iPhone iOS 6: The Ins and Outs

For those who aren't able to jump on purchasing the long anticipated iPhone 5 right away, Apple has given its customers the opportunity to still enjoy the 200+ features of the new phone anyways! Even though the hardware may be SO last season your software doesn't have to be! After spending 24 hours with the new software we’ve picked apart the major features and put together our list of pros and cons.

This app is probably my most used feature on my phone, I’ve lived in the same city my entire life and still manage to get lost. ”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. Learn more about Maps."

Thoughts: Clearly the turn by turn features of this app are a huge improvement and I’m sure will cause less accidents. The real life city view is great if you are not familiar with your surroundings or are in a new town. I also love that it pings nearby businesses, so you may be getting your oil changed and decide to grab a bite to eat, Apple Maps will let you know you whats around without even searching for anything! One downfall, it may just need time to update but it seems to not be 100 percent up to date on its business search. Places that were searchable in the past, now do not come up. I think this may have to do with Apple creating its own maps instead of using Google maps.

“With iOS 6, Siri understands more languages and works in more countries. 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. Learn more about Siri.”

Thoughts: I have a love/hate relationship with Siri, and honestly its a very rare occasion when I do ask her for anything because I have found its faster to do it myself then repeat what I say 10 times. However with the new version it does seem that she knows more and could be potentially be more useful, but I still cant see myself utilizing this function on a day to day basis.

"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."

Thoughts: If you are an avid Facebook user then this is an awesome feature to have. It's much easier to share links while you’re browsing and I really like the capability to post a photo without having to go into the Facebook app its self. This is a feature that I personally can see myself using daily. I just hope it doesn’t cause overkill!

"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."

Thoughts: Honestly I haven’t been able to use this feature or even log in to check it out because every time I try too it says “can not connect to iTunes store.” My co-worker is also having this issue. It may be a bug or it may be user error… this will be one we will have to get back to you on.

"FaceTime now works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, so you can make and receive FaceTime calls wherever you happen to be. 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."

Thoughts: I am really excited about this feature, and the reason is because I would never use FaceTime due to the fact that I always had to be on Wi-Fi. And since that was the case, I would just end up using Skype from my computer.

"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."

Thoughts: Now you can ignore calls in style! I think this will be a good feature if you are in a meeting or in the middle of class and don’t have much time to draft your own message. I cant see myself using the “reply with message” feature often, but personally I can see myself using the “remind me later” feature because I am the worse when it comes to calling people back!

As we play more with the new software, we will be back with more updates. 200+ features are a lot to stumble upon. But I must say BY FAR my favorite feature is the newly added Emojis. I dont know about you guys but I can write an entire sentence with those! Let us know your thoughts on the new iOS 6 and and give us your reviews on it!

We will also be hosting a workshop October 6th to go over the ins and outs of the iOS 6 hosted by one of our apple specialist. You wont want to miss it!