Apple is a force that has transformed the smartphone industry in to a new dimension of a usability aspect. Although the concept of the truly smart mobile device existed, Apple had contributed enormously to make it a reality. A Smartphone for Apple was all about simplicity, and customer satisfaction. Guided by those core concepts, their tendency to make things extra simple might have failed somewhere between the middle releases but as we can clearly see, they are making up for it and evolving.
The noticeable factor about iOS is that they only fit in Apple devices. Thus they are tailor made for the exact specs of the hardware requirements and make the hardware and software to entangle seamlessly to generate a wonderful user experience. iOS is also well bundle and strict in their patterns as opposed to their rival Android which provides opportunity to the consumers to tweak the smartphone as per their needs. We will be talking about two new releases of the iOS which would change the way we perceive the mobile operating systems.
Apple iOS 6
As we discussed before, iOS has been the main inspiration for the other OSs to improve their appearance in the eyes of the users. Hence it is needless to say that iOS 6 carries the same charisma in impressive looks. Besides that, let us look what Apple has brought to the plate with the new iOS 6 that differs from iOS 5.
iOS 6 has improved the phone application significantly. It is now more user friendly and versatile. Combined with Siri, the possibilities to this are endless. It also enables you to reject calls more easily with a pre-composed message and a ‘don’t-disturb’ mode. They have also introduced something similar to Google Wallet. iOS 6 Passbook lets you keep e-tickets in your mobile phone. These may range from musical events to airline tickets. There is this particularly interesting feature related to airline tickets. If you have an e-ticket in your Passbook, it would automatically alert you once the departure gate was announced or changed. Of course this means a lot of collaboration from the ticketing / airline firm as well, but it’s a nifty feature to have. As opposed to the version before, iOS 6 enables you to use facetime over 3G which is great.
A major attraction in the smartphone is its browser. iOS 6 has added a brand new Safari application which introduces a lot of enhancements. iOS mail is also improved and it has a separate VIP mailbox. Once you define the VIP list, their mails would appear in a dedicated mailbox on your lock screen which is a cool feature to have. An apparent improvement can be seen with Siri, the famous digital personal assistant. iOS 6 integrates Siri with the vehicles on their steering wheel using the new Eyes Free feature. Leading vendors like Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes and Toyota has agreed to support Apple on this endeavor which would be a welcome addition in your car. Further it also has integrated Siri to the new iPad as well.
Facebook is the world’s largest social media network and any smartphone nowadays concentrates largely on how to integrate more and seamlessly with Facebook. They specifically boast on integrating Facebook events with your iCalendar and that is a cool concept. Twitter integration has also been improved as per official preview of Apple. Apple has also come up with their own Maps application which still needs improvement on coverage. Conceptually, it can act as either a satellite navigation system or a turn by turn navigation map. Maps application can also be controlled using Siri and it has new Flyover 3D views of major cities. This has become one of the main ambassadors for iOS 6. In fact, let us look at the maps application in depth. Apple investing in their own Geographic Information System is an aggressive step against relying on Google. However, right now, Apple Maps application is going to lack information about the traffic conditions and some other user generated data vectors that Google has collected and established over the years. For instance, you lose Street View and instead get the 3D Flyover View as the compensation. Apple was conscious enough to provide turn by turn navigation with voice instructions with iOS 6, but if you intend to take public transport, the routing is done with third party applications unlike Google Maps. However, don’t expect too much right now because the 3D Flyover feature is only available to major cities in USA only.
Apple iOS 5.1
iOS 5.1 is the upgrade Apple has made available to its 5th iteration of the smart phone operating system. As usual, it comes only for Apple devices and specifically for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad and iPad Touch. Since it’s not a major rollout, the changes are rather subtle but noticeable. One of the most anticipated fix was the amendment for the battery performance problem. iOS was starting to get a lot of thrashing because of that and hopefully this fix would have avoided it to some extent.
With the iOS 5.1 upgrade, your favorite personal digital assistant can talk with you in Japanese now. Siri has expanded in to four languages in a very short period of time and the consumers have grown fond of it increasingly. The lock screen has also been slightly changed in the new upgrade. Before the upgrade, the camera button in the lock screen wasn’t clearly visible at all times, but now that has been fixed giving the user more flexibility towards snapping a quick shot even when the screen is locked. The camera application is said to be improved as well.
There is Genius Mixes for iTunes Match subscribers and this improvement in audio will be much appreciated by the iTunes fans. They have also included a new audio balancing system for TV shows and Movies on iPad to optimize the sound to be louder and clearer. Besides that, some minor bug fixes has also been taken care of with the release of iOS 5.1.
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Comparison Between iOS 5 and iOS 5.1 • With the new enhancement to iOS 5.1, Siri is available in Japanese, as well. The Japanese support was not available in iOS 5. • In iOS 5, a photo was added to “Photo Stream” it could not be deleted. The current upgrade to iOS allows deleting images that was added • A problem that existed with iOS 5 was that the camera short cut was not always visible on the lock screen. With iOS 5.1, that issue has been resolved, and the camera shortcut is now always visible for instant image capture • Photo application on iOS 5 did not highlight detected faces. With iOS 5.1, the camera application can now highlight all detected faces. • Genius Playlists and Genius suggestions to iTunes Match subscribers are available only in iOS 5.1 • The redesigned camera application for iPad is available only with iOS 5.1 • Improved audio & video is available for IPad is also available with iOS 5.1 • New controls are available for changing Podcast speeds on iPad on iOS 5.1 • A 30 second rewind speed is also available for Podcasts on iPad with the iOS 5.1 upgrade • For those who have iPhone 4S on AT & T, a network indicator is available with iOS 5.1 • Battery performance issues and issues related to audio drop on outgoing calls on iOS 5 were fixed in iOS 5.1.
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iOS 5.0.1 Release: November 2011 |
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Improvements and Bug Fixes 1. Fixes for bug affecting battery life 2. Fixes bug affecting Documents in the iCloud 3. Multi-tasking gestures for iPad (1st Gen iPad) 4. Improved Voice Recognition for Australian users |
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iOS 5 Release: 12 October 2011 |
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New Features and Improvements 1. Notification Center – with the new Notification Centre now you can get all your alerts (including new email, texts, friend requests, etc.) in one place without any interruptions to what you are doing. The swype down notification bar appears briefly at the top of the screen for a new alert and disppears quickly. – All alerts in one place – No more interruptions – Swype down from the top of any screen to enter Notification Center – Customize to see what you want – Active lock screen – notifications display in the lock screen for easy access with one swype 2. iMessage – it is a new messaging service – Send unlimited text messages to iOS devices – Send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts to any iOS device – Send group messaging – Track messages with delivery and read (optional) receipt – See the other party typing – Encrypted text message – Switch between iOS devices while chating 3. Newsstand – read all your news and magazines from one place. Customize Newsstand with your newspaper and magazine subscriptions – Browse stores right from Newsstand – When you subscribe it appears in the newsstand – Folder for easy access to favorite publications 4. Reminders – organize yourself with to-do lists – To-do list with due date, location etc. – View list by date – Set time based or location based reminder alert – Location reminder: get alert when you near the set location – Reminders work with iCal, Outlook and iCloud, so that it auto update change to all your iDevices and callendar 5. Twitter integration – system wide integration – Single sign in – Tweet directly from browser, photo app, camera app, YouTube, Map – Reply to friend in the contact by start typing name – Share your location 6. Enhanced Camera features – Instant access to Camera app: access it right from the lock screen – Pinch to Zoom gestures – Single tap focus – Focus/Exposure locks with touch and hold – Grid lines ti help compose a shot – Volume up button to capture the photo – Photo stream via iCloud to other iDevices 7. Enhanced Photo features – on screen editing and organize in photo album from Photo apps itself – Edit / Crop photo from Photo apps – Add photos to album – iCloud automatically push photos to your other iDevices 8. Improved Safari browser (5.1) – displays only what you like to read from the web page – Removes ads and other clutters – Add to reading list – Tweet from browser – Update reading list in all your iDevices via iCloud – Tabbed browsing – Performance improvement 9. PC Free activation – no more need for PC: activate your device wirelessly and do more with your Photo and Camara apps right from the screen – OTA software upgrades – On screen camera apps – Do more on screen like on screen photo editing – Back up and restore via iCloud 10. Enhanced Game Center – more features added – Post your profile picture – New friend recommendations – Find new games right from Games Center – Get on the spot overall achievement score 11. Wi-Fi Sync – wirelessly sync your iDevice to your Mac or PC vis shared Wi-Fi connection – Auto sync and iTunes back up when connected to power source – Purchases from iTunes appear in all your iDevices 12. Enhanced mail features – Format text – Create indents in the text of your message – Drag to rearrange names in the address field – Flag important messages – Add/Delete mailbox folders on your device – Search mails – Free email account with iCloud that will be updated in all your iDevices 13. Additional Calendar features – Year/Weekly view -Tap to create new event – Drag to edit date and duration – Add/rename/delete calendars directly from your device -View attachment right from calendar app – Calendar sync/share via iCloud 14. Multitasking gestures for iPad 2 – Multi finger gestures – New moves and short cuts like swipe up for multi tasking bar 15. AirPlay Mirroring – Support for video mirroring 16. Innovative new features for differently abled people – Work with specialized hardware accessories for differently abled – LED Flash and custom vibration to indicate incoming call – Custom element labeling 17. Support iClouds – iCloud wirelessly pushes files across multiple devices managed together |
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Compatible Devices: The new iPad, iPad2, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPad Touch 3rd and 4th generation
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A Brief Comparison Between Apple iOS 5.1 and iOS 6
• iOS 6 introduces the new concept Passbook which can be used to store information about the e-tickets on your smartphone which wasn’t available on iOS 5.1.
• iOS 6 enables you to use Facetime over 3G where it was only through WiFi in iOS 5.1.
• iOS 6 has better and improved version of the Safari web browser.
• iOS 6 has a new dedicated VIP mailbox feature.
• iOS 6 enables Siri to be used in cars in accordance with the Eyes Free concept through the steering wheel buttons.
• iOS 6 brings Siri to the new iPad.
• iOS 6 has better Facebook and Twitter integration as opposed to that of iOS 5.1.
• iOS 6 introduces a new version of Apple Maps application with attractive features.
Conclusion
We have been comparing the differences between two consecutive releases of the same operating system. One is a major release and the other is a minor upgrade. Hence the newer version should be better than the older version unless it’s some rare occasion where the improvements have gone wrong at some point. Fortunately in this case, we can deem that Apple iOS 6 is going to be a good upgrade for your Apple devices. It is expected to be rolled out soon and if the trend continues, 80% of the Apple smartphone users would get the upgrade within six months of time. Attesting to our initial assumption, the records show that Apple iOS 6 has been embraced by the consumers 122% better compared to the Apple iPhone 5.1 upgrade.