New iOS 6 has been demoed at today’s WWDC (WorldWide Developer Conference) 2012 keynote speech. This update to the iOS operating system brings with it a whole raft — over 200 according to Apple — of new features to the platform.
Apple showed off the new version of iOS again today at the iPhone 5 announcement, and it's packed with awesome new features for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches alike. Here's a rundown of the best new stuff you'll see in iOS 6, which is coming to your device on September 19th.
Apple showed off the new version of iOS again today at the iPhone 5 announcement, and it's packed with awesome new features for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches alike. Here's a rundown of the best new stuff you'll see in iOS 6, which is coming to your device on September 19th.
Siri
Apple’s Siri voice assistant is getting a number of new information sources added, including:
Siri is also coming to the iPad.
iOS 6 delivers a number of big improvements to Siri. While Siri still isn’t perfect, the service offers more control over the iPhone and the iPad. Siri can also launch apps directly with one simple voice command (like "Play Temple Run"). Siri also has a new "Eyes Free" mode designed for cars, in which you can press a button on the steering wheel to activate her or have her read things back to you. Right now, Apple has already partnered with a number of vehicle manufacturers, like GM, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, and Land Rover. Other American companies seem strangely absent from the list, at least for the moment.Lastly, Siri is now available in a number of other languages and locations, including Canada, Spain, Mexico, Italian, Switzerland, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. Local search will work around the world, too, which is great. Sadly, they didn't say anything about Siri's voice recognition or answers being more reliable, which we were hoping for. They may have added it in quietly, but we're not inclined to think so if they didn't make a big deal about it. Siri may very well still be a "beta" product.
New phone features
Currently when you get a call on your iPhone you have two choices — Accept of Decline. iOS 6.0 brings two new options.
There’s also a new ‘Do Not Disturb’ option that will turn off calls and messages. You can, however, you mark some contacts as important and allow them to disturb you.
Do Not Disturb and More Phone Options
Do Not Disturb feature that will silence all notifications while it's on. You'll still get them, your phone just won't make noise or light up when you get them. You can customize Do Not Disturb to automatically turn on at certain times, allow for phone calls from certain contacts or groups of contacts, as well as tell it to allow calls that happen multiple times in quick succession—like if someone is trying to contact you in an emergency.
You'll also see a new icon on the lock screen when you get a call, not unlike the camera icon you have on the lock screen in iOS 5.1. When you get a call, you can slide this up to send the caller a message, or have iOS remind you to call them back. You can set the reminder to go off in an hour, when you get to work or get home, or even when you leave your current location.
A New, Social App Store
In iOS 6, the phone app is now smarter, allowing users to reply with a message or set a reminder to call later. This is handy when I’m on my way somewhere and I’m almost there, or if I just need to call someone back later.
Apple Maps & Turn-by-Turn Navigation
New map apps — along with new maps — bring a raft of new features to iOS devices, including Apple finally includes turn by turn voice guided navigation on the iPhone. This feature is only available for the iPhone 4S and the upcoming iPhone 5. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS will still see the new Apple Maps app, but without the latest versions of the iPhone users can’t brag about a better GPS solution.
Other features
Apple also includes many other great features in iOS 6 including. Some of our favorite extra features are below.
- Cleaner looking app store that may not require a password for updates and free apps.
- Set Music as an alarm in the Alarms app.
- Protocol to handle sending alerts to smart watches and other devices.
- Send a phone number to a lost iPhone to reunite with the phone.
- Full-screen Safari in landscape.
- Made for iPhone hearing aid support.
We also believe Apple will announce some special new feature for the iPhone 5 as part of iOS 6. Apple shared a redacted iOS 6 feature with select developers at WWDC 2012, but no details are available yet.