved privacy controls for Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos and data shared over Bluetooth
- Reminders can be reordered in the Reminders app
- Custom vibrations for alerts on iPhone
- Clock app for iPad
- Clock alarm with song
- Search all fields in Contacts
- Automatic movie mode for improved video sound quality
- Definitions of a selected word for Chinese, French, German and Spanish
- New keyboard layouts for French, German, Turkish, Catalan, Arabic and Icelandic
- Keyboard shortcuts shared across devices via iCloud
- Bluetooth MAP support
- Global network proxy for HTTP
- Features for China
- Baidu web search
- Sina Weibo integration
- Share videos to Tudou
- Share videos to Youku
- Improved text input for handwriting and Pinyin
Bug fixes
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