Jay Lagare

So iOS 6 was announced at WWDC and I grabbed the beta soon as it became available. It generally looks just like iOS 5 in keeping with Apple’s incremental improvement approach. There were changes here and there but the biggest ones I noticed were:

1. Maps – out goes Google and in comes TomTom, their new maps data provider. New features are turn-by-turn navigation and 3D view. Level of detail is less than Google Maps at this time though.
2. Passbook – one place for all your electronic/digital passes, tickets, discount cards, coupons, etc.
3. Siri – gets new functionality such as launching apps.
4. Call Handling – Do not disturb mode (with exceptions to selected number or repeated calls, how cool is that?), send SMS to reject call (Nokias had this since like forever), callback reminder.
5. Parental Control – better restrictions on apps and content, Guided Access mode (stay within one app). Just be sure your toddler doesn’t slam your iDevice on the floor in frustration.
6. Privacy – better privacy control
7. Mail – Mailbox management (VIP and flagging), add attachments from the new message screen, new pull down to refresh animation.
8. Clock – Alarm sound can be a song. You can wake up to the sound of Manic Monday and Friday I’m In Love :P
9. Safari – offline reading, syncing
10. Share Button – graphical, colorful, and prettier. Way better than the previous text list.
11. Built-In Apps – built-in apps such as iTunes and Music have sleeker, easier-to-use interfaces. Unfortunately, Find My Friends isn’t one of them. Not that anybody uses it.
12. New Wallpapers – 3 new wallpapers including the official iOS 6 ripples background.
13. Facebook Integration – Similar to the Twitter integration introduced in iOS 5. Couldn’t care less about this :P