Maps’ Navigation

Apple has decided to ditch Google Maps in iOS and replace it with its own Maps application. A key component in that is a navigation feature that helps users get turn-by-turn directions to a particular location or check out the traffic wherever they are traveling. Maps’ Navigation may or may not be better than Google Maps was, but once iOS 6 launches, it will be one of the first things that users check out.

According to Apple, it has decided to revamp its App Store, iBooks Store and ITunes in iOS 6 to make it easier to use. Better yet, it’ll make all the products available in those stores easier to find, and help folks find more content. It’s about time Apple has rethought its mobile store designs.

Apple has made it clear in iOS 6 that social networking is important to its future. With help from a new application called Find My Friends, users will be able to share their locations with friends and family. Upon doing so, their locations will show up on a map to help folks find others. It looks like a great way to stay in touch with each other.

Passbook is a welcome addition to iOS 6, boasting a host of features, including helping users check in for a flight, redeem a coupon or get movie tickets. And as folks get close to a particular event for which they might have a ticket, Passbook will alert them. Think of Passbook as a location-based event scheduler.

Although Apple has brought several improvements to its mobile Safari browser, the best yet must be its iCloud tabs. With help from iCloud, users on, say, a new iPad, can browse sites and leave tabs open. Upon opening the browser on their iPhone, iCloud will send over those tabs to that version of mobile Safari to keep them surfing.

The VIP Inbox is by no means a unique feature, but it could prove to be one of the best ways for users to keep track of important messages. With its help, users can tag people as “VIPs,” and whenever they send a message over, it’ll be grouped in that particular Inbox. VIP is little more than a filter, of course, but it could prove to be awfully useful.

In iOS 5, Apple only lets users answer or decline phone calls. In iOS 6, however, the company will let folks reply with a message or choose an option that allows them to be alerted at a later time that someone had called, helping them remember to call them back. It’s about time someone thought of bringing more actual phone options to the iPhone.

With the help of a new Do Not Disturb feature, iOS 6 users can stop the iPhone or iPad from lighting up and sounding alerts whenever it’s turned on. Apple envisions the feature being used at night when folks are sleeping, in movie theaters and in important meetings. The Do Not Disturb function can be overridden in an emergency.

Although FaceTime has been available for some time, iOS 6 will be the first operating system to support its use over cellular networks. So if a user is not on WiFi but gets a call via FaceTime, they can take it and chat. The big question now, though, is how will it be impacted by the slower cellular speeds?

With the launch of iOS 5, Apple announced that Twitter integration would be made available. This time around, the company has brought Facebook integration to the platform, allowing users to update their status, share content on the social network and see other users’ updates. According to Apple, the Facebook integration will mimic Twitter’s integration in many ways.