Ondrej Holzman The most anticipated piece of software that Apple had to present today during WWDC was without a doubt the mobile operating system iOS 6. And Scott Forstall also showed it to us in all its glory. Let's see what awaits us on our iPhones or iPads in the coming months.
The first words out of the mouth of the senior vice president for iOS have traditionally belonged to numbers. Forstall revealed that 365 million iOS devices were sold during March, with the majority of users running the latest iOS 5. Even Forstall didn't shy away from comparing it to its competitor, Android, whose latest version, 4.0, has only about 7 percent of users installed.
After that, they moved on to the iOS applications themselves, but Forstall continued to speak in the language of numbers. He revealed that the Notification Center is already used by 81 percent of apps and Apple has sent half a trillion push notifications. 150 billion messages have been sent through iMessage, with 140 million users using the service.
Direct integration in iOS 5 helped Twitter. A three-fold increase in iOS users was recorded. 5 billion tweets were sent from iOS 10 and 47% of photos sent also come from the Apple operating system. Game Center currently has 130 million accounts, producing 5 billion new scores every week. Forstall also presented a table of user satisfaction at the end - 75% of respondents answered that they were very satisfied with iOS, compared to less than 50% for the competition (Android).
iOS 6
Once the talk of numbers was over, Forstall, with a smile on his face, pulled the new iOS 6 out of a hat like a magician. “iOS 6 is an amazing system. It has more than 200 new features. Let's start with Siri,” said the man behind today's most successful mobile operating system. Forstall demonstrated the integration of new services that the voice assistant can now handle, but the most important news was surely that after eight months, Siri learned to launch applications.
Eyes Free and Siri
Apple has worked with some automakers to add a button to their cars that calls up Siri on the iPhone. This means you won't have to take your hands off the steering wheel while driving – just press a button on the steering wheel, Siri will appear on your iPhone and you'll dictate what you need. Of course, this service will not be of such use in our region, mainly due to the fact that Siri does not support the Czech language. However, the question remains as to where the "Siri-positive" cars will be sold everywhere. Apple claims that the first such cars should appear within 12 months.
But when I mentioned the absence of Czech, at least in other countries they can rejoice, because Siri will now support several new languages, including Italian and Korean. In addition, Siri is no longer exclusive to the iPhone 4S, the voice assistant will also be available on the new iPad.
Similar to how Twitter was integrated in iOS 5, another popular social network Facebook is integrated in iOS 6. "We've been working to give users the best Facebook experience on mobile," Forstall stated. Everything works on a similar basis to the already mentioned Twitter - so you log in in the settings, and then you can share images from Safari, location from Maps, data from the iTunes Store, etc.
Facebook is also integrated into the Notification Center, from where you can immediately start writing a new post with one click. There is also a button for Twitter. Apple is, of course, releasing an API so developers can add Facebook to their apps.
But they didn't stop there in Cupertino. They decided to integrate Facebook into the App Store as well. Here you can click the "Like" button for individual apps, see what your friends like, and do the same for movies, TV shows and music. There is also Facebook integration in contacts, events and birthdays available on this social network will automatically appear in the iOS calendar.
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Phone
The phone application has also received several interesting innovations. With an incoming call, it will be possible to use the same button as for launching the camera from the lock screen to bring up the extended menu when you are unable to answer the incoming call. iOS 6 will prompt you to either decline the call and text the person, or remind you to call the number later. In the case of a message, it will offer several preset texts.
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Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb is a very useful feature that silences the entire phone when you don't want to be disturbed or woken up at night, for example. This means that you will still receive all messages and emails, but the phone screen will not light up and no sound will be heard when they are received. In addition, the Do Not Disturb feature has quite advanced settings where you can set exactly how you want your device to behave.
You can choose to automatically activate Do Not Disturb and also set contacts from whom you want to receive calls even when the function is activated. You can also select entire groups of contacts. The option of repeated calls is handy, which means that if someone calls you a second time within three minutes, the phone will alert you.
FaceTime
Until now, it was only possible to conduct video calls over a Wi-Fi network. In iOS 6, it will be possible to use FaceTime also over the classic mobile network. However, the question remains how much of a data eater such a "call" will be.
Apple has also unified the phone number with the Apple ID, which in practice will mean that if someone calls you on FaceTime using a mobile number, you can also take the call on an iPad or Mac. iMessage will work just the same.
Safari
On mobile devices, Safari is the most popular and used browser. Roughly two-thirds of accesses from mobiles come from Safari in iOS. Nevertheless, Apple is not idle and brings several new functions to its browser. First up is iCloud Tabs, which will make sure you can easily open the website you're currently viewing on both your iPad and Mac — and vice versa. Mobile Safari also comes with offline reading list support and the ability to upload photos to certain services directly from Safari.
The Smart app banners service, in turn, ensures that users can easily move from Safari to the server's application. In landscape mode, i.e. when you have the device in landscape mode, it will be possible to activate full-screen mode.
Photo Stream
Photo Stream will now offer sharing of photos with friends. You select photos, select friends to share them with, and the selected people will then receive a notification and these photos will appear in their album. It will also be possible to add comments.
The email client has also seen several improvements. It will now be possible to add so-called VIP contacts - they will have an asterisk next to their name and will have their own mailbox, which means that you will have an easy overview of all important e-mails. Mailbox for flagged messages has also been added.
However, an even more welcome innovation is probably the easier insertion of photos and videos, which has not yet been solved very well. It is now possible to add media directly when writing a new email. And Forstall received applause for this when he revealed that Apple's email client also now allows "pull to refresh", i.e. downloading the refresh screen.
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passbook
In iOS 6, we will see a completely new Passbook application, which, according to the Forstalls, is used to store boarding passes, shopping cards or movie tickets. It will no longer be necessary to physically carry all the tickets with you, but you will upload them to the application from where they can be used. Passbook has many interesting functions integrated: for example, geolocation, when you are alerted when you are approaching one of the stores where you have a customer card, etc. In addition, the individual cards are updated, so for example the gate that you should arrive at will appear in time with your boarding pass . However, it is questionable how this service will work in normal operation. It probably won't be all rosy, at least in the beginning.
New maps
Weeks of speculation about new maps in iOS 6 are over and we know the solution. Apple abandons Google Maps and comes up with its own solution. It integrates Yelp, a social network containing a large database of reviews of shops, restaurants and other services. At the same time, Apple built into its maps reports of incidents on the track and turn-by-turn navigation. The running navigation works even when the screen is locked.
The new maps also feature Siri, who can, for example, ask where the nearest gas station is, and so on.
Much more interesting is the Flyover function, which the new maps have. It is nothing more than 3D maps that look very impressive visually. Detailed 3D models were a hit in the hall. Scott Forstall showed, for example, the Opera House in Sydney. The eyes remained fixed on the details that are shown in the maps. In addition, real-time rendering on the iPad worked very quickly.
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Much more
Although Forstall slowly closed his output by introducing new maps, he also added that there is much more to come in iOS 6. A sample of the novelty in the Game Center, new privacy settings and a significant change are also the redesigned App Store and iTunes Store. In iOS 6, we also come across the "lost mode" function, where you can send a message to your lost phone with a number that the person who found the device can call you.
For developers, Apple is of course releasing a new API, and today the first beta version of the new mobile operating system will be available for download. In terms of support, iOS 6 will run on the iPhone 3GS and later, the second- and third-generation iPad, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. However, it is likely that the iPhone 3GS, for example, will not support all new features.
iOS 6 will then be available to the public in the fall.
I hope that when FB is integrated directly into iOS, they will do something about the "shit" FB application.
Hi, thanks for the article. I would like to ask if it is possible to get the beta on the iPhone, even though I am not in development. program. Thanks….
Unfortunately
But it can be done by having someone who has the account activate your iDevice. It is usually for a fee of about 100-20 CZK
I hope that the maps and navigation will not be like Bing at the World Cup in the Czech Republic ;-)
Data for the maps is supplied by TomTom... Is that enough?
Do you know when iOS6 beta will be available?
I can not…. So another question. How do you get into the development program? Is paying $99 a year really the only option? Thank you….
Sorry, the answer belongs to "Daniel".
Ssss… I was waiting for Siri for the second generation iPad and for Mac… Oh yeah
The maps are from tomtom
I would like to ask, when I buy an iPad on eBay, how do I know that it has been registered for me???
You will know it only at the moment of verification after installation. But be careful, Apple tries to block unauthorized developer activation! It has already happened to a few people that their phone or tablet simply stopped working. Of course, only if they had a beta there.
What about the maps with the navigation - is it offline or not?
It would seem like suicide by Tom-Tom if they sold them maps and at the same time allowed offline navigation.
So that's why I'm interested.
Does anyone with the beta know if there will finally be some quick access to turning WiFi, BT, etc. on and off?
If I'm not mistaken, they still have to go to Settings, where they added Bluetooth under Wi-Fi (previously only in General)...
I hope you're wrong :-D But if not, they're a bunch of ignoramuses :-(
Friends, I went through the iOS6 beta and it's a total failure (at least in my opinion). Unfortunately, GOOGLE is currently further away. Although it's BETA, we'll see the sharp one. There is no quick settings bar like in the SAMSUNG GALAXY SIII, the maps are such a huge mess that even NOKIA is a hundred miles away. Overall, it didn't bring anything new, that is, as far as customization is concerned. I'm sorry, but the mentioned phone from (I don't want to name him again) is much, MUCH further away and I'm an avid apple fan. Don't be in a hurry for the six...