Apple iOS 6 Release: A Complete Guide To The 200 New Features

iOS 6 was originally unveiled at WWDC in June, but Apple did not specify the release date at the time. Even though Apple's website previously mentioned the platform was "coming this fall," we originally anticipated Apple would announce the release date of iOS 6 at the company's media event on Sept. 12. Given the event was expected to launch a new iPhone, and a new family of iPods, it made sense for iOS 6 to enjoy its wide release around this time.

Last year's mobile OS, iOS 5  introduced several key features to the iPhone, iPod and iPad, including an organized Notification Center, deep integration with Twitter, a free messaging service for iOS users called iMessage, and a cloud platform for storing and streaming documents and media files to any iOS device, called iCloud.           

In iOS 6, Apple is taking all of the great features in iOS 5 a step further, introducing a new Maps application made in-house (sorry, Google), deep integration with Facebook, and several significant enhancements to Siri, the virtual personal assistant currently exclusive to the iPhone 4S, which will also be supported on the iPhone 5, new iPod Touch and third-generation iPad starting Wednesday.

There are more than 200 new features coming to iOS 6. Here, we do our best to outline all of the biggest features right here for you. Here's what you can look forward to in iOS 6:

Maps: Apple introduced a new Maps application as a part of the iOS 6 platform coming in the fall. But this Maps app isn't built by Google; this one is Apple-made. Apple's Maps application includes new vector-based 2D map elements, 3D maps, detailed traffic conditions, and best of all, turn-by-turn navigation with a dynamic 3D camera perspective. The entire platform is completely compatible with Siri, which will give you directions even if your iPhone oriPad is locked.

Siri: The AI virtual assistant was born on the iPhone 4S, but with iOS 6, it's finally making its way to the fifth-generation iPod Touch and third-generation iPad, too. Since the feature was first released last October, Siri, which could help users place calls, create and send texts and e-mails, set reminders and schedule meetings, surf the Web, or answer complicated or context-sensitive questions, has gotten only smarter. In iOS 6, Apple has endowed Siri with encyclopedic knowledge of sports, games and athletes (current, past and future), movies and actors (current, past and future), and even local businesses and available restaurants. Siri in iOS 6 will also let users launch applications with their voices, or even post a message to Twitter or Facebook.

Facebook Integration: In iOS 5, Apple elected to optimize nearly every app for Twitter, which allowed users to tweet photos, webpages from Safari, videos from YouTube or even their location, for all of their Twitter followers to see. In iOS 6, Apple decided to apply these same tactics to deeply integrate Facebook, the world's largest social network with more than 900 million users. Starting Wednesday, users only need to sign into their account once to be able to share content -- text, links and photos -- onto their Walls or each others' Walls, seamlessly sync their Address Book Contacts with their profile photos from Facebook, and receive notifications over the Notification Center. In return,Facebook added its Like Buttons to the App Store and iTunes Store, and it now syncs its Events with Apple's iOS Calendar.

Phone Features: Apple hadn't touched the general Phone feature since it was introduced in 2007 with the first iPhone. In iOS 6, Apple has created more options for users to deal with incoming calls, including options to reply with a quick message, or a reminder to be set for a certain time or a certain place. For video-chatting, Apple also added FaceTime support over cellular channels, including 3G.

Features From OS X "Mountain Lion": In an effort to better merge iOS with the Mac operating system, Apple added several features from OS 10.8 Mountain Lion in iOS 6. Apple added Mail VIPs, a "Do Not Disturb" feature for the Notification Center, and a new feature called iCloud Tabs, which lets users view their tabs opened in Safari across all iOS and Mac devices. Users simply click a designated iCloud Tabs button and all the tabs opened on each device are shown in a synchronized list, letting them see what's open across all their Apple devices.

Passbook: As mentioned, iOS 6's "Passbook" keeps digital tickets, coupons, loyalty cards and gift cards organized in a simple location. Clearly this is the precursor to the NFC-based "iWallet" technology, which will similarly keep your credit and debit cards in a safe and secure location for easy access. Better yet, passes in your Passbook can be time and location based, so if your flight gets delayed or you arrive at a Starbucks location, the user is immediately notified and Passbook is immediately launched.

Custom e-mail alerts: Apple added a new VIP mailbox so users can put all messages from their most important contacts in one place, but in iOS 6, Apple also made it easy to alert yourself when those users send you new messages. iOS 6 includes custom e-mail alerts for accounts (VIP mailbox vs. inbox) and for people (mom and dad vs. that random PR guy who won't stop e-mailing you). In addition, this setting also works with the new "Do Not Disturb" feature, so you can silently receive incoming e-mails without disturbing your slumber, a meeting, or anything else you may be doing.

Clock for iPad: The iPhone always had a clock app, but Apple left out the app in the iPad, for some reason. Well, no matter, Apple is fixing that in iOS 6. The new mobile operating system will endow the iPad with a new Clock app, complete with features like alarms, timers, and the ability to see the time in different places around the world. But the biggest reason why Apple avoided creating an iPad Clock app -- the difficulty of making it look good on a big screen -- is certainly present here. Each actual page on the app looks like a separate app entirely, and some of the features, including the stopwatch feature, look pretty hideous. Luckily, the most important feature -- Alarms -- is pretty nifty. Users can set their alarms, but also flip the screen to see their alarms all laid out on a planning calendar. The iPad Clock can also let the user choose any song from their iTunes Library to create as their alarm, which should put many third-party clock apps out of business.

Reminders Badges: The Reminders app, introduced in iOS 5, was supposed to help users keep track of their outstanding to-dos. Unfortunately, if you're just browsing through your iPhone, you can't see all of the tasks you haven't completed yet from a distance. That will change in iOS 6: Apple has endowed its Reminders app with badges, so anytime you still have a reminder to take care of, you'll see the app icon with a number circled in red on the top right corner. That number signifies how many reminders are remaining, which should be better for keeping users on-task.

Find My Friends Optimized: Apple introduced a slightly creepy but ultimately useful feature in iOS 5 called "Find My Friends," which let users search and discover their iOS-owning friends on a map. In iOS 6, users can opt to receive alerts when a friend enters or leaves a certain location, which Apple calls "geofencing." In other words, if you're a worried father about his daughter's first trip to New York City for an interview, you can set up an alert to tell you when your daughter arrives in the city, and you can also alert yourself when she leaves the city, or arrives at the train station nearby. It's extremely useful for anytime people need to coordinate meet-ups, or if parents need to check on their kids' statuses when traveling.

Bluetooth Enhancements: Bluetooth 4.0, a.k.a. "Smart Bluetooth," can create near-instantaneous connections with other devices. In iOS 6, which includes this latest version of Bluetooth, Apple is making this connectivity option much more accessible. Now, users can turn Bluetooth on or off right below the Wi-Fi option in the Preferences app, which should help some users cut down on battery drainage by limiting what connections their device is making. This feature was heavily-requested, and Apple listened.

Updating Apps: One semi-annoying feature in iOS 5 is how Apple requires users enter their Apple ID passwords just to update their old applications or download prepurchased apps from iCloud. Luckily, this minor annoyance will be done away with in iOS 6. For prepurchased content and application updates, Apple won't require users enter their password. Furthermore, when a user buys or downloads an app from the App Store, they won't automatically be kicked to the home screen to watch that app download, letting the user continue to shop to their heart's content.

Accessibility: The relationship between Apple and its users is very close, but Apple has gone out of its way to make the mobile experience friendly with students and children with hearing, vision, learning and mobility disabilities. Apple has added several features that help students remain on task and focused on their content, giving teachers, parents and administrators the ability to limit the device's abilities and disable certain areas so the child only touches what you want them to touch. With integration into Maps, Zoom, and AssistiveTouch, Apple is looking to help blind or low-vision users, and the company is also looking for hearing aid solutions to give its users a quality audio experience.

"New" Banners: Users can download so many apps from the App Store that it becomes difficult to keep track of where all of the new applications are. Luckily, Apple has added a simple feature in iOS 6 that places a blue ribbon around your newly downloaded apps with a "New" label, just so you can find it.

Dictionaries in the Cloud: Even though there are applications for the dictionary and thesaurus, Apple decided to make it easier to reference the dictionary in iCloud. Apple decided to add a full personal dictionary in iCloud, as well as French, German and Spanish dictionaries for the out-of-town folk. 

Color-Matching Menu Bar: Apple loves throwing in super cool, super small features that only the biggest fans would appreciate. This one is no different: In iOS 6, Apple has made it so the menu bar changes color depending on what's going on in the background. Apple has done this for when you receive a phone call -- the menu bar turns green -- or when you become a personal hotspot -- it turns blue -- but Apple has gone a little wild in finding new configurations for having its system complement the app. For instance, when you open Facebook Messenger, eBay, or an Adsense app called myRevenue, you can see a different paint job on each of the menus. It's not clear to what degree Apple will open this option up for developers, but it's certainly a brilliant design move that shows Apple's close attention to detail.

Faux Light Reflection: If you thought the last feature was persnickety, this feature may seem downright absurd. Even though this feature is 100 percent useless, it is a brilliant design feature nonetheless. Nobody really pays attention to the metallic volume slider within the iPod application, but Apple has made a subtle change where the slider actually changes its reflection based on how the iPhone or iPad is tilted, as if the metallic button were actually reflecting light. Again, it's just another example of Apple's intense attention to detail.

Mobile Store Redesigns: Apple uses three main platforms to sell and distribute its content: The App Store for mobile applications, the iTunes Store for movies, music, TV shows, podcasts and radio, and the iBookstore for books. These stores have revolutionized how users purchase and consume their multimedia content, but Apple hasn't redesigned these stores in about three years. At the company's event last Wednesday, Apple announced that all three mobile stores will get a facelift in iOS 6, but the new stores won't be ready until October.

Apple has yet to debut the technology and tools it acquired in February from Chomp, the app search and discovery platform purchased for a reported $50 million. Chomp, which was available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, offered plenty of great ways to discover great apps, featuring pages for new apps, trending apps, apps on sale, and free apps of the day. Chomp also provided pages for the apps considered "All-Time Greats," as well as those apps trending heavily on Twitter. Chomp would also suggest popular app searches for categories users may not know about, such as voice recording apps, or guitar apps, or system utilities apps.

Many of the 200 features belong in the major categories above, but here's a list of miscellaneous features users will be able to find in iOS 6.

• Lost Mode (Send a phone number to lost device, which can be called with single tap)
• Location-based reminders for iPad
• Manual location entry for reminders
• Custom vibrations for alerts
• Kernel ASLR
• Global network proxy for HTTP
• Autocorrection for every keyboard
• Word highlights for speak selection
• HDR improvements
• IPv6 support for Wi-Fi and LTE
• App in Safari search results
• Granular privacy control
• Music ringtones
• Updated sharing menu with large icons
• Made-for-iPhone hearing aids
• Search all fields in Contacts

Apple lists all 200 of its features, as well as the availability of certain features in each country, on its website.