The estimated reading time for this post is 8 minutes
iOS 6 arrived last week with much fanfare but with mixed reviews. With over 200 new features, Apple’s latest mobile operating system brought many changes to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Whether you’re considering upgrading your device or have already upgraded, you’re probably still becoming familiar with the new features.
Updating to iOS 6 will make you feel as if you got a new device, even if you don’t have a shiny new iPhone 5 in your hands!
Available Devices
iOS 6 is available for:
- iPhone 5, 4S, 4, and 3GS
- iPad 3 and 2
- iPod Touch 5th and 4th generations
Updating to iOS 6
Before you update to iOS 6, make sure to close your apps and back up your device to your computer. You can back up either by downloading the update to your computer and syncing your device with iTunes or by doing an over-the-air update.
If you’re doing an over-the-air update, make sure to connect your device to a power source, Also, for iPhones and iPads with 3G or 4G data, make sure to put the devices into Airplane Mode (Settings => Airplane Mode => On), then turn on Wi-Fi, to make sure you’re using Wi-Fi for your update.
Full instructions on updating can be found at iMore for updating using your computer or updating over the air.
Guide to iOS 6
Whether you’re stumped on a new feature or want to have a manual to guide you through the operating system, you should download Apple’s free guide to iOS 6: iPhone User Guide For iOS 6. Although this iBook is written for iPhone users, the instruction also is helpful for iPad and iPod Touch users.
Maps
The Google Maps app has been replaced in iOS 6 with the Apple Maps app. Apple Maps bring you turn-by-turn voice directions which may be very useful to you. The Google Maps app is gone and, as of this writing, there is no Google Maps app available on iOS 6.
The Apple Maps app has been widely criticized for inaccuracies and for, well, downright goofy 3D images of bridges falling into the water, landmarks falling over and bumpy airport landing strips.
If you use Google Maps frequently, you may be tempted to wait to upgrade to iOS 6 until a Google Maps app appears in the iTunes App Store, though your wait might be a long one. Yesterday, Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, said that Google had no plans to bring a Google Maps app to the iPhone. (CBS News) If you can’t wait or have already upgraded, you can access Google Maps using Safari.
Open Safari => Go to maps.google.com=> press the arrow button at the bottom of the screen => press Add to Home Screen. The Google Maps site will be added as a bookmark to your home screen.
Siri
iOS 6 gave Siri more power. She is now available on the iPad 3 (a/k/a the New iPad) and can now open apps, make restaurant reservations, give sports scores, driving directions and movie times, and can be used to post on Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook Integration
iOS 5 brought us Twitter integration. With iOS 6, you can link your iDevice with Facebook so that your contacts and calendars are synced between the two platforms.
To set up Facebook integration, go to Settings => Facebook and log into your account. You can authorize your calendar and/or contacts to sync. You also have the option to “Update All Contacts” to sync email addresses, phone numbers, photos and user names. You can also go into Facebook Settings to set your Chat and Message alerts for vibration and sound.
Facebook Birthdays
Syncing your Facebook calendar on iOS 6 can result in your friends’ birthdays appearing on your calendar. You may appreciate having these handy reminders or you may regret having your calendar cluttered with this information.
To turn off Facebook birthdays, go to your Calendar app => Calendars (upper left corner of your screen) => Facebook and uncheck Birthdays.
Facebook and Siri
You can now update your Facebook status by using Siri. Tell Siri, “Update Facebook Status” and then tell her what you want your new status to be (Tech Tip: make sure that Siri understands you correctly before you confirm your post).
You can use Siri from your lock screen without a password, which may come in handy. But if you have friends who are practical jokesters, you may want to disable this feature. iOS 6 requires that you balance your need to use Siri from your lock screen with your need for friends who play practical jokes.
To disable using Siri from the lock screen:
Go to Settings => General => Passcode Lock Option => Siri => Off
Privacy
Settings has a new category called Privacy that allows you to adjust your privacy settings for each individual app. Similar to Clean Up Your Permissions! for websites, iOS 6 allows you to see which apps have access to your contacts, calendar, Twitter, Facebook, Bluetooth and other apps/functions on your device. You can turn off permissions from Privacy.
Location Services is also included in Privacy. Although the ability to turn on and off Location Services is not new for iOS 6, putting it in Settings might help alert people that they should not allow access to Location Services for apps where that function doesn’t benefit them.
Panorama Photos
A very cool feature of iOS 6 is the ability to take panoramic photos. To take a panoramic photo, open the Camera app and press Options. Press the Panorama button and you will see a bar across the screen with a line and an arrow.
Press the camera button at the bottom of the screen and turn your phone slowly from left to right. The app guides you and tells you if you need to move more slowly or up or down.
One article I read suggested putting the camera in a coffee mug and rotating the mug to keep the camera level. (Tech Tip: make sure there is no actual coffee in the mug when you place your camera in there.)
Here is a sample panoramic picture I took with my iPhone 4S:
As you can see from the black in the top left corner, I wasn’t too steady in the beginning. Next time I will try the coffee mug idea…
Passbook
Passbook is a feature designed to Lighten Your Wallet! You can enter boarding passes, store loyalty cards, tickets and coupons onto the app from partner companies.
To use the app, open it and press the App Store button, which takes you to the iTunes App Store where you can find apps from partner companies such as Fandango, Walgreens and others.
I have been unable to test this app because it doesn’t work on my iPhone 4S. Pressing the App Store button led me to this screen:
A fix to this problem involving changing the clock settings has been posted around the Internet, but that fix didn’t work for me. I also asked at the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store and was told incorrectly that no apps that work with Passbook are available yet in the iTunes App Store.
I expect an update to Passbook will be released soon.
VIP Mail
If you never want to miss an email from your boss, significant other, or George Clooney, you will be very pleased with this new feature. iOS 6 lets you designate certain contacts as VIP’s so their emails are in a separate VIP folder in addition to being in your inbox. If you have more than one email account linked to your iDevice, this can be very helpful for you to see when you’ve received an email from that Very Important Person.
App Store Updates
Apple has made it much easier to updates apps in iOS 6. You don’t need to enter a password for free updates to apps on your device. The App Store app no longer kicks you out of the app when you update, making it easier to update multiple apps from your device.
Do Not Disturb
If you’re headed into an important meeting, going to sleep or in another place where you don’t want to be disturbed, you can now activate the Do Not Disturb feature on your iDevice. This keeps your screen dark and silences your calls and notifications, but not your alarms (see, How to Silence Your Phone). A crescent moon will appear at the top of your screen when Do Not Disturb is activated.
You can schedule Do Not Disturb ahead of time or at regular intervals, such as before you go to bed at night.
To turn on Do Not Disturb, go to Settings => Do Not Disturb => On.
Then go into Notifications (just below Do Not Disturb in Settings) and press Do Not Disturb. You can schedule Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically and set whose calls will be allowed to ring. You can choose to allow calls from Favorites, Everyone or No One (I would like to see a VIP section added here).
Clock
The iPad now has a clock app!
You can also set a song from your iTunes library to be used as an alarm. Go to Clock => Alarm and press the + in the upper left corner of the screen. Press Sound => Pick a Song and choose the tune you want to greet you in the morning!
iPhone Keypad
Your iPhone Keypad gets a facelift in iOS 6:
Summary
These are some of the key features of iOS 6. Although some features don’t seem to be quite ready for prime time, many others may interest you enough to update to iOS 6 now. If not, you may want to wait for an update to see if some of the issues with Apple Maps and Passbook get sorted out.
Have you updated to iOS 6 yet? Have you used Passbook successfully? Have you encountered problems with Apple’s Maps app? If you’ve updated, which is your favorite feature? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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For those of you on the fence about getting the new iPhone, check out the new Longest iPhone:
(No, this isn’t real…)
Carolyn –
I updated my iPhone 4s last week and was one of the unlucky ones. I lost the ability to access wifi. The toggle switch was greyed out. After a frustrating weekend on many blogs and trying all kinds of resets, my phone never recovered. Thank heavens we live near the KOP Apple Store. I had to take my phone to the Genius bar where they gave me a new one. No questions asked. It appears that many people who have upgraded their 4s have experienced this problem. Unfortunately, I did not have a complete back up of my iTunes so I needed to recreate that library on my phone.
It appears this upgrade may not be ready for prime time yet. My new phone did get a working upgrade and I like the screens. Can’t say that I have tested much at this point. I was so frustrated that I just took a break from technology for a few days! I did ask the genius tech about Passbook and he told me it was not really functioning yet. They were still working on a tech release.
Hi Jennie, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Wow, that’s pretty bad. Wi-Fi is an important feature on a phone. While that’s disappointing, it’s great that the Apple Store gave you a new phone, no questions asked. That’s excellent service.
Were you able to recover your iTunes library through iCloud or did you have to repurchase music?
It certainly seems that you’re not alone in having this issue: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4310121?tstart=0 I’m thinking you did an over-the-air update, which may be why your iTunes wasn’t backed up to your computer? I’m wondering it the problem occurs with those who did an over-the-air update.
Good idea to take a break from technology. When it gets to be more frustrating than fun, it’s time to step away!
The Passbook fix woks but you have to go to Jan 1, 2023, at least on my iPhone 4
Hi Michael, Thanks for that tip. I tried moving the date to January 1, 2023 and it worked to get me from Passbook into the App Store, but once I was there, I got the same error message when I tried to download an app.
I still look forward to the update to Passbook!
Note to anyone who tries this advice: after you change the time on your device, you must turn iMessages back on.
I should be getting my iPhone 5 next week, at which point I’ll be able to experience all of the upgrades and features. For now, I’ve upgraded to iOS6 on my iPhone 4 and I can’t seem to take panoramic pictures. There is no panoramic button under features. I assume my phone just doesn’t support it.
One of the best features, you didn’t mention Carolyn. The Reply With Message and Remind Me Later buttons that appear when you receive a call at an inopportune moment. This is one of my favourite new features. What do you think?
Hi Ruth, Unfortunately not all new features are available on all new devices. The Panorama feature is only available on the iPhone 5 and 4S. Passbook isn’t available on the iPad. It is going to get very confusing for people to keep up with what is available on which devices. Here’s a link to a chart that shows you which features go with which devices: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/19/ios-6-is-now-available-heres-what-features-your-idevice-gets/
If you want to take panoramic photos on your iPhone 4, here’s a link to an article that discusses 13 apps that will perform that function for you: http://www.gadgetreview.com/2012/09/13-alternative-panorama-apps-for-ios-6.html
You’re right, Ruth, I didn’t cover those features, nor some of my other favorites, such as more emojis! I haven’t used the Reply with Message nor the Remind Me Later button. I just put my phone on silent or turn it off when I’m unavailable.
I am using Do Not Disturb a lot though. I really like having my phone automatically go into Do Not Disturb at night, but I can keep the alarm on as well as having my phone available for calls from my Favorites.
Let us know when you get the iPhone 5. Very exciting, Ruth!
I still haven’t upgraded on any of my devices. Well, my iPhone 4S is dead, but I’ll do an upgrade to my macs and iPad later this week. For some reason, I always remember to do the upgrade when I’m on battery only, not sure if that matters or not, but I’m waiting until I get o the office or I am home 🙂
Hi Jens, You may be required to connect to a power source before an over-the-air update. You should contact Apple about your dead iPhone 4S. It may be covered under your warranty!
My dead iPhone will probably be covered by the warranty. I just had to go via the store where I bought the phone. I’m not sure if I had to, but that’s what I did. They’ve sent it to Apple, and hopefully I’ll get a new one during next week. What I’ve been thinking about is to switch the new iPhone 4S into the iPhone 5, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. I could upgrade by paying whatever the difference is between the 4S and the 5.
By the way, I’ll probably update my iOS during the weekend.
Hi Carolyn,
I guess the idea to replace Google Map is not good.As Google shows the best and exact results everything one searches.Apple is a big company but i guess just getting big is not everything.IT may provide good results but i bet not better than Google is providing.
What say Carolyn??
Hi Aditya, I have read that Apple was forced to replace Google Maps because of the nature of the relationship with Google. I have no idea whether that is true, but it seems to me that Apple should have waited until Apple Maps was ready for launch. Having incorrect information in maps can have serious consequences.
I miss Google Maps Street View. I used that a lot on my iPad and it was always a helpful perspective. I hope Apple gets it right soon.
I too think Apple should have waited for some time before having its own map feature Carolyn,i guess they want to eat up the market not knowing how to eat.
The video is hilarious!!!!!
It seems like Siri got a major upgrade with the iOS6, i am still exploring all these features and am glad you wrote about it. Helps me a lot to get to the basics first!!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Praveen, Yes, I love that video. The prototype looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it?
There is a lot to learn with iOS 6, and you will enjoy discovering the new capabilities of your phone!
I should say that the panoramic photo option is cool…been using that a lot these days…
Hi Praveen, You’re right, the Panorama feature is very cool. I hope you’re better than I am at taking the photos! 🙂
Cant say am any better by just having an iPhone5 🙂 It does add some value to the same old pics I used to take. Some new add-ons and features will make my pics look even better.
Hi Praveen, That’s great. Sounds as if you’re really enjoying your iPhone 5! :-bd
Lovely, when the screen popped up to download I just hit ‘yes.’ I didn’t close apps or plug into a power source; am I going to lose my Apple card?
I probably need to check out the user guide to see exactly what I have now. All I’ve noticed is the crappy maps and a new tab for passbook. My 4s doesn’t give me the screen you get but goes to the boarding passes; tickets; store cards & coupons screen. No iTunes however…….
Hi Bill, Wow, you are a renegade! But I’m glad you updated to iOS 6 successfully. I don’t do an over-the-air update, but I had heard that you needed to be connected to a power source to update. Way to do the impossible, Bill!
So you don’t have an iTunes App? Do you have a Music App? Video App?
My Passbook now seems to be working. I will have to test it out! I’m grateful to Michael for letting me know the exact date to change my phone to in order to get Passbook working. He’s better than a Genius! :-bd
Hi Carolyn
That’s a really helpful write up. I was struggling to see what many of the new features were. I still don’t know I could find 200 though!
Passbook wasn’t working for me a few days ago but all of a sudden it started working a couple of days ago.
I didn’t use Google Maps before really so I don’t think I will miss it. I use the TomTom app. It will be interesting to see what Apple do with their app though. They probably should have done some more beta-testing by the sounds of things!
Hi Tim, I haven’t counted to see whether there are, in fact, 200 new features. But every day I find new features I hadn’t discovered before. Some are subtle, such as the look of the dial pad, while others are big, such as the App Store app not kicking you out of the app when you update an app.
I’m glad you’re not missing Google Maps, Tim. They should give users TomTom or another navigation app for free while they sort out their map fiasco!
More power to Siri. Yeay!!! I am so happy. I know that most apps are not ready for prime time but I think I will get the upgrade done. Knowing Apple, they will fix any and all problems sooner than expected. But on the whole, after your review, I am definitely going in for an upgrade. Thanks for sharing Carolyn.
Hi David, Yes, if you’re a Siri lover, you will love its new capabilities. You’re right, Apple will be updating this update, hopefully for the better and hopefully soon! Good luck with your upgrade, David.
I wish Apple would have made 3D Maps and Panorama mode compatible with A4 devices too. I believe that it’s unfair with iPhone 4/3GS users. What do you think?
Hi Chandrashekhar, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Unfortunately, quite a few features of iOS 6 are not available on older models of the iPhone. I wish that all new features, including Siri, could be available on older models. Whether it’s a matter of the older tech being unable to support the new features, I don’t know, but often manufacturers don’t support newer features in older models. As time goes on, “older” gets defined as newer and newer. People who are looking at the iPhone 4S vs. the 5 now should note that it doesn’t take long for Apple to bring out new features that aren’t supported on older models of the iPhone.
Even though i don’t own iphone and i don’t use this iOS ( i have a blackberry phone) i find here some interesting updates. I like the ” Do Not Disturb” function a lot.
I think it is a really good thing that Apple came out with this upgrade. About time too, I think. I’ve got the upgrade done and I think apart from the small hitches which I guess they should fix immediately, on the whole the upgrade has made the phone work much better. It also gives you a lot more options in terms of what you can do with it.
Hi Chris, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Great point, you’re right, it has seemed like a very long time since Apple announced iOS 6 in June so it’s great that the update is finally here. I hope Apple does come out with fixes soon so that people can focus on the improvements rather than the glitches.
Great in depth post on iOS 6, Carolyn. I like the do not disturb feature. Makes it much easier to switch back and forth between modes. In-in-all there’s loads of new features in iOS 6 ike you have covered and i think iOS 6 is really great! My friends all seem to love it too
Hi Mathew, I like the Do Not Disturb feature too. I have it set to go on automatically each night so that my iDevices don’t flash or make noise when I’m sleeping.
That’s great you’re enjoying iOS 6. The update introduced a lot of great features. I’m struggling with weak Wi-Fi reception after the update so I’m eagerly anticipating the next update to iOS.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us, Mathew! 🙂
So based on this, my iPad 1 can’t be updated, huh. Wonder if that is justification for a new one for Christmas?
As for the phone, I have the 4s, and though I like many of the new features, I use the Google Maps quite a bit and am very hesitant to upgrade to iOS6. I don’t have the in-board mapping feature in my older car so I rely onGoogle Maps when I am unsure of a location. Sure hope they fix this glitch soon.
re: Passpor – I use Key Ring for my club cards, airline cards, ect. so I can see how Passport might be of use. But again, with that glitch, another reason for me to wait a little bit before moving up. Sounds promising, though.
As for Siri – I wonder if the new Siri will finally recognize my last name? Lol Siri has yet to “find” it in my address book so I have given up in the current version. Maybe it’s my midwestern accent that’s throwing Siri off?
I am curious – have you upgraded?
Hi Carol, Great question. There is a rumor from The Wall Street Journal today that an iPad mini is in production to be launched soon from Apple. Perhaps you’re looking for a 7″ screen on your next iPad?
As far as getting an iPad for Christmas, you may want to wait until March when the newest model iPad is often announced.
The advantage of Apple Maps is that it gives you voice directions while Google Maps doesn’t. You can still get Google Maps as a web app if you upgrade to iOS 6 on your iPhone.
I got Passbook working on my iPhone thanks to Michael’s suggestion in his comment above. Not many apps sync with it yet though. Key Ring is still on my home page on my iPhone!
If Siri doesn’t recognize your last name, definitely use a nickname or find out how she pronounces it and then use that pronunciation with her. I have one friend who has an “o” in her last name but Siri thinks that the “o” is pronounced as a “u” so that’s how I pronounce it when I ask Siri to find her.
Yes, I have upgraded my iPhone and iPad. My struggle now is that my iDevices don’t seem to want to connect to my home Wi-Fi unless I’m right next to the router. I’ve used 1.7 GB of data in the past two weeks on my iPhone. Yikes!