Apple made the announcement of their iOS 6 update at the WWDC 2012 promising more than 200 new features. While Apple revealed a handful, there were 3 features which we thing deserve the most attention.
3 awesome iOS 6 features to take note of
The Siri update is one of the most anticipated for the digital assistant of Apple. The update sees added functionality when it comes to making queries. For instance in relation to sports, the latest films and dining out. She also gains system wide functionality and language skills have jumped in leaps and bounds.
Now users are able to question Siri about baseball, basketball, football and more by asking specific questions about games, players and teams. Not only will Siri tell you verbally, she will also show you with fancy on screen graphics. In a demonstration when asked who was the taller, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, Siri said that LeBron appeared to be the tallest and showed a photo of the player as well as providing stats which included his height and weight. Siri is also good with restaurants courtesy of the Yelp integration and can even make you reservations. She also provides movie trailers and information plus much more.
Do Not Disturb is another great feature that allows users to get away from alerts, calls and messages. While you still get messages and texts along with emails, the phone will not disturb you when in this mode. However you can set exceptions. The app can also be stopped in the event someone makes a call using the same number twice in three minutes, which is how people use their phone during emergencies.
Lastly, the Mail app was in need of a face lift and it got it. Users are now able to pull to refresh for new messages and can add photos and video in the compose window. Contacts can be labelled as VIP and when you get an email from them you get notification on the lock screen. Emails from your VIPs collect in one folder along with messages that have been flagged, which get their own folder too. Office documents that are password protected can also be opened.
Now if you’re wondering why we left out one of the biggest new feature, the new Maps app which replaces Google Maps, it is because the app still appears to have a long way to go. While its 3D interface looks awesome, it runs thin compared to Google Maps given that it lacks a number of functionalities like traffic reports, transit routes, detailed street view data and more. However we hope to see this added in before the official rollout of iOS 6 this fall.
