Tech Talk: iOS 6 for iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch

iOS 6 gives you more features to make the things you do every day even better. It’s free and easy to upgrade wirelessly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

“There are NEW emojis!”, I saw someone post on facebook and quickly rushed to the settings > general > software update section of my phone. Sure enough, I saw an iOS 6 release… and am in the process of downloading it.

Nevermind the fact that it’s 6am and I just woke up.

So what does it mean? What’s so great about this update? you might ask.

Well, the great thing about Tech Talk is we can let our inner geekery shine, so we are here to talk about a few of the updates. Here’s what you can expect:

This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

Maps

Apple designed vector based maps
Turn-by-turn navigation with spoken directions on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (2nd and 3rd generation)
Real-time traffic information
Flyover for photo-realistic, interactive 3D views of major metro areas on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad (3rd generation), and iPod touch (5th generation)
Local search results with Yelp photos, ratings, reviews, and available deals
Siri integration for requesting directions and finding places along a route

Beautifully designed from the ground up (and the sky down), Maps changes the way you see the world. Map elements are vector based, so graphics and text are incredibly detailed even when you zoom all the way in and panning is smooth. Tilt and rotate to view an area, and Maps keeps the names of streets and places where they belong. Get visual and spoken turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates. Even soar over cityscapes to see the sights from the air in amazing, high-resolution quality.

Siri improvements

Sports: scores, player stats, game schedules, team rosters, and league standings for baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey
Movies: trailers, showtimes, reviews and facts
Restaurants: reservations, reviews, photos and information
Send a Tweet
Post on Facebook
App launch
Eyes Free in supported automobiles
Local search available in Siri supported countries (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
Additional country and language support for Canada (English and Canadian French), China (Mandarin), Hong Kong (Cantonese), Italy (Italian), Korea (Korean), Mexico (Spanish), Spain (Spanish), Switzerland (Italian, French, German), Taiwan (Mandarin), US (Spanish)
Supported on iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad (3rd generation) and iPod touch (5th generation)

With iOS 6, Siri understands more languages and works in more countries.2 So you can get more things done in more places around the world. Want to know the latest scores and stats for your favorite teams and players? Thanks to iOS 6, Siri knows the answers. Or maybe it’s movie night. Siri can show you the latest reviews and showtimes. Find the best restaurants in town and make reservations. Even have Siri open your apps for you no tapping required. Say “Launch Flight Tracker” or “Open Angry Birds” and Siri does just that. You can also use Siri to post Facebook updates and tweet for you.

Facebook integration

Single sign-on from Settings
Post from Photos, Safari, Maps, App Store, iTunes, Game Center, Notification Center and Siri
Add location and choose audience for any post
View up-to-date Facebook profile photos and contact information in Contacts
View Facebook events and birthdays in Calendar
Like content and see your friends’ Likes in App Store and iTunes Store
Shared Photo Streams
Share selected photos with the people you choose
Friends can view shared photos in Photos app, iPhoto and Apple TV
Friends can like and make comments on individual photos

Now it’s easier than ever to interact with the world’s largest social network. And there’s no need to leave your app to do it. Share a photo to Facebook right from Camera or Photos. Post your location right from Maps. Brag about a high score right from Game Center. If you have your hands full, just ask Siri to post for you. You need to sign in to Facebook only once, and you’ll be off and sharing. Never miss another birthday or get-together, since Facebook events are integrated into Calendar. And your Facebook friends’ profile information is integrated into Contacts, so when they update an email address or phone number you automatically stay up to date. Now that’s something to post about.

Passbook

One place for boarding passes, store cards, movie tickets and other passes
Barcode display for boarding flights, buying coffee, getting into movies and other actions
Passes displayed on Lock Screen based on time or location
Passes can be automatically updated
Supported on iPhone and iPod touch

Your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more are now all in one place. With Passbook, you can scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, and redeem a coupon. You can also see when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and the balance left on that all-important coffee bar card. Wake your iPhone or iPod touch, and passes appear on your Lock screen at the appropriate time and place like when you reach the airport or walk into the store to redeem your gift card or coupon. And if your gate changes after you’ve checked in for your flight, Passbook will even alert you to make sure you’re not relaxing in the wrong terminal.

FaceTime improvements

FaceTime over cellular support for iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular (3rd generation)
Receive FaceTime calls, sent to your iPhone number, on your iPad and iPod touch

FaceTime now works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, so you can make and receive FaceTime calls wherever you happen to be.3 You can even make and receive FaceTime calls on your iPad using your phone number. That means you can use FaceTime wherever you are, on any device. And never miss another wink, smile, air kiss, or eye roll.

Phone improvements

Do Not Disturb to suppress incoming calls and notifications
‘Reply with message’ option when declining a call
‘Remind me later’ option based on time or location when declining a call

iOS 6 adds new calling features to your iPhone. Now when you decline an incoming call, you can instantly reply with a text message or set a callback reminder. And when things are just too hectic, turn on Do Not Disturb and you won’t be bothered by anyone except can’t-miss contacts like your boss or your better half.

Mail improvements

VIP mailbox to quickly access mail from important people
Flagged email mailbox
Insert photos and videos when composing email
Open password protected Office docs
Pull down to refresh mailboxes
Per account signatures

Redesigned with a more streamlined interface for easier reading and writing, Mail in iOS 6 lets you set up a VIP list so you’ll never miss an important message from your accountant, your boss, or your BFF. It’s even easier to add photos and videos to email messages. And to refresh your mailboxes, all you have to do is swipe down.

Safari improvements

iCloud tabs to see open pages on all your devices
Offline Reading List
Photo upload support
Full screen landscape view on iPhone and iPod touch
Smart app banners
JavaScript performance improvements

iOS 6 brings even better web browsing to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iCloud Tabs keeps track of which pages you have open on your devices, so you can start browsing on one device and pick up right where you left off, on whatever device is handy. Safari now saves web pages not just links in your Reading List, so you can catch up on your reading even when you can’t connect to the Internet.4 And when you’re posting a photo or video to eBay, Craigslist, or another site, you can take photos and video or choose from your Camera Roll without leaving Safari. When you really want to see the whole picture, turn your iPhone or iPod touch to landscape and tap the full-screen icon to view web pages without distractions.

App Store and iTunes Store improvements

Updated store design
iTunes Preview history
Complete my season
Complete my album

Game Center improvements

Challenge friends to beat high scores and achievements
Post high-scores and achievements to Facebook and Twitter
Friend recommendations based on your Facebook friends

Accessibility improvements

Guided Access to limit device to one app or restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen
VoiceOver integration with Maps, AssistiveTouch and Zoom
Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids for iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S

More Improvements

Improved privacy controls for Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos and data shared over Bluetooth
Reminders can be reordered in the Reminders app
Custom vibrations for alerts on iPhone
Clock app for iPad
Clock alarm with song
Search all fields in Contacts
Automatic movie mode for improved video sound quality
Definitions of a selected word for Chinese, French, German and Spanish
New keyboard layouts for French, German, Turkish, Catalan, Arabic and Icelandic
Keyboard shortcuts shared across devices via iCloud
Bluetooth MAP support
Global network proxy for HTTP
Features for China
Baidu web search
Sina Weibo integration
Share videos to Tudou
Share videos to Youku
Improved text input for handwriting and Pinyin
Bug fixes