Apple iOS: Top 5 new features

Apple iOS: Top 5 new features
A new iPhone is getting much of the attention, but Apple's older phones will get a software upgrade this fall as well. A new operating system sports a different mapping service and a built-in bond with Facebook. Apple has said that its iOS 6 software will sport more than 200 new features, though some won't be available on all devices. It will be a free upgrade for iPhones released since 2009, as well as last year's and this year's iPad models. It will also work with newer iPod Touch devices.

And of course, it will be on the new iPhone 5, which Apple Inc. is expected to unveil on Wednesday. The company may provide more details then on when the software update will be available for older phones.

Here are some highlights of iOS 6:

Maps

Apple's mobile devices will have a mapping program, built in-house.

In the past, Apple has given prominent billing to Google's mapping app. But the two companies have increasingly become rivals as people buy more devices running Google's Android operating system. Google also has been keeping some features, including turn-by-turn directions spoken aloud, exclusive to Android.

Apple's new Maps application will have a voice navigation feature. It will have real-time traffic data and offer alternative routes as traffic conditions change.

It will also include "flyover" three-dimensional images taken by helicopters hired by the company to fly over major cities. Google has been dispatching its own planes to produce similar 3D images.

Apple's map program will be integrated with its Siri virtual assistant so that you can ask for directions and pose other questions.

Facebook

The new software promises better integration with Facebook. The upgrade will enable you to log into Facebook just once, and then you will be able to post to the social network from a variety of apps. You can also post about websites directly from Apple's Safari browser.

Facebook will be integrated with Apple's online app store so that you can declare that you "like" specific apps there, as well as songs and movies in iTunes.

Events in Facebook's calendar and birthdays of Facebook friends will also appear on your phone's calendar.

Siri

iOS 6 will have enhancements to Siri, which interprets voice commands and talks back to the user. It is also coming to the iPad for the first time.

Siri, introduced last October with the iPhone 4S, is supposed to get better at fielding questions about movies, restaurants and other things.

Apple says it is partnering with Yelp so that Siri can include ratings and prices of restaurants when you ask her about places to eat. The company is also partnering with OpenTable to make reservations.

Siri will now be available in more languages and more countries.

Apple also says it's working with car manufacturers to let you use a button on the steering wheel to talk to Siri, allowing you to keep your hands on the road. Apple says General Motors, BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes are among the automakers that have promised to offer Siri integration in the next 12.

Calls

Don't want to be disturbed?

Apple's new software will give you more options for preventing messages and text notifications from disturbing you at night, for instance.

You can control how and when you get back to people. If you can't call someone back right away, you can set a reminder to call that person back later or have a text message sent directly to the caller.

There's a "call when you leave" feature that reminds you to call back when you are leaving a building or office. The phone can detect when you are leaving.

Passbook

Apple's new Passbook feature will be a central place to keep your boarding passes, tickets and gift cards.

When you get to a Starbucks, for instance, the device will bring up your gift card if you have one and if you have the location feature turned on. Likewise, when you get to a movie theater or baseball stadium, the ticket will pop up. Passbook will also alert you to gate changes and flight delays once you have a boarding pass stored.

Passbook could be the foundation for a new digital commerce hub for Apple, especially if the iPhone 5 includes a " near-field communication" chip that enables payment information to be transferred by tapping a device on a terminal at a checkout stand. A few Android phones use this technology to process payments with a feature known as Google Wallet.

Apple's iPhone 5 bigger, faster but lacks "wow"

Apple's iPhone 5 bigger, faster but lacks "wow"
Apple Inc's new iPhone 5 goes on sale on Friday with a bigger screen and 4G wireless technology, as the company seeks to safeguard its edge over rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Google Inc. 

The iPhone 5 fulfilled many of the expectations laid out by gadget geeks and

"There is not a wow factor because everything you saw today is evolutionary. I do think they did enough to satisfy," said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of wealth management company Destination Wealth Management.

Other industry analysts speculated about what else was in Apple's product pipeline ahead of the crucial year-end holiday season, especially since the company stayed mum about an oft-rumored TV device or a smaller iPad.

The consumer electronics giant that in 2010 popularized tablet computing with the iPad has given no hints on whether it plans a smaller version to match cheaper tablets from the likes of Google or Amazon.com Inc.

Phil Schiller introduces Apple's new iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Reuters Photo

"We would really like to see the iPad Mini in the product offering for the all-important holiday quarter. They still have time," said Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund.

"As soon as we see that, we will have more conviction about the stock heading into the final quarter."

Apple shares ended the day up 1.4% at $669.79.  How iPhone became King of smartphones

The latest iPhone comes as Apple faces competition beyond current key competitors Samsung and Google.

Late entrant Microsoft Corp is now trying to push its Windows Phone 8 operating system as an alternative to Apple and Android, the most-used smartphone operating system in the world.

Analysts have forecast sales of 10 million to 12 million of the new iPhones in this month alone.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook kicked off the event in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center but it was marketing chief Phil Schiller who introduced the iPhone 5 and took the audience through the new phone's features.

The iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch "retina" display, can surf a high-speed 4G LTE wireless network, and is 20% lighter than the previous iPhone 4S.

Ceding a lead

It ships Sept. 21 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Britain.

It will hit 100 countries by year's end in the fastest international rollout for an iPhone so far.

Phil Schiller introduces Apple's new iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Reuters Photo

The stakes are high with the iPhone, Apple's marque product, accounting for nearly half its revenue.

The California company has sold more than 243 million iPhones since 2007, when the device ushered in the current applications ecosystem model.

But Samsung now leads the smartphone market with a 32.6% share followed by Apple with 17%, according to market research firm IDC.

Both saw shipments rise compared to a year ago, with Samsung riding its flagship Galaxy S III phone.Apple iPhone 5: Top 5 rumours

Available for pre-order on Friday starting from $199 with a data plan, the iPhone 5 comes with Apple's newest "A6" processor, which executives said runs twice as fast as the previous generation.

It will pack three microphones -- enhancing built-in voice assistant Siri -- and an 8 megapixel camera that can take panoramic views.

It will hitch a ride on the three largest US carriers: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc, and Sprint. One popular enhancement was improved battery endurance -- the iPhone 5 can support eight hours of 4G Web browsing, the company said.

While Apple played catch-up on many of the new phone's features -- Samsung and Google's Motorola already have larger and 4G-ready phones -- analysts say the device's attraction is the way its software and hardware work in tandem.

"Where they are pushing the envelope, and where they remain the one to beat, is on the experience those features bring to the consumer," said Carolina Milanesi, Gartner Research analyst.

"While other vendors continue to focus just on the hardware -- delivering the speeds and feeds and bigger batteries -- Apple focuses on pulling the operating system, the hardware and what you can consume on the hardware."

Foo fighters rock

Cook began the event by giving updated metrics on the company's products and then quickly gave up the stage for Schiller to introduce the iPhone 5.

Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy SIII. Reuters and AFP Photos

The team then moved on to a new lineup of iPods, a redesigned iTunes store and ended with a surprise performance by rock band Foo Fighters.

Apple executives in the front row could be seen rocking their heads to "Times Like These" and other hits.

For the iPhone 5, Apple has done away with the connectors used on previous devices and replaced them with a smaller and more efficient "Lightning" connector.

With the iPhone, it is shipping new "EarPods" audiophones, designed after digitally scanning hundreds of ears.

Shares in Skullcandy, which specializes in stylized earphones, fell 4.5% on Wednesday.

Apple's iPhone 5 showing 3D maps. Reuters Photos

Beyond hardware, Apple telegraphed many of the software changes to expect in iPhone 5 when it debuted iOS 6, its latest mobile operating system, in June.

Upgrades to the software include voice navigation for driving, a feature already available on many Android smartphones, as well as "Passbook" for storing electronic boarding passes, sports tickets and gift cards.

Siri has been improved. In an onstage demonstration, Siri was able to answer questions about the result of a recent pro football game and recite a list of movies playing around town, along with ratings.

Earlier, Cook told the audience that its apps store now has more than 700,000 on tap -- the industry's largest library.

"When you look at each of these, they are incredible industry-leading innovations by themselves. But what sets them apart, and what places Apple way out in front of the competition, is how they work so well together," Cook said toward the end of the two-hour presentation.