iOS 6 is coming, iOS 6 is coming!
Paul Revere made his fateful ride through
Massachusetts in anticipation of the approaching British armies. In addition to
the iPhone 5 hardware introduction, it's Apple's turn to launch iOS 6 in
anticipation and reaction to the fast moving battleground of the mobile OS
wars. The free upgrade, has over 200 new upgrades, and is available for
wireless download and installation to all iPhones released since 2009and for a
I l-but-original iPad users and will be available on September
19th.Preannounced and previewed, at the June Worldwide Developers' Conference,
we just found out that the rollout will commence in a week. Its war and war is
hell, so if you can't handle the truth then go watch the video of Gangnam
Style.
iPhone 5 iOS 6
Passbook
This feature has all the aspects of being a
game-changer. Get rid of your wallet or clutch or shoulder bag, say hello to
your one-stop collection of tickets, money and coupons. Imagine going to the
airport, buying your coffee, paying for your ticket, checking into your flight
and having your boarding pass all sent and displayed from your iPhone or iPad.
Now imagine the convenience of the Passbook in every consumer-driven
interaction that you take part in a frenzied existence. Going to the mall? Just
wait for your device to GPS your location and the offers and coupons from
various retailers are pushed to you with your consent. Your Apple product just
got stickier, enough so that you will not be able to live without it.
The cash transfer aspect is not here yet,
but expect the service in the near future. Paying with your device will need
the buy-in of the various stores and thatis happening very quickly. As
Passbook's utilization grows and people become more adept with the app, you can
expect an expansion of the app's utilitarian spec sheet, but you will have to
wait as there is no embedded NFC (Near Field Communication) capability as of
yet.
Maps and YouTube
YouTube
We all know that Apple is distancing itself
from Google and has cut the cord in terms of utilizing Google Maps and YouTube.
iOS 6 will no longer utilize Google-provided cartography data. Instead, there
is a new Apple-developed app and service. Voice interaction, turn-by-turn
navigation, and real time traffic updates are what you will get with the
non-Google app. In addition, there's a cool new 3D map rendering aspect or
Flyover that will come with iOS 6. Imagine the street view aspect of Google
Maps but with the added ability to explode the view to a citywide perspective.
I personally will find the Flyover utility the most helpful. I can't tell you
the number of times that I have used street view to familiarize myself with a
house or store or anywhere that I needed to find for the first time. Flyover will
make that aspect of navigating the real world much easier. Oh, and let's not
underestimate the turn-by-turn assistance which will further eat into Garmin
and other GPS manufacturers' sales.
In a slightly counter-intuitive move,
Apple's own app to browse YouTube has been removed as the 5-year licensing deal
between the two tech behemoths was not renewed. In lieu, Google this past
Tuesday rushed out their own new iPhone app to access the library of YouTube
videos. YouTube is therefore no longer a preinstalled app on iOS. Instead, you
have to download the Google-created app as an add-on. Although the app is
optimized for the iPhone it will still load on the iPad. Google is in the
process of making a tablet specific app and will release the product shortly.
Caveat: the new YouTube app allows for Google's advertisements, something Apple
had disabled.
iPhone 5 maps
iTunes, iCloud and Safari revamp
Apple's renaissance began in many ways with
the launch of the iPod and music has been a mainstay in their strategic mission
ever since. Apple has been integrating iTunes more seamlessly with their iCIoud
service and this revamp continues the trend. Safari, now with a full screen
mode, also has an iCIoud tab preloaded, mimicking big-sister Safari for the MAC
OS. Let me Safari digress: The browser will allow a user to click on an App
button to direct the person to the App store and to download a site specific
native app. Offline reading lists will now cache websites so that users can
read/surf sites at a later time. And of course, the newest version of Safari
iOS6 promises to be faster than the previous version. Most importantly, the
iCIoud integration of iOS 6 is going to better integrate the various Apple
products in your living room and in the cloud. Music, photos and files are now
easier to share and work on in various hardware interfaces.
iTunes, iCloud and Safari revamp
Getting back to iTunes, the new version
will be available in October. Remember that Apple is now in direct discussions
with record labels to port the music libraries to end users in a Pandora-like
service. As Apple and CEO Tim Cook states, music is deeply embedded in their
DNA. The iTunes store has been redesigned, allowing for more control of
playlists and better search features, and will be more integrated with iCIoud
so you can expect yet another iTunes upgrade/download. So I can finally watch
the end of the Avengers from an iPhone after having started the film on a
desktop.
Siri
Siri
The upgraded voice interactive personal
assistant will now be able to answer more questions for you. There is now
integration with Open Table so you can get reservations at your favorite
restaurant. Siri will also allow you to launch your stable of apps, THANK YOU
APPLE! There are now more languages that Siri will speak and understand and the
application will now be able to answer sports queries. So, if you need to know
the latest soccer score from Seoul, you are in luck! And now yelp reviews are
also available so you can find out if there is a good Korean BBQ. Restaurant
after you get that score.
War and iOS6
Download Speeds
Microsoft's Windows 8 for mobile devices is
the new kid on the block. Nokia is hoping for a corporate turnaround on the
back of the Microsoft product. Blackberry will be unveiling, hopefully in the
next year, their new 10 OS; as it stands now, it is just vaporware. And Android
Jellybean is rolling out on new devices as we breathe. The battleground that is
the mobile OS marketplace is heating up. There are now over 700,000 iOS apps,
250,000 optimized for the iPad, and Tim Cook stated that the average user
utilizes over 100 apps. iOS 6 allows you to post to Facebook or Tweet with
Notification from any app, including Siri. FaceTime will now work over cell
networks. iOS 6, Siri, and AirPlay mirroring plus many more of the new features
will be available for the iPod Touch as well. All of these new attributes allow
iOS 6 users to communicate from within any and all apps, making Apple's
portable devices better and more powerful. Apple has upped the ante and created
the Operating System target for other manufacturers to aim for. "Only
Apple could create such amazing software, hardware, and services and put them
together into such a powerful, integrated solution."
