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iOS 6 Roundup

Last week, Apple announced the iPhone 5, much to the surprise of everyone I’m sure (that's sarcasm). The new phone has some pretty nifty features, but not everyone will be waiting in line for days in order to get their hands on one. Those of us who don’t want to trade-up just yet still have a way to scratch that “new Apple gadget” itch, however: iOS 6. This new iOS will be compatible with most older devices, including the iPhone 3GS (Yay!) and above, the fourth generation iPod Touch and up, and the iPad 2 and later. So while I might not be able to get my hands on a 5 just yet, I can still feel special when my phone starts to do new and exciting things!

iOS 6 - Plenty of changes to some old favorites

Before we get in to all the major changes and new features I want to take a moment to go over some of the smaller tweaks to the apps many iOS users can’t live without. The camera has gotten a bit more attention this time around. Users can take panoramic photos now with their iPhone 4S/5 and iPod Touch 4th/5th generation, up to 240 degrees both horizontally and vertically. They have simply to sweep the camera along using a predefined motion and the device and software takes care of the rest. Then, said photos and everything else on the camera roll can be shown off to friends quickly and easily with the Photo app. Video chatting with friends and family via FaceTime has also gotten much simpler now that the app can work over a cellular network and Wi-Fi is no longer required--provided the carrier allows for that sort of thing, naturally.

Even the Notification Center has been revamped with Twitter or Facebook posting allowed directly from the notifications window and the option to quiet those irritating 3am notices, thanks to the new Do Not Disturb feature (more on that later). Last, but certainly not least to the accident prone, Find My Phone has been updated to include a Lost Mode which allows users to remotely lock their misplaced phone with a 4-digit code and display contact information for honest folks to use in order to return the lost device. This goes hand-in-hand with Find My Friends, an app that uses GPS to keep track of friends and family, even going so far as to issue alerts when certain individuals have left or reached specific destinations. It sounds weird, but think of it in terms of the kids leaving school and getting home. Pretty nifty, I know, but this is just the beginning.

iTunes, App Store, iBookstore - Refurbishing the storefronts

iTunes, the App Store, and the iBookstore are also getting adjustments by way of some slightly revamped storefronts, Facebook integration (“like” items in the store or view items that friends like), and a new preview feature that automatically keeps track of any apps/music/books that you browse through. You can view this list from within any of the three stores--and across any of their iOS devices thanks to iCloud--and make purchases from it directly.

One of the big drawbacks about the iPad 2 is its camera; identical to the iPod touch 4th generation's camera, it only takes photos at a 960x720 resolution, paling in comparison to the resolution available from the iPhone 4's camera, if not all iPhone cameras period. This is such low resolution that it is actually smaller than the iPad 2's screen resolution of 1024x768. This means that users should not expect to be taking fantastic photographs with the iPad 2; and apparently very few people are.

According to Flickr's stats, there are an average of 36 users per day uploading photos to Flickr from their iPad. Compare this to the over 4000 that upload daily from the iPhone 4 (which is trending toward becoming the most-used camera on Flickr, period), over 3000 that still upload photos from the iPhone 3G, and just under 2000 that upload from the iPhone 3GS per day.  In comparison, the iPod touch 4G, which has an identical camera as the iPad 2, gets 455 users that upload to photos to the site per day, which is enough to make it the 5th most popular 'cameraphone' on Flickr; stats are not available for the original iPhone on Flickr.

Granted, there is a definite possibility that the numbers are being skewed by Flickr's userbase; it may skew more toward photography enthusiasts than the casual photo taker, and the iPad 2's camera is one that few if any serious photographers would actually use. The percentages may likely be higher on Facebook and Twitter photo services, where casual and convenient photos are more prominent than well-prepared shots, where a higher-quality camera would likely be used.

However, what is clear is that iOS users have definite options to upload photos from the phone to Flickr, as shown by iOS cameras being 4 of the top 5 cameraphones on Flickr. The iPod touch's inferior camera is still popular enough to make it notable among cameraphones on Flickr. The conclusion is that tablets just may not be devices that users consider as regular cameras. iPhones and iPod touches are devices designed to be carried around in users' pockets, and can be used to take photos when an opportunity arises. The iPad is usually carried around in a case or a bag, and may not be as immediately available for casual photo taking, and its inferior quality camera dissuades taking high-quality shots as well. Apple may have known this and only put a rear-facing camera in for posterity, rather than for actual usability, because no one is using the iPad 2 to take photos.

Source: PetaPixel