Apple iOS 6 for iPhone Review Discussion

[Michael Wall]

Apple iOS 6 isn't the kind of operating system that is going to make you run out and buy a new phone, but that doesn't mean it's not a welcomed change. In spite of the impressive 200 new features, it feels more like an extensive update than a new OS.

Read the full content of this Article: Apple iOS 6 for iPhone Review

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[r0k]

Nice review, Ed. You could spend a little more time on some of the complaints users have about the new maps. In my case, on my iPhone4 the GPS no longer knows where I am. It is off by as little as a football field and as much as 1/4 mile.

Also you refer vaguely to iTunes 10 as a requirement. The first thing this brought to my mind is Mountain Lion. It turns out iTunes 10 will run on my very oldest Mac running Leopard on a G4 processor and I doubt many iOS 6 users have to contend with older computer hardware than my dusty old G4 mini.

iTunes 10 requirements
Hardware:

Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 processor
1.0GHz PowerPC G4 or faster processor is required to play Standard Definition video from the iTunes Store
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor is required to play HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras from the iTunes Store
512MB of RAM; 1GB is required to play HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras
Screen resolution of 1024x768 or greater; 1280x800 or greater is required to play an iTunes LP or iTunes Extras
Playing videos also requires at least 16MB of video RAM
Broadband Internet connection to use the iTunes Store
Apple combo drive or SuperDrive to create audio, MP3, or back-up CDs; some non-Apple CD-RW recorders may also work.
Apple SuperDrive to back up your library to DVDs; some non-Apple DVD-RW drives may also work.
Software:

Mac OS X version 10.5 or later
QuickTime 7.6 or later; Support for HE-AAC requires QuickTime 7.6.4 or later
Safari 4.0.3 or later
200MB of available disk space
HD TV episodes can only be rented in the United States
Ping is available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States

For me, three new features of iOS6 are a very big deal...

One is shared photostreams.
I have become the unofficial family photographer. I often get requests to put photos on the web the day after and sometimes even the day of an event. With shared photostreams, I can now do it right from my phone. Nevermind the fact my desktop can't run Mountain Lion because I don't need my desktop for this particular feature. I simply pick a bunch of photos, pick "share", create a new public shared photostream, mail the link to myself and it's done! Well almost done. I then receive the email with the link to the shared photostream, I have to forward the link to family members who are asking for the photos.

The second is the way software updates work
No longer do I have to enter my itunes password 3 to 7 times a day whenever software update pops up. I might have to enter it when I buy something but never for a simple update. I hate passwords and the less often I have to think about them the better.

The third is do not disturb.
I had something like this years ago. Perhaps it was on a Blackberry. The settings are not that intuitive. You have to turn on do not disturb, then go to "notifications" immediately below it on the list to actually set it up. I have mine set to never buzz at night unless it's my wife or one of the kids calling. Very very nice.

There is at least one feature I can't try right now...

Facebook
Within minutes of posting a shared photostream of my aunt's birthday party, I got a request to post the same thing to facebook. I thought "Are you kidding?" But I went ahead and tried. I went in to the system preferences on my phone and logged in to Facebook. It was then I was informed all my facebook friends' contact information would be "merged" with my address book, which is already bursting at the seams with 2300+ entries! The same would happen to my calendar which is already full of school, church, scouts and other meetings. No thank you. The dialog box had a disclaimer that it was easy to turn this feature off but I looked and looked and couldn't find it. Double no thank you. I aborted logging in to Facebook and I won't bother with this until I find out how to turn off the pollution of my address book with the contact data of all the friends and acquaintances I have on Facebook.

iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 specific features
Since I have a crusty old iPhone 4, I can't play with Siri, 3d maps or much of the other hardware specific goodies that iOS 6 brings. I'm tempted to get an iPhone 5 with 32 GB of memory so I can carry around more stuff before running out of room. I also want the more responsive camera.

[Ed Hardy]

It was then I was informed all my facebook friends' contact information would be "merged" with my address book, which is already bursting at the seams with 2300+ entries! The same would happen to my calendar which is already full of school, church, scouts and other meetings. No thank you. The dialog box had a disclaimer that it was easy to turn this feature off but I looked and looked and couldn't find it. Double no thank you.

It's not in the Facebook app but in Settings > Facebook. The first thing you'll see is toggles for Calendar and Contacts.

I turned them off too, but for the opposite reason. I have just a couple dozen Facebook friends and they are my real friends and family. All of these peole are already in my contacts list.

[r0k]

It's not in the Facebook app but in Settings > Facebook. The first thing you'll see is toggles for Calendar and Contacts.

I turned them off too, but for the opposite reason. I have just a couple dozen Facebook friends and they are my real friends and family. All of these peole are already in my contacts list.

Those settings are not there when I look. I don't want to see them AFTER I log in and all the damage is done. I want to turn them off BEFORE I log in. It's like in the old days setting up a POP3 account and racing to find and switch off the "delete mail from server" setting before things start to disappear. The fact that setting doesn't show up BEFORE I log in makes me want to back everything up before I switch it on. After all, with the speed of iCloud, if my contacts get messed up on my iPhone, they will be messed up on my iPad and on my Mac about 100 milliseconds later.

Update: Ok I went back and tried it. When I signed in, contacts and calendar sync "appeared" and I quickly switched them off. Hopefully not too much "damage" was done in the 100 milliseconds it took me to recognize and switch them off.

[o3v3tz]

FYI - I just saw the "iOS6 is now available for your iPad" message on my 2012 iPad (with Verizon service).

I am relatively new to the iPad and have never had an iPhone, so I don't know how these updates work. I do NOT want this update, so what should I do or not do ?

Hopefully, I will not be forced to use iOS6 any time soon. Google Maps with Traffic is very important to me.

Barb

[lelisa13p]

FYI - I just saw the "iOS6 is now available for your iPad" message on my 2012 iPad (with Verizon service).

I am relatively new to the iPad and have never had an iPhone, so I don't know how these updates work. I do NOT want this update, so what should I do or not do ?

Hopefully, I will not be forced to use iOS6 any time soon. Google Maps with Traffic is very important to me.

Barb

If you don't want to update, you can just ignore the notification and do nothing. The device will not update without you manually instigating the process. All will be well.

I skipped this update with my iPhone 4 because I'll be passing the iPhone on to my son & he also prefers to use the Google Maps app.