Apple Will Be Officially Adding Facebook Integration In iOS 6 [Report]

By

ipad-facebook-large
Facebook is about it get baked into your iPhone and iPad.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told the world to “stay tuned” to what his company has planned with Facebook. The social network has been rumored to appear in iOS for years, but 2012 looks to be the year Apple and Facebook finally join forces.

iOS 6, internally codenamed “Sundance,” will feature Facebook integration, reports MG Siegler of TechCrunch. The integration will be similar to the way Twitter is currently implemented in iOS 5, although Apple has yet to iron out the kinks in how sharing will work.

According to Siegler:

It’s important to note that Apple being Apple, something could change in the next week and a half (see again: Facebook/Ping). But as of right now, Facebook is a go in iOS “Sundance”. One thing still being hammered out according to our sources is how sharing will work. Sharing is the other big part of the iOS/Twitter integration, and will be important for iOS/Facebook integration as well. But Facebook is significantly more complicated than Twitter in that there are all kinds of permissions for what you can post where and who can see what.

Apple is expected to “keep things simple” initially with its Facebook integration. Siegler notes that, “Beyond authentication, there will probably be a Facebook button in the existing share screen which will allow you to share something to your Facebook Wall. ”

Facebook Connect is already present in many iOS apps for logging in and authenticating with accounts, and it’s currently unknown how Apple’s SDK will interact with Facebook’s current SDK. Many of the details will likely be divulged at WWDC in two weeks.

Twitter is already integrated in iOS 5, and Facebook is expected to function the same way. The user would assumedly log into his or her Facebook account in Settings to turn on sharing throughout iOS.

Facebook has several high-profile iPhone apps in the App Store, including the recently-released Facebook Camera. The social network is also in the process of acquiring Instagram.

Interestingly, a recent report said that Facebook was hiring former iPhone and iPad engineers from Apple to work on its own smartphone.

MG Siegler has proven to have well-placed Apple sources in the past, and he usually reports correct information regarding the company’s future plans.

Source: TechCrunch

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.