Apple has officially unveiled iOS 6 at its WWDC today including some improvements and several complete surprises. iOS 6 is the next version of its mobile operating system used by the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV.
According to Scott Forstall, vice president of IOS Software, this release includes 200 new features, starting with Siri, which is now available in Castilian and has the ability to open third-party applications, we can also make local searches, as it integrates with Yelp and ask for restaurants with OpenTable.
Here is the list of all the devices that will support iOS 6.
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPad 2
- New iPad (iPad 3)
- iPod touch (4th Gen)
It’s really bad news that the original iPad has been ignored. Have a look to the some features of iOS 6.
Siri enhancements (iOS 6)
First, there have been some updates to the Siri, as she learned new instructions such as launching an application or find the name of an actor to say, “tell me about Brad Pitt.” Siri has also gotten better at restaurant/Yelp integration, offering average price per menu item, reviews and Yelp rating.
Apple also announced its partnership with several car manufacturers to integrate the “Eyes Free”, which will enable Siri with a button on the handlebars, and will never need take your eyes off the road to access phone features. And speaking of that, you can now send messages via Twitter at Siri.
Finally Apple made Siri available for the iPad. To access it we need to hold-tapping the home button on the iPad. Siri only takes up a small portion of the bottom half of the screen, popping up with rounded corners and the same blue linen finish as on the iPhone version.
Siri is now available in English, French, and German. Apple added several new languages including Spanish, Italian and Korean, Japanese and Cantonese to follow after.
Maps
Apple has given Google Maps the ax, opting to use their own in-house system. Maps has over 100 million local businesses listed upon launch.
Facebook Integration
Apple, as with Twitter in iOS 5, Facebook now integrated with its mobile platform, allowing the login screen from the IOS configuration, integration with other native applications such as Safari, iTunes, Game Center, and more importantly, the notification center IOS.
The first applications to take advantage of this integration is that Apple includes. Maps, for example, allow us to share our location. Siri, as mentioned, you can create a post to Facebook with just dictate. Birthdays and calendar events are synced with Facebook Calendar IOS. And the profiles, as well.
Shared Photo Stream
Now, it is possible to quickly share photos that are in our Photo Stream with a variety of contacts. Simply select the images from the Photos app, give it a tap to the button “Share” and share them immediately.
If the people who send them have icloud will receive them immediately. Otherwise, you will receive a link to our icloud, so they can see them from any browser.
Passbook
With Passbook, the new application from Apple, now we can keep things like our Boarding Pass for flights, discount coupons, and more, all in a single application. The idea is to reduce the need for paper, having all this information in a single application.
The interesting thing is that it is an application that comes with IOS 6, so suddenly has the ubiquity necessary to function. It will be intriguing to see if the application does take off.
FaceTime over Wireless
FaceTime will now work over cellular connections. FaceTime has only available from WiFi till iOS 5, but iOS 6 brings it to wireless status. You will have a unifying phone number and Apple ID for FaceTime, as well as Messages.
Improvements to email
First announces the introduction of the category VIPs to Mail, which has its own separate box. It also created the box “Flagged” or “Marked as a major”, which reminds us of the “Highlights of Gmail” with a star.
It also included a more direct way to insert a video or picture when writing an email, which now displayed in the text box. Finally, another thing required by users: drag to update. This is one more improvements in iOS 6.
“Do Not Disturb” Mode
As simple as it sounds, enabling this option the phone stops making sounds or lights, still getting all the messages and notifications are synchronized automatically.All calls and email will be silenced. But if someone tries to contact you in an emergency, can be configured so that if someone calls you twice in a span of three minutes, the phone does ring.
There are still number of features I can’t explain here, but I hope I have covered lot of things related to iOS 6. Stay tuned for more details, iOS 6 Coming this fall.
