iOS 6
The OS X and iOS announcements seemed to have the over arching theme that all your devices are screens, no matter which one you happen to be in front of, all the same information will be present. iOS 6 is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Most of the updates bring more functionality that should have been there. Siri is a perfect example of the evolution of an app. Siri is now capable of getting information about sports, movies and restaurants. The new Siri is more like Siri before Apple bought it. With movies and restaurants you can purchase tickets or reserve a table. And, finally, Siri can launch apps. There seems to be increasing signs of love lost between Apple and Google. First, going back a few paragraphs, you might have noticed that there is no Google+ or YouTube integration. Well, guess what? Same thing here. Facebooks in like Flynn. Google, not so much. But wait, theres more! iOS 6 will no longer be using Google Maps. Apple has built their own map system. It is vector-based which means it crisp graphics and typology and smooth zooming and panning. Thanks to the gazillion billion people with an iPhone, Maps will have crowd-sourced, real-time Traffic. If things are bad, Traffic will even suggest alternate routes. While you on that detour, suppose you get hungry? Just ask Siri. With the help of Yelp, Local Search will return stops along the way. Oh, there is also a photo-realistic viewsurprise surpriseknown as Flyover. Another feature that is late to the game is the ability to share photos from our Photo Stream. Thankfully this is not an all or nothing prospect. You share just the pictures you want to. Here is where it gets cool. If the person you are sharing with has a Mac they will get the pictures via iPhoto, if an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch via the Photos app. If the person do not have an Apple device, no worries. Photos can be viewed on the web. FaceTime will now work over cellular. This news was not Earth shattering, but it did make me realize that users
really need to watch their usage. Between all the iCloud syncing and FaceTime over cellular, there is a real possibility of astronomical bills. Siri, set a monthly reminder: check cellular and data usage. Passbook is a really interesting feature, which at first seems like a So what? kind of app. It is an app to store boarding passes, movie tickets, coupons and loyalty cards. Who cares? If that were it, I would answer, No one. Passbooks possibilities really come to light with its geo-location skills. Passbook can remind you when you enter a store that you have coupons, or what your balance is on your card. Now it is starting to sound like a primitive eWallet. Maybe one day we will be able to walk into a store and not talk to an employee at all. Oh, wait, you can do that. At the Apple Store. What about going into places using Square? Ah, ha! Oh, and to be just a bit more user friendly. Say you have a flight and the gate has changed, or the departure has been pushed back, Passbook will send you push notifications. Mail and Safari have also been incrementally updated. Mail has been streamlined and now offers VIP listing. Anyone you designate as VIP will be prioritized. The VIP list is synced via iCloud. Safaris updates are similar to those in OS X. iOS 6 will bring a couple great features to your phone. The first, Do Not Disturb, will allow calls and notifications to come through, but will keep the phone dark and quiet. You will be able to set a schedule. Likewise, you can set lists that will be allowed through, even when Do Not Disturb is enabled. The second, if you decline an incoming call, you can swipe to revel two new choices: Reply with Message or Remind Me Later. Reply with Message will text a preset message like Ill call you later. or Im on my way. or create your own. Remind Me Later will remind you either at a later time or geo-locate for a specific place, e.g. home or work. Lastly, there is Guided Access. Guided Access restricts touch input to certain areas of the screen. This is perfect for parents, schools and people running kiosks. iOS 6 will be released in the Fall. So that was the big announcement at WWDC 2012. How did it fare according to your wants and/or needs? Will you be running out to give Apple your money? Share your thoughts, concerns and/or corrections in the the comment section.