iOS 6 Keynotes Round up – Everything iPhone / iPad / iPod Users want to know
by Hatryst Potter Article posted in Apple, Softwares
Ever since the launch of the first iPhone, Apple has been popular for doing 2 things every year; introducing a new iPhone, and releasing a new version of iOS. And Apple has done it again. Nope, it’s not a new iPhone, it’s the introduction of iOS 6, the latest version of operating system for Apple’s iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). It hasn’t been long since iOS 5 was released, but Apple has identified the gap, and (successfully) tried to fill it with iOS 6. So let’s go through some of the major improvement and features that iOS 6 has to offer.
iOS 5 changed a lot when it came back last year with the iPhone 4S. But now iOS 6 is here to apply several refinements to iOS 5, as well as to cope up with some serious competition. According to Apple, there are over 200 new features in iOS 6. We will have a look at the major ones only. But before we continue, it is worth mentioning that iOS 6 is compatible with iPhone 3GS and other compatible idevices are mentioned here under:
Compatible Listing
- iPhone 3GS
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPod Touch 4th Generation
- iPad 2
- The new iPad (a.k.a. the new iPad/iPad Wi-Fi+4G).
Most of the Cosmetic Features are Inspired by Jailbreak Tweak and Trick Apps
The new features of iOS 6 are device-specific, which means some of the features will be available on one device but not on the other. Starting with the obvious and common features. This will give your iOS device a new look and feel on the inside. The new wallpaper and slightly redesigned icons might catch your attention. But there are some new features as well. As far as I think, most of these features are ‘inspired’ by the most popular jailbreak tweaks that people have been using on their iOS 4 and iOS 5 devices till now. Let’s talk about the iPhone first.
FaceTime extended support for Cellular Calls
iOS 6 on iPhone will offer ‘FaceTime’ calling via cellular network. FaceTime, as you might know, is Apple’s term for video calling. Previously, it was only Wi-Fi supported, on all of Apple’s devices which support FaceTime calling. But now, there’s this special advantage for iPhone users that they can whether do a FaceTime call via Wi-Fi, or via their cellular network. Of course, we can expect a difference in performance while having a FaceTime call on cellular network instead of Wi-Fi (which is often faster). But coming back to the point. If you remember, when FaceTime came out, people demanded FaceTime calling via cellular network, and it was made possible using a jailbreak tweak. Well, guess what, no need for that tweak, iPhone natively supports it now, with the help of iOS 6.
Calling / Rejection with iMessage Support
Speaking of iPhone, Apple has carried out some changes to the ‘Phone’ app. So far, the way iPhone users handle calls has been the same. You get a call, if you don’t wish to answer, just double-press the lock button. But now, Apple has provided some convenience on the user’s part. With iOS 6, whenever you get a phone call, you get an ‘end call’ logo (symbolized by a phone logo) at the end of the ‘Slide to Answer’ slider. Swipe it upwards, and you’ll get some options. You can either decline the call directly, or decline with an automatic message sent to the caller (the message could be a text message or even an iMessage, with a response like “I’ll call you later”, etc.). The other option is to decline the call, and make the iPhone remind you (about the call you just rejected) after a particular period of time, or remind you when you get to (or out of) a particular location. Who knew Apple would integrate the GPS with the Phone app in such an innovative way.
Revamped Notification Control System in iOS 6
There’s one more feature that’s a major addition to iOS 6. All iOS devices get notifications. The iPhone also does, it gets calls, text messages, mails, iMessages, push notifications, FaceTime calls, etc. But there might be a time when you don’t wish to get all these notifications. That’s where ‘Do Not Disturb’ comes into play. You can turn it on (or set a period of time) when your iPhone won’t bother you with notifications. It won’t even turn the light on when there’s a notification about a call or a text message or so. But you can surely add exceptions to it, so that you can receive notifications from only some specified people, only from the people whom you add to the exception list. In addition to that, you can turn on an option to allow a call to get through if the caller calls you more than once in a rapid succession (could be an emergency or so), but iy’s totally up to you to turn this option on or off.
Mail app get iCloud Support in iOS 6
Now for something that’s common to all the iOS devices. Mail. There’s not a lot of change here, but worth mentioning anyway. The Mail app is now iCloud enabled, and it means all your mailboxes will act the same on all your iOS devices which are iCloud enabled (and running iOS 6). There’s a new folder by the name of VIP where you’ll get mails from only the special people that you specify. In addition to that, you can now do the infamous ‘Pull to Refresh’ gesture to check for new mail.
Maps get Siri integration with Turn by Turn, Voice Guided and 3D powered
Apple has been angry at Google ever since the dawn of Android. What better idea to take some revenge than just discard what Apple took from Google – the Maps app. Apple has pulled the plug on Google Maps, and redesigned the Maps app with a ton of new features (which were previously made possible with the help of jailbreak tweaks). In short, it includes totally redesigned maps, all mapped by Apple. In addition to that, it includes voice guided turn-by-turn navigation (featuring 3D maps of cities), and it is integrated with Siri, and is available on both Siri-enabled devices (both?). You can just ask Siri for directions, and it will give you turn-by-turn directions to your navigation with traffic information as well. But the best feature of the new Maps app is ‘Flyover’, which provides a highly realistic view of the places you want, and you can interact with these life-like views with multi-touch gestures.
Social Network, Twitter and Facebook Gets Siri and Enhanced Sharing Features
Now for something interesting. When iOS 5 came out, people went gaga with the fact that Twitter integration was built right in it. But soon they realized that something is missing. If Twitter is there, where is the other giant social network? So yes, Apple has built Facebook integration right into iOS 6. Whether you’re in the photos app, on the app store, on a webpage while surfing in Safari, you can share stuff with your friends on Facebook. All you need to do is just sign in once, just once, when you use it for the first time, and then you can share content on Facebook anytime you want, from anywhere you want. What’s even better is that Apple has improved Twitter integration that was already existing in iOS 5, and now (on an iPhone 4S and on the *cough*keep reading*cough*). You can Tweet via Siri on both these devices (both?). Just ask Siri to tweet something for you, and it will do so. Another jailbreak tweak, rendered useless by Apple by integrating its functionality in iOS 6.
Siri for iPad 2 and ipad 3
Oh, it’s still stuck in your mind, isn’t it? Which is the other device that can run iOS 6 and supports Siri? Nah, it’s not a jailbroken iPhone 4. We’re talking about the iPad 2 and iPad 3. Confused? Let’s put it in simple words. Apple is bringing Siri to the iPad 2 and iPad 3, just upgrade to iOS 6. It doesn’t get better than that. Impressed, eh?
New Passbook App – Tag, Coupon Management App
There’s one last thing we would like to mention. Apple has included a new App with iOS 6, and it’s called Passbook. There’s not a whole lot to it, just a card , pass, and coupon management app just like the other apps on the app store, but it is integrated with the OS itself, so you can really figure out the possibilities and the improvements this app has, over all the other apps available.
Improved Browsing Experience with Safari
Some other improvements include better knowledge-base of Siri, improved Safari browsing experience, better sharing options via iCloud, more accessibility options, location based alerts in Find my Friends app, updates to the Find my iPhone app, improved stores (iTunes store, App store, iBookstore), and more regional options (especially for China).
Cut Short Round Up for iOS 6 and Jailbreak Community
Well, it seems only yesterday when we saw the release of the original iPhone and the first version of iOS (called iPhone OS at that time) seemed so phenomenal. But it’s only time that determines how a simple software can be updated to become so much extraordinary. I can’t come up with a reason as to why someone would jailbreak iOS 6 to install new tweaks, since Apple has included all the awesomeness in it, but we will see what lies ahead, and how the jailbreaking community will improve iOS 6 with new tweaks, and then maybe we’ll see the introduction of iOS 7, but that’s quite far away in the future, so we’ll stick to iOS 6, for now.
