back to article Apple iOS 6 review

OK, so when iOS 6 arrives in an hour or so, you'll rush to download it no matter what. You may as well, it's free, especially if you're not using any old apps that might warrant compatibility fears. Apple has promised the new operating system delivers more than 200 new features, but the vast majority of those aren't user- …

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  1. HMB

    Mutual Benefit

    Nice to see iOS get a feature to allow a text reply to a call without answering, like Android has. Now I want to see Android get a Do Not Disturb feature. :)

    1. Fuzz

      Re: Mutual Benefit

      I can't believe these kinds of features are only just being implemented on modern smartphones.

      I'm pretty sure the auto reply with text feature was available on my Ericsson T28 if not it was definitely on the T39.

      The Do not disturb feature used to be part of Windows mobile you could set the phone to switch to your meeting profile when your calendar showed you as busy. Of course this feature (along with almost everything else) went missing in WP7.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Mutual Benefit

        Nokia's had this for a while in some Symbian phones (not all).

      2. steogede

        Re: Re: Mutual Benefit

        >> I can't believe these kinds of features are only just being implemented on modern smartphones.

        Samsung TouchWiz has had this for a while now.

        >> I'm pretty sure the auto reply with text feature was available on my Ericsson T28 if not it was definitely on the T39.

        I don't remember it on the T28 - never had a T39 so I couldn't say.

      3. Mike 102
        Thumb Up

        Re: Mutual Benefit

        Not on the T28 http://www.lokety.com/ericsson_t28s_manual.pdf

        that was my favourite phone though. could stand up to being thrown around, dropped, super slim, long battery...

        couldn't browse the internet, read email, check the weather, play any decent games, but I loved mine.

        Don't think it was in the T39 either

        https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxlcmljc3NvbnQzOW18Z3g6NjViZGJlOWIwMjBkNDMz

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Sort of makes the iPhone 5 redundant if you have an iPhone 4s, not sure about the maps though unless Apple intend to offer advertising to businesses?

      Google maps appear far superior.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I waited almost 9 months

      For ICS, it took Apple a week or so from announcing iOS 6 to being able to update.

      Now that's what I call speed.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        Re: I waited almost 9 months

        Then buy a Nexus, idiot.....

        It's Apple-like upgrade experience.....

        1. gisabsr

          Re: I waited almost 9 months

          Unless you buy your nexus from one of the many operators that install their own firmware on the things, or Samsung's superspecial Yakjuxw, rather than Google's own Yakju, in which you might still be waiting.

          Of course, you could root the thing yourself, unlock the bootloader and change it to Yakju, but that rather defeats the point for 'normal', i.e., the majority of phone purchasers, no?

          And idiot? That special condescension app that comes with Android phones seems to be getting a real workout today, eh?

      2. Craigness

        Re: I waited almost 9 months

        Did you have to upgrade your operating system just to get the latest version of the maps or email app, etc? I'm still on gingerbread but have all the latest stuff that I want and when ICS is announced for this phone it will be a lot less than 9 months to wait.

        Ios 6 was announced months ago. They've spent a lot time getting it ready for specific devices, just like android OEMs do.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: I waited almost 9 months

          "Ios 6 was announced months ago. They've spent a lot time getting it ready for specific devices, just like android OEMs do."

          Nope. iOS 6 was in beta and announced so that 3rd party developers could support it. Once it's out of beta, it will be available to everybody.

          In contrast, when Google is done testing an OS and releases it, THEN you can start waiting for OEMs to do their testing.

          It's a whole extra step.

          1. Mike Judge
            FAIL

            Re: I waited almost 9 months

            It's not a whole extra step, you have been fooled by clever marketing.

            Apple can announce and not have to deliver for 6 months, yet when Android users have to wait 6 months, that's a different matter apparently...

      3. Law
        Happy

        Re: I waited almost 9 months

        Just like the other guys suggest, nexus will get you the latest on the day providing your hardware supports it. Unfortunally its closer to iPhone prices too when sim free.

        Besides, iOS 5 to 6 was more like a service pack, where as gingerbread to ICS was a real os update.

        Having said that, my ICS xperia S is feeling very clunky now when compared to much smoother jelly bean on my nexus 7, so I'll probably pay the extra next time and get a sim free nexus instead of a free phone with contract renewal.

        1. Clark Nova

          @Law - Re: I waited almost 9 months

          You might be in luck. The AOSP (android open source project) are adding (experimental) support for the xperia S:

          http://www.xda-developers.com/android/sony-xperia-s-added-to-aosp-as-experimental-device/

          And Sony appears to be playing ball:

          http://www.xda-developers.com/android/sony-releases-xperia-s-binaries-for-aosp-support/

          So it's possible that the next android release will run directly on your current phone...

      4. Wize

        Re: I waited almost 9 months

        "...it took Apple a week or so from announcing iOS 6 to being able to update."

        Big difference between announcing to the public and working on it behind closed doors.

        Do you really thing they are releasing something that's been knocked together in a week (including testing?)

    4. Velv
      Devil

      Re: Mutual Benefit

      Do not Disturb on a timer. My Nokia had that a few years ago

      Have Apple copied Nokia?

      Lawsuit?

      1. Julian 3
        Mushroom

        Re: Mutual Benefit

        Apple will probably sue Nokia now claiming they patented it 9 years ago!

      2. ZillaOfManilla

        Re: Mutual Benefit

        Timeriffic, SemiSilent & Shush! Offer the same functionality on Android if you want it. I have been using them for ages now.

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Mutual Benefit

      You know as well as I do that its perfectly fine for apple to copy other peoples innovations, but its absolutely evil if anyone else copies an obvious feature that appeared on apple first ;)

    6. Bad Beaver
      Facepalm

      Re: Mutual Benefit

      Don't tell me Android cannot do proper profiles either? I knew the fruit could not but the 'droid too? Oh my.

      My Nokias (both Symbian and MeegGo) know what time it is, how much power they have, where they are (by oodels of sources including cell-id, WLAN, NFC, BT…) and have apps that make them act accordingly in all sorts of ways. I never really change settings manually anymore. Very useful.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Mutual Benefit

        I think tasker on android does pretty much everything you'd want - and probably a lot more - (though it is a paid add on).

        1. John H Woods Silver badge

          Re: Mutual Benefit

          +1 for Tasker. It's not expensive and it can do all sorts of clever things, e.g. direct phone calls from certain people direct to voicemail when you are in a given location; prevent the screen locking when headphones are plugged in but lock asap when they are removed, only poll for wifi when you are specific locations etc.

    7. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Mutual Benefit

      I'm running Cyanogenmod 10 on an HTC One X and I have a sort of Do Not Disturb (although they call it Quiet Hours - under Settings -> Sound -> Quiet Hours) - not sure if it works for calls, but it mutes notifications etc.

    8. vic 4
      Go

      Re: Do Not Disturb feature

      Nothing in android stopping a third party app doing that. I've got one installed to ignore calls/texts from a blacklist. I've sure there is bound to be loads in the store, just can't be bothered to look. If not let me know how much you want to pay and I may write one.

  2. JDX Gold badge

    Upgrade or wait?

    I have an iPad 2 but never upgraded the OS. Is it generally better to wait a while in case of bugs, or does iOS not normally suffer that kind of syndrome?

    1. Scott 2
      WTF?

      Re: Upgrade or wait?

      Really? Downvotes?

      Unless they're in answer to his question (in which case fair enough, kinda), then that is utterly pathetic fanboi crap. Seriously, iOS has bugs, like any other OS - yes including OSX.

      Maybe I should make a post saying I prefer pears as they're generally jucier and taste better.

      1. Shaun 1
        Joke

        Re: Upgrade or wait?

        Downvoted because I don't like the taste of pears...

    2. Dante

      Re: Upgrade or wait?

      Always better to wait to update. No matter which device or provider.

    3. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Upgrade or wait?

      JDX,

      I'd wait to update if I were you. Not long, but just to see if there is anything major out there.

      It took Apple ages to fix the WiFi problem on the original iPad, it kept disconnecting itself from the network and I had to give it a fixed IP address to make it work even vaguely properly. Then when iOS 4 finally came to the iPad 1, about 6 months after the iPhone got it, they resurrected a similar bug. Which they fixed pretty speedily this time, to be fair.

      I'm tempted never to upgrade again. Because they only gave the iPad 1 half the RAM of the iPhone 4, I don't think it ever worked as well once it was 'upgraded' from iOS 3. It always seemed just that little bit slower. Mostly it would work perfectly, but every so often you'd get an annoying stuttery lag, and I had to start rebooting it weekly (not a major pain admittedly). It makes me wonder if I should leave the iPad 3 well alone.

      1. MGJ
        Go

        Re: Upgrade or wait?

        One thing to watch for; if you have your music compressed on your phone but not your PC, previous updates would fail as they tried to restore the uncompressed music and then failed when they ran out of space.

        Also, my 3GS doesnt currently have turn-by-turn navigation in Maps; isnt that one of the main features added by this upgrade (and therefore worth doing?)

      2. micheal
        Joke

        Re: Upgrade or wait?

        Not sure half of the 32Gb i-phone 4 is less than half the 32Gb ipad 1

        else yes, I agree

        1. Andrew Hodgkinson
          FAIL

          Re: Upgrade or wait?

          Memory is not the same as storage space. The iPad 1 didn't have much RAM, forcing it to swap to Flash much more when iOS was upgraded. The speed impact could be quite dramatic at times.

          1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
            Happy

            Re: Upgrade or wait?

            I actually typed 'memory', then erased it and stuck in 'RAM' to avoid confusion. Or so I hoped... But then the use of a Joke Alert icon has me confused as to whether the poster is in fact aware of the difference between memory and storage, or not.

            I'm all confused. Insufficient memory error: Reboot head.

  3. djstardust
    FAIL

    Only for some though .....

    My very expensive ipad 1g 64gb with 3G won't get this update. Technically possible (as the iphone 3gs with the same hardware gets it) but Apple want me to spend £700 all over again.

    Screw them, they think of their cash mountain and shareholders before their long term customers!

    1. ThomH

      Re: Only for some though .....

      The 3GS version of iOS 6 is an awful experience. Though arguing that you're better off not using it hardly seems to make up for the fact that you don't have a choice.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Only for some though .....

        What BS - installed it in 20 minutes and it's faster.

    2. JDX Gold badge

      Re: Only for some though .....

      I'm sorry did they tell you iOS5 was going to stop working?

    3. MechaNikos

      Re: Only for some though .....

      The iPad (1) has the same A4 CPU as the iPhone 4, but suffers from having only 256MB of RAM. Running iOS 6 on it would probably render it slower than a drunk slug with a limp. iPhone 3GS on the other hand, has the same 256MB of RAM with a much slower CPU, but drives a much smaller screen.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Re: Only for some though .....

      Then spend the money on Apple shares instead!!!

    5. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Only for some though .....

      My very expensive ipad 1g 64gb with 3G won't get this update. Technically possible (as the iphone 3gs with the same hardware gets it) but Apple want me to spend £700 all over again.

      Screw them, they think of their cash mountain and shareholders before their long term customers!

      --------------

      That's it you tell Apple where to stick it. Your next purchase should be an Android tablet. It'll probably come with honeycomb or ice cream sandwich, but don't worry Jellybean _IS_ coming!!!!!

      And don't give me crap about jailbreaking the tablet to install a custom ROM

    6. John Robson Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: Only for some though .....

      You're not a long term customer - you're a one off customer.

      A long term customer would have upgraded each year....

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Devil

        @John Robson: Re: Only for some though .....

        Not necessarily. A long term customer would upgrade where it is sensible to. A fanboi would upgrade for the sake of upgrading and having the latest shiny-shiny.

  4. djstardust

    Fair comment, but iOS5 has made my ipad all sluggish and sloe (as many others have reported) so it's actually worse than when I bought it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Sloe ?

      > has made my ipad all sluggish and sloe

      That's a completely different kind of fruit (related to the plum).

      1. PJI

        Re: Sloe ?

        Ah, time to make some more Sloe Gin. Winter is not all bad.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DND silences incoming calls, either while its switched on or at specific times

    I have been waiting for this for about 9 years, ever since my Nokia 6310i gave up the ghost.

    It' useful for teachers and other people who just can't have their phone disturb them during the day; with the switch on the side, sometimes you can forget you put the phone on mute ages ago.

    I'd like to see a "battery saving mode" which switches off Location Services, 3G, Bluetooth etc. - rather than having to manually adjust all the settings when you're away from home and realise you are about to run out of battery with no way to charge the phone.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: DND silences incoming calls, either while its switched on or at specific times

      Isnt there a 'Llama' or something similar in the AppStore to do all that you have asked for and much more?

      Shocking, if there isnt.

    2. Chris 171

      Re: DND silences incoming calls, either while its switched on or at specific times

      re Battery save mode, Symbian does exactly that.

      Even the fanbois are struggling to shout about the new iphine and its joyous software.

      The market is changing it would appear.

      Good.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: DND silences incoming calls, either while its switched on or at specific times

        Nokia killed Symbian - so has Windows 8 phone got this feature ?

      2. Heathroi
        Pint

        Re: DND silences incoming calls, either while its switched on or at specific times

        well even God rested on the seventh day. ( and there my metaphor crashes because apple is only up to 6)

        beer. because.

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