Apple announced a lot of cool features in iOS 6 today, but here’s some of the stuff they didn’t show worth noting:
• Improved privacy controls.
• Redesigned stores
• Lost mode: if you’ve lost or misplaced your iPhone or iPad, you can send a phone number directly to that phone
• Game center challenges
• Per-account Mail signatures
• Voice-Over imrpovements
• Personal dictionary in iCloud
• Tons of new APIs for Devs, including Pass Kit, in-app contrent purchases (sell iTunes music right through your apps), transit apps
Apple is also launching a new setting for iOS 6, called Do Not Disturb. And it does what it says on the tin.
Here’s how it works. Essentially, Do Not Disturb allows you to tell your iPhone not to bother you with interruptions. Notifications will still pop up, but they won’t light up the screen or make sounds.
Even better, you have fine-grained access to the kind of calls you can receive when the setting is one.
It’s also safe. For example, repeated calls go through: if someone calls multiple times in a short period of time because it’s an emergency, the call gets put through.
Sounds great, although it sounds to me like this is just going to encourage obnoxious repeat calling from people who think you turned DND on.
(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)
Apple is also launching a new setting for iOS 6, called Do Not Disturb. And it does what it says on the tin.
Here’s how it works. Essentially, Do Not Disturb allows you to tell your iPhone not to bother you with interruptions. Notifications will still pop up, but they won’t light up the screen or make sounds.
Even better, you have fine-grained access to the kind of calls you can receive when the setting is one.
It’s also safe. For example, repeated calls go through: if someone calls multiple times in a short period of time because it’s an emergency, the call gets put through.
Sounds great, although it sounds to me like this is just going to encourage obnoxious repeat calling from people who think you turned DND on.
(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)
Following all of the Siri enhancements for the iPhone on iOS 6 Apple announced today, iPad owners will be pleased to know that the digital assistant is making its way to Apple’s tablet as well. The phone integration will obviously not be there, but all of Siri’s other features will be present, including the new ones in iOS 6.
This compliments the addition of Siri Dictation Apple made with the new iPad back in March. The iPad 2 and third-gen iPad will be supported by Siri in iOS 6, and not the original iPad.
Apple just unveiled iOS 6. And the first thing they’re showing off in iOS 6 is Siri upgrades.
First thing’s first. Siri now knows about sports. You can now ask Siri what the score of the big game was, and it’ll give you the most recent results. You can also ask what a baseball player’s batting average is. She can even give you league listings.
Siri has also learned a lot about restaurants, thanks to integration with Yelp and OpenTable.
Siri’s also now a movie buff. You can ask Siri which movies are playing at your local theater, then even see trailers, right from within ratings. Heck, you can even see reviews, thanks to integration with RottenTomatoes.
You can now tweet from Siri!
Siri’s also gaining the ability to launch apps, which is likely to be a huge accessibility boon to blind people, which Apple is highlighting by mentioning that this is “eyes-free” smartphone usage.
Even better, Siri’s getting external hardware integration. In the next twelve months, BMW, GM, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Honda, amongst others.
Siri’s also learning some new languages: French-Canadian, Spanish, Italian, Italian French, German and Korean. Mandarin and Cantonese for China. Local search is going global, too.
And, of course, the biggest news: Siri is finally, finally coming to iPad. Hurrah.
(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)
Craig Federighi took the stage after Phil Schiller at WWDC today to talk everything Mac. OS X Lion has been a wild success, and 40% of all Mac users run the operating system 9 months later. 26 million copies have been shipped exclusively through the Mac App Store.
There are 60 million Mac users around the world, and Apple’s market share has been rising exponentially in the desktop space over the past few years. The rest of the PC industry has seen a decline in sales.
“iCloud has taken off like a rocket with over 125 million registered users,” said Federighi. Apple also ran through tentpole features of OS X Mountain Lion that were revealed in the developer preview months ago. Some new features, such as Siri Dictation, were also announced.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has just taken the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to deliver the keynote address, and are we excited.
Over the next hour and a half, Tim Cook is expected to announce some radical new products for Apple, including new Macs and iOS 6. Apple is expected to abandon Google Maps for its own in-house solution. We will also likely hear a release date for OS X Mountain Lion.
Stay tuned for updates, and keep refreshing our home page for the latest scoops from the keynote. We’ll be live-blogging the whole thing over the course of the next 90 minutes, so as soon as something’s announced, you’ll see it on the front page.
What are you most looking forward to Apple announcing today? Let us know in the comments.
In a hysterical change of pace, instead of Apple CEO Tim Cook taking the stage to start the WWDC keynote at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Siri came on the big screen to warm up the crowd instead.
“Hello and welcome to WWDC. I’m Siri, your virtual assistant and today I was asked to warm up the crowd, which should be easy since the high will be 75 degrees,” said Siri.
Here were some more jokes Siri told:
“How many developers does it take to change a lightbulb? None, that’s a hardware problem.”
“Hey, any of you guys been working with ICS or Jelly Bean. Who’s working up these codenames? Ben & Jerry?”
“Seriously, I am excited about the new Samsung. Not the phone, the refrigerator.”
“I love you guys, but it’s hard for me to get emotional. Because my emotions haven’t been coded yet.”
The new Retina display MacBook Pro looks incredible. But can you afford it?
Following those specifications for the new Mac Pro and the new MacBook Pro that we reported on earlier, the specifics for the Retina display MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Airs have now also been leaked. In addition to Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors for all models, highlights include up to 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage for the MacBook Air, and up to 768GB of storage for the MacBook Pro.
You need copious amounts of coffee to wait in line for 9 hours.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference has spawned some huge lines this year, with many waiting outside San Francisco’s Moscone Center a full nine hours before the keynote will begin — as we showed you earlier. But it isn’t just Tim Cook and co. who will be enjoying all of the attention; the local Starbucks is struggling to keep up with thirsty attendees.
