Got an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad? Take a look at the beta version of the latest iteration of the most advanced mobile operating system. Here’s a preview of iOS 6 Beta 1.
The iOS6 was officially announced yesterday at the WWDC in Cupertino. According to Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice-president of iOS Software, iOS 6 has over 200 new features.
Notable updates and changes on iOS6 are the following:
1. Siri is now more intelligent. Apart from being able to open applications, Siri can now find restaurants in partnership with Yelp and answer more complicated questions like “Who has better reach: Pacquiao or Bradley?”. Of course, the most celebrated news about Siri is about its availability on the new iPad. Unfortunately, Siri will not be made available for pre-iPhone 4s devices.
2. One of most widely talked about new feature of iOS is its near-system-wide integration of Facebook. With this new feature, any device on iOS6 can now do wall posts and post photos without using Facebook App.
Unfortunately, posting videos to Facebook is not yet implemented on the build I installed on my iPhone 4. Here are the sharing options for videos:
Part of the near-system-wide integration of Facebook is the ability of users to “like” apps or songs and “share” apps or songs to your Facebook wall.
3. iOS 6’s Do Not Disturb feature is one feature that I always wanted to have. With this feature, you can set the time when well… you don’t want to be disturbed. You can also exempt people from this feature; and a feature called “Repeated Calls” that when enabled, a second call from the same person within three minutes will not be silenced.
By the way, that moon icon you’re seeing on the status bar is the icon associated with Do Not Disturb.
4. A new app called Passbook was also announced. Passbook can hold “stuff” in your pocket like Boarding Passes, Tickets, Store Cards and Coupons.
5. Consistent with the rumors we heard and read in the past weeks, iOS6 will finally ditch Google Maps and embrace something that Apple owns. Apple’s new Maps application has traffic integration, turn-by-turn navigation (Data is from TomTom navigation), Yelp integration and 3D view.
Here are some screenshots:
6. Other new features:
- Share Widget on Notification Bar
- Revamped Dialer
- New and expanded share tool (system-wide)
- Safari Full-Screen Mode
- Overhauled App Store and iTunes
- App Store will not close when you click Install/Purchase.
- Newly installed apps will be labeled ‘NEW’ on Springboard
This is just the start of the many changes we will see on iOS 6. Besides, this is just Beta 1 and we may have 5-6 more Beta versions until Apple launches the GM build in September. It is a good start, I believe, although I was hoping for features like Android-esque toggles on the notification bar, Siri for iPhone 4 and iPad 2 and Keyboard enhancement. Who knows, we might see these features as we come closer to September.
How about you guys? Are you impressed with iOS 6? If you were one of the engineers of Apple, how would you change iOS Beta 1? You know the drill.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
