Apple iOS 6 preview

As expected, Apple used the keynote of its annual WWDC event in San Francisco to announce the latest version of their iOS mobile platform. The sixth major build of the OS aims to bring the user experience to the next level with no less than 200 new features, services and UI tweaks.

The number is certainly huge, but then again so were the expectations of the millions of Apple fans around the globe. The fact that iOS 6 will only go official in three months' time heaps even more pressure on the latest release of the platform. By that point Android will probably have Jelly Bean to chew on, while Windows Phone will have released the multi-core friendly Apollo.

The iOS 6 key features include a Siri upgrade, system-wide Facebook integration and brand new Maps with turn-by-turn voice navigation. There're plenty of lesser new goodies such as achievements in the Game Center, new App store UI and the Music app, improved Safari with full-screen mode, better Mail, etc.

The complete changelog is coming up, but first we'll get the issue of compatibility out of the way. iOS 6 is compatible with the three latest iPhone generations (3GS, 4 and 4S), iPad 2 and 3 and the fourth-gen iPod Touch. The first iPad is not on the list, so if you are still holding on to the original Apple slate, you might finally want to consider an upgrade.

A few other restrictions apply, too: the iPhone 4S has finally lost its Siri exclusivity, but it's only going to share it with the iPad 3. The turn-by-turn navigation and the Flyover mode in Maps can be used only on dual-core iDevices - iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPad 3.

Now let's not waste any more time and get down to testing. We installed the beta release on an iPhone 4S, so all impressions of the OS are based on its performance. If you have an older-gen Apple smartphone your mileage may vary.

What's new in iOS 6?

As we already mentioned, Apple claims there are more than 200 new features in the iOS 6. We are sure the number is right, but not all of the changes are actually visible or even worth mentioning.

Here is what we believe to be a detailed list of all noteworthy updates brought by iOS 6:

• Siri available on iPad 3
• Siri now speaks Canadian English, Spanish (Spain/Mexico), Italian, Italian (Switzerland), Korean, Mandarin (Chinese/Taiwan), Cantonese (Hong Kong)
• Siri can now provide sports scores, movie and restaurants reviews. It can launch apps and do status updates
• Apple promises Siri integration with car handsfree systems
• System-wide Facebook integration: Facebook contacts and events appear in the phonebook and calendar
• Notification center gets quick Facebook/Twitter update keys
• New Maps app with TomTom data, turn-by-turn voice navigation and 3D/Flyover view mode
• Better Safari browser with iCloud tabs, full-screen mode, offline reading and faster performance
• Passbook e-ticket app handles loyalty coupons, boarding passes, tickets
• The Photo app can share photos with other iOS users. Likes and comments are supported
• Updated Mail with VIP and Flagged mailboxes
• Unified FaceTime/iMessages ID. FaceTime works over the cellular network
• New UI for the App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store, Music, Weather apps
• You can set songs from your music library as alarm tones
• Better privacy settings
• New accessibility options and guided access (single-app mode for kids)
• Re-organized settings, various new icons
• Improved HDR camera function
• Game Center now supports challenges (achievements)
• Reject call with SMS
• Do Not Disturb mode
• Lost mode
• Improved keyboards and auto-correction
• Three new wallpapers
• Various improvements under the hood
• Display brightness settings menu has been changed

  Updated Stores and system apps, new icons, better Settings

  With iOS 6 Apple has updated the App Store and iTunes Store and content handling. Both stores have different Featured pages with scrollable rows rather than lists. The paintjob was changed too.
  In addition to the added eye-candy the App Store now has a slightly different manner of operation. First you won't be prompted to enter your password when you just update apps. Second, you can see the change log in the Updates screen without actually opening the info screen.
  Finally, after you buy or update apps you will no longer be kicked back to the homescreen - you can continue browsing the store. You can launch apps you've already installed from within the store too.
    
  The new App Store • the update section
  The Game Center is another part of iOS to get Facebook integration and it also now supports challenges. Those can be given to you from a friend or a game and you will earn an achievement if you beat it.
  
  
  Challenges on the Game Center
  The Weather app and Music player have undergone slight redesigns, too, but their functionality has remained unchanged.
    
  The new Weather • the new Music player
  Another change is that the Camera UI is now black> We also like the changed in the iPhone settings menu. The brightness setting is now in the wallpaper screen, while the Bluetooth toggle has been promoted and now sits right next to the Wi-Fi toggle - now that's a life-saver.
  Also, if you turn on the auto brightness, your iDevice will be in full control of the brightness and will move the slider above the toggle to show the currently selected setting. This means that you can now see exactly how bright the screen is, but you are unable to fine-tune the auto mode like you could in the previous iOS versions.
    
  The Camera UI • the Settings app
  The Settings and Clock apps have updated icons, too. And mentioning the Clock app, you must know that now you can access the iPod music library and assign any song as an alarm tone. Finally!

  Lost Mode and Guided Access

  The last two features we are going to mention are the Guided Access and the Lost Mode.
  The Guided Access locks the iDevice to work with a single app only. It cannot be closed unless Guided Access is disabled. While active - all hardware controls are disabled - lock, home, volume and switch. When configured, you launch an app, then triple-tap the Home key, enter the password and done - the iGadget is now locked on to this specific app until you triple-tap the home key again and enter the right password.
  
  Configuring the Guided Access
  This means that the Guided access could work quite well as as kid or test mode. It will allow you to give your iDevice to your kid without being worried that it will access inappropriate content or mess up your settings and apps.
  The Lost Mode is part of the former Find My iPhone service. If you lose your gadget, you can lock (but not wipe) it remotely and send a message with your contact (and reward) information.

  First impressions

  The iOS 6 brings plenty of stuff and most of the new features are well implemented. There might not really be 200 things to cheer about, but there's enough to make a difference, giving a new lease of life to every iDevice that gets it.
  The highlight feature is of course Maps. It's what Notifications was to iOS 5. Come to think of it, the two major novelties in iOS in two consecutive years are things the competition has already had for a while. The voice navigation is certainly a nice boost though, and the Siri integration might take the personal navigator experience to a whole new level.
  Then again, maybe iOS 6 was never expected to win new customers from the competition. Maybe that is a task reserved for the upcoming iPhone 5 (or probably just new iPhone) which will debut alongside the platform, and iOS 6 was all about improving the user experience for those already in the Apple camp.
  It certainly looks so and we are tempted to congratulate Apple on a job well done. This is a beta release of the iOS 6 for developers with the official release expected this fall. Delivering a few new tweaks and a few major additions is the typical Apple approach to software upgrade. It's not like they overpromised and under-delivered. Not at all actually. But their upcoming hardware is the real news we're all waiting for.