Today sees the launch of a brand new version of Apple’s latest iOS release - iOS 6. It’s a big release, with lots of new headline features - Maps, Facebook integration, Passbook and more!
As with any major iteration of iOS though, Apple has made plenty of smaller, subtler changes with iOS 6. So here’s some that caught our eye while using Clear on iOS 6 over the last few months.
UI
Pinstripes have been a familiar sight since iOS' launch - and this time around the default pinstripes have been significantly dialled-back. There’s also ever-so-slightly more defined shadows and gradients surrounding navigation bars and toolbars throughout iOS.
An all-new Archive icon (familiar to those who use OS X Mountain Lion) has appeared in the Mail toolbar, and “Flag” has been moved from the message header, replacing “Refresh” as Mail now has Pull to Refresh.
Tap-and-hold on the Archive button (both in bulk-edit or message views) now offers a handy shortcut to delete the message instead of Archive.
Message senders are no-longer prefixed with a From label - and a message’s recipients are always shown (including CCs).
App Store
iOS 6 features an entirely revamped App Store and iTunes Store - however these small improvements are very welcome too. Apps already downloaded to your device can be launched from their App Store page (a massive time-saver).
The App Store customer reviews tab now shows an App Support button right alongside the Write a Review option. It’s a relatively small change but we’re watching this closely to see if it encourages a change in user behaviour, promoting users to seek help with their apps in place of writing a negative review.
These two screens are completely new in iOS 6. The version history of an app is now viewable, and you can now easily view all the apps available from a given developer on the App Store. It’s great for discovering other apps from your favourite developers - though we might just have to see about fleshing out our own page with some more iOS apps in the future!
Genius for Apps now makes use of location services (if you’ve enabled location services when setting up your device). It’ll be interesting to see how this location data is used by Apple to improve Genius’ recommendations.
What Else?
We’ve found a few others such as a much-expanded Cellular Network settings area, and that Passbook passes can be stored in iCloud (though can’t be viewed on an iPad). But there’s undoubtably more gems out there. So, if you’ve found a subtle change in iOS 6 why not give me a shout on Twitter (I’m @nikf) or leave a comment below!