After WWDC 2012 and experiencing the iOS 6 beta, there are a lot of improvements to the operating system. The mobile team at Softonic highlighted their choices for the best new features. Apple’s keynote solidified the features that will be present when it launches next week.
It’s been 5 months since WWDC and the multiple beta versions have revealed a lot of interesting smaller features that were not shown during WWDC 2012. But some features like Passbook were not functional during the beta and they weren’t properly demoed during the keynote.
Here’s what Apple announced:
iOS 6
Launch on September 19th, 2012.
Nothing new was announced for iOS 6 on iPad, but the iOS 6 on iPhone 5 will feature updates over the iPhone 4S.
- Widescreen aspect ratio for larger screen
- Old apps run letterboxed (until developers update their apps)
- Shared photo streams through iOS 6 and iCloud
Maps
- 100 million Points of Interest (POI) added
- Turn-by-turn directions with 3D map support
- Landscape and Portrait modes
Notifications
- Tap to Tweet or post to Facebook
Safari
- Full screen support
- iCloud tabs to share tabs from desktop to iOS
Passbook
- Accessible from the lockscreen
Photo stream
- Choose photos to share with specific people
- Comment and like photos
Siri
- Updated for more accurate results
- Use voice to post updates to Facebook
Phone
- Automatically send SMS when you can’t take a call
- Set a reminder at a certain time or place to call someone back
iTunes 11
Apple announced that the new iTunes would launch in late October.
- New iTunes store on iOS devices
- Features Facebook integration
- Share directly to Twitter or Facebook
- Simpler design
- Default grid layout for media
- Artists can share photos
- Using the search bar will show intelligent results as well as media that’s currently playing
- Updated mini-player
- iCloud integration with iTunes
- iCloud media sync so you can watch a video in iTunes then pick up where you left off on another iOS device
Apple didn’t announce anything really new from the original WWDC keynote. It did expand on features already announced and the release date is a week away. Passbook is still an unknown app that has a lot of potential use, but Apple hasn’t really demonstrated the use of the app for every day use.
The focus on increased Facebook and Twitter integration was expected, but there wasn’t a big jump in functionality from iOS 5. When Apple releases iOS 6, a lot more will be explained on how to use the featured apps and the smaller improvements are revealed.
