Just like clockwork, Apple took the wraps off iOS 6 on Monday during the WWDC 2012 keynote, and developers have already started tinkering with the first beta build. While the company showed off some key features, there’s plenty more in store.
iOS 6, so far scheduled to ship "this fall," may not be a quantum leap forward, but it’s certainly significant enough to keep competitors at bay for another year. Here’s a look at what Apple announced during Monday’s WWDC 2012 keynote, and a few other tidbits we’ve been able to glean from snooping around for further details.
Prior to Monday’s keynote, most everyone expected that 2012 would be the year Apple finally shows Google the door -- at least where the Maps app is concerned. They certainly didn’t disappoint, with a completely new Maps app redesigned from the ground up, including real-time traffic, turn-by-turn navigation and a slick Flyover mode to see the world from above.
Siri is also part of the new Maps, as is local search, which Apple promises will include more than 100 million businesses worldwide. It all sounds great, right?
However, a peek at the fine print on Apple’s iOS 6 Maps page reveals that Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation will be exclusive to the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later -- and presumably whatever new version of the iPhone the company releases later this year when iOS 6 actually ships.
Likewise, Siri will only function on the iPhone 4S and new iPad, both of which require internet access to work. Speaking of which, Apple has said nothing about offline access to Maps -- the vector-based engine presumably requires a data connection, which means it could be useless while traveling in remote locales.
Ditching Google Maps may come with a few caveats, however: Street View doesn’t appear to be part of Apple’s new app, and the company has yet to confirm if Maps will be able to handle alternate forms of transportation, such as transit or walking. That’s kind of a bummer for some folks.
Finally, developers spotted a reference to TomTom in the credits for the Maps app, and the company has now confirmed in a brief statement that they have licensed some of their mapping technology to Apple for iOS 6.
The biggest news about iOS 6 is that it will add Siri to the new iPad, but the ol’ gal has also grown up a lot in the last eight months, expanding her knowledge into new areas that should make up for some of her sins of the past.
Specifically noted by Apple is Siri’s knowledge of sports, movies, and restaurants, as well as integration with Facebook and Twitter and even launching apps. “Eyes Free” integration with automobiles also sounds promising, with nine automakers already on board. But Ford owners, take note -- your car isn’t likely to be among them, especially given that company’s particular affinity for Microsoft SYNC.
Last but not least, Siri is finally expanding her language abilities, and iOS 6 will bring optimizations for 15 countries around the world, adding English and Canadian French; two variations of Spanish; Italian; Swiss French, Italian and German; Korean; and a couple flavors of Mandarin and Cantonese.
Once again, from rumor to reality comes Facebook integration with iOS 6. You know the drill: It works pretty much the same way that Twitter integration with iOS 5 works, offering the ability to post directly to the social network, add your Facebook friends and events to your Contacts or Calendar, "like" apps and songs (is that the death of Ping? probably), and share just about anything one could imagine.
Judging from the slides shown during the WWDC keynote, Facebook posts will come with some control over who sees the information and where it winds up -- for example, photos can be added to new or existing albums.
For those of us who really don’t want Facebook friends and events integrated into our Contacts and Calendar, here’s hoping that these features can be disabled or otherwise controlled before hundreds of people we barely know get added to our address books.
If Facebook sharing isn’t your thing, you’ll be happy to know that iOS 6 introduces sharing for Photo Stream, which allows users to select one or more photos, choose who you want to share them with, and watch as they’re magically shared via iCloud.
Shared photos can be viewed from any iOS 6 device from the Photos app, or a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion with iPhoto; streams can also be viewed on an Apple TV. For your non-Apple friends and family, any modern web browser can be used to view photo albums and even like or make comments to individual images. Best of all, shared Photo Streams don’t count against your iCloud storage.
If one thing about iOS 6 made many of us scratch our heads, it would be the addition of a new app called Passbook. While it makes for a convenient way to digitally store boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards and more in one place, the iPhone and iPod touch-specific app could be a harbinger of something else: Digital money.
Apple’s patent filings have already revealed the company is hard at work on a digital wallet initiative similar to Google Wallet, which has thus far flailed in the market after a year. Apple is not likely to make the same mistake, so they’re dipping their toes into the water first with Passbook.
You know, we could have sworn that Apple enabled FaceTime over 3G with iOS 5, but that the feature was carrier-dependent. Whatever the case may be, Cupertino is finally lifting the Wi-Fi shackles with iOS 6, allowing users to jam cellular networks with FaceTime calls and potentially bring them to a grinding halt.
Okay, that probably won’t realistically happen, but one other thing Apple is incorporating into FaceTime is a link between your Apple ID and your cellular phone number -- finally allowing iPhone users to answer incoming FaceTime calls from the iPad, for example.
Hey, we get it -- you’re busy and that’s why you haven’t called us back. Are you sure we didn’t do something to offend you?
These kind of awkward moments will be a thing of the past thanks to the new iOS 6 Phone app. Instead of swiping horizontally to answer a call, users will now be able to swipe up on a phone icon, where they can choose to Decline or Answer as normal -- as well as reply with a message or have your iPhone remind you to return the call later.
Quick replies are sent via iMessage or SMS, and if the three presets (“I’ll call you later,” “I’m on my way” or “What’s up?”) don’t get the job done, you can enter a custom reply of your own. Reminders can be set for an hour later, or use geofencing to remind you when you leave the current location or when you return home or to work.
Last but not least, a very welcome “Do Not Disturb” toggle will silence your iPhone (no light, no sounds) while you’re sleeping or between hours you choose to designate, while still allowing certain incoming calls to come through from your favorite contacts. It's even got an option for repeat calls -- if someone's so desperate to reach you that they call twice within 3 minutes, your iPhone can let that second call through.
Apple isn’t reinventing the wheel with iOS 6 Mail, but they are improving on what’s already there. A more streamlined interface allows for easier reading and writing, while new VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes assure you’ll never miss an important message from that special someone. Refreshing your mailbox is now as easy as swiping down, and Mail now allows photos and videos to be inserted into a new message with just a few taps.
On the Safari front, the mobile version gains many of the same OS X Mountain Lion improvements, including iCloud Tabs and offline Reading List, but also adds full-screen landscape mode and the ability to upload photos and videos to websites, which has us more excited than most anything else in iOS 6. iCloud Tabs are clever, too, letting you jump to tabs that you have open on your iPhone, iPad, and in Safari on your Mountain Lion Mac.
Apple continues to beef up its accessibility options with iOS 6, now offering guided access for those with disabilities, or even for parents allowing their children to use their device while disabling key features such as the home button or even certain elements of the screen that you select.
Developers are currently testing iOS 6-specific updates to Find My iPhone and Find My Friends. The former introduces a new Lost mode to help users reclaim a lost or missing device (you can send a phone number to it, and hope that the person who finds the phone willt tap it to call that number), while the latter adds location-based alerts for keeping track of loved ones, particularly handy for parents.
Apple is also promising an overhaul to the existing iTunes, App Store, and iBookstore apps, which have been remodeled with a fresh new look in iOS 6. iCloud will now remember music, movies and TV shows that you’ve previewed so you can recall or purchase them easily from any of your devices.
It’s no secret that Apple considers China a huge opportunity for future growth, and indeed, the populous country has been responsible for a lot of Cupertino’s current good fortune as well.
For that reason, Apple is using iOS 6 to introduce a wave of new features aimed at Chinese users, with improved text input and built-in support for popular internet services in that country.
“With a new Chinese dictionary and improved text input, typing in Chinese is easier, faster, and more accurate,” the company explains on its website. “You can mix full and abbreviated Pinyin and even type English words in a Pinyin sentence without switching keyboards. With support for over 30,000 characters, iOS 6 more than doubles the number of Chinese characters supported in handwriting recognition. And when you add words to your personal dictionary, iCloud makes them available on all your devices. Baidu is a built-in option in Safari, and you can share videos directly to Youku and Tudou. You can also post to Sina Weibo from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari, and Game Center.”
With any iOS update, there are bound to be plenty of little things that don’t get mentioned when previewing the latest version -- and iOS 6 is no exception.
Thanks to eager developers, we now know that iOS 6 will allow the status bar to change color to blend with whatever app is running at the time, just like a chameleon. The update also adds new Emoji, Reminders badges for incomplete tasks, and an app icon banner that marks “New” on anything you download from the App Store. (Don’t worry, it disappears after you open the app the first time.)
iOS 6 also introduces both per-person and per-account notifications, allowing Mail to remain silent except for when a particular person emails, or a new email arrives for a particular account.
We have no idea what took them so long, but iOS 6 also finally brings a native clock app to the iPad. Still no dedicated weather app, but Siri running on a new iPad will get the job done quite nicely instead.
iOS 6 also introduces a new Privacy option in Settings, allowing full control over which services an app gains access to. These extend to location services as well as Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, and even Photos.
A big one we’re excited about is that password entry will no longer be required for App Store updates, nor for previous purchases that you’re installing again. This same functionality also extends to OS X Mountain Lion and the Mac App Store, and kudos to Apple for finally doing the right thing here.
If you’ve purchased a new iOS device in the last couple years, you should be in good shape. iOS 6 will run on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, but only the fourth-generation iPod touch is listed as compatible. Likewise, the original iPad has been put out to pasture, while the iPad 2 and new iPad are good to go.
Of course, just because you can install iOS 6, that doesn’t mean that you’ll have access to all of these great new features. We’ve already mentioned that the Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation features of the new Maps app will require an iPhone 4S or iPad 2 and higher, and Siri is exclusive to the iPhone 4S and new iPad with iOS 6.
Combing through the fine print on Apple’s iOS 6 website, it’s also important to note that shared Photo Streams require an iPhone 4 or iPad 2 or later, which excludes the iPhone 3GS and fourth-gen iPod touch from that party. The same also applies with FaceTime over cellular as well as Mail’s VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes and Safari’s offline Reading List.
Well, you can’t -- at least not right now. If you have an iOS Developer account, you can download the beta build released shortly after the WWDC 2012 keynote on Monday, which requires a $99 per year membership and a device dedicated to app development -- you won’t want to run the initial iOS 6 beta on your main device, since many current apps won’t be compatible with the software.
Apple plans to release iOS 6 in the fall, presumably alongside the next iPhone. The website promises the update will be “free and easy to upgrade wirelessly on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch -- the moment it’s available.”
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aameri
June 12, 2012 at 7:17pm
Why did apple exclude navigation and fly over to only the new models?
