iOS6 - meh?

[squire777]

Every company has its time in the limelight at the top, and eventually comes down to be replaced by another company. Apple will lose its luster, it's just a matter of when.

I'm already seeing some resentment from the general public towards Apple so that's a good sign.

 

[sinime]

It's going to take one massive Jedi mind trick to get the sheeple to look at anything that's not Apple.

Jedi mind trick indeed. I can't tell you how often people say they hate WP7 because of the POS windows mobile phone they used to have. I keep telling them WP7 is nothing like the old windows mobile, but they just don't seem to get it.

 

[foosball]

Jedi mind trick indeed. I can't tell you how often people say they hate WP7 because of the POS windows mobile phone they used to have. I keep telling them WP7 is nothing like the old windows mobile, but they just don't seem to get it.

We must be running into the same people. Another few years and we should have cycled thru this but it will persist until the Windows 8 campaign creates a new perception and the 3 screen strategy pays off.

 

[Old_Cus]

I look at Apple differently. They are masters at marketing and giving their customers just enough....each year they release just enough to keep interest going.

This year Apple doesn't have to impress the public with iOS6 because they will be releasing a redesigned iphone5 and that will be enough to keep the masses buzzing.

Next year their iOS7 will be the buzz.

As said before, this is the year for WP to take off with WP8.

 

[bigkevbosky]

I look at Apple differently. They are masters at marketing and giving their customers just enough....each year they release just enough to keep interest going.

This year Apple doesn't have to impress the public with iOS6 because they will be releasing a redesigned iphone5 and that will be enough to keep the masses buzzing.

Next year their iOS7 will be the buzz.

As said before, this is the year for WP to take off with WP8.

I agree - and I don't really bash them because they're making incremental changes to a platform that works well, is clearly "in the lead" money-wise, and has a loyal fanbase. They wouldn't have to do much of anything, and they'd retain most consumers who are loyal to them - but then they might fall into the problem that RIM has fallen into.

I don't have a problem with Apple - but maybe that's because I own Apple products and generally enjoy the experience. I just think, right now, Microsoft is doing it better on the mobile end of things, and they may be doing better on the desktop/tablet side of things as well - time will tell on that one.

 

[snowmutt]

Okay, if we want to be honest:
-As usual, Apple will promote the crud out of the "all new iPhone 5", people will line the block, and cheer each other as they buy them. Apple will sell as many iPhones this year as last and as the year before. iPhones are decent running, easy to use, dependable, well supported and a part of culture. I see them as little more than app launchers, but I respect the product.

-WP is tied to two things: Nokia, and the Windows ecosystem. If Windows Tablets explode in 2013 (likely), and people love them, then that and the laptop/PC business will provide WP with growth. Nokia needs to continue with their excellent Lumina series, and put pressure on Samsung, HTC, and other OEMs to improve their products and support.

By the way- no, not impressed with iOS6. Expected more from a company with a billion dollars to spend on R&D.

 

[fatclue_98]

Okay, if we want to be honest:
-As usual, Apple will promote the crud out of the "all new iPhone 5", people will line the block, and cheer each other as they buy them. Apple will sell as many iPhones this year as last and as the year before. iPhones are decent running, easy to use, dependable, well supported and a part of culture. I see them as little more than app launchers, but I respect the product.

-WP is tied to two things: Nokia, and the Windows ecosystem. If Windows Tablets explode in 2013 (likely), and people love them, then that and the laptop/PC business will provide WP with growth. Nokia needs to continue with their excellent Lumina series, and put pressure on Samsung, HTC, and other OEMs to improve their products and support.

By the way- no, not impressed with iOS6. Expected more from a company with a billion dollars to spend on R&D.

OMG, you committed the Cardinal sin! You called the Nokia a Chevy Lumina. Get ready!!

 

[mafu6]

I have to agree with other peoples comments by saying that even though iOS 6 doesnt impress that much, but Apple will keep not only the loyal fan base but probably attract new users due to the iPhone 5 or the new iPhone.

WP8 needs to really explode agreed they need a MASSIVE market push, hopefully people will be finally coming to the end of their 24 month contracts and be bored of iOS and Android

 

[cckgz4]

No it wasn't impressive but let's not do victory laps. Absolutely means NOTHING for WP sales

 

[sdreamer]

Yeah, gotta agree it wasn't impressive. There was nothing in this that warrants it to be a major release, it's more like an iOS 5.7 or something. Features that stood out to me were:

• Ignore calls with SMS
• Dropping Google Maps for TomTom and adding turn by turn navigation
• Enhanced (?) Siri
• Facebook integration
• Fancy rewards card app

- Ignoring calls with SMS really had me missing my old HTC Fuze, but honestly I never ever used this feature, but it is really nice to boast about.
- The 3D maps was meh, it was more about turn by turn navigation which Windows Phone 7 is missing by default even though they have a working system. I think Microsoft needs to pony up some money, pay the licensing fees for turn by turn navigation and just plain enable it. Switching to Nokia Maps might be good, but I found quite a few errors last time I used Nokia Drive when compared to Bing Maps. I prefer Bing Maps, but Nokia Drive is nice for offline.
- Enhanced Siri? Wtf? Siri couldn't pull sports scores before? It's a pretty simple web search I'd imagine wrapping results into fancy rendered boxes. I can see some use for this, but I have never seen Siri used in the wild aside from accidental activations.
- Facebook integration was like Apple finally catching up to Microsoft's "put people first" sorta thing. It just reminded me of the People Tile integration (I know MS wasn't the first with this idea).
- That fancy wallet thing does some have cool factor to it imo. Like how it's able to say pull up your Starbucks card front and center when you're at a Starbucks, or something similar if you went to a grocery store or airport. It just saves the user a little searching, which is very nice, but really isn't something that needs to be featured as revolutionary.

I think the biggest thing that Apple slapped onto Microsoft's face is the number of devices that will be getting this update. I have a feeling Apollo might follow this if Microsoft is smart about it. Apple is giving iOS all the way down to 3GS, which is about 2.5 generations back in terms of hardware. There's a catch of course that the 3GS won't sport Siri support, neither will the iPhone 4, so they'll be missing out on some of the Siri dependent stuff like the new maps application with turn by turn navigation. (PSA: Which iOS 6 features can my device run? -- Engadget) I think this is the statement Apple made to Microsoft with all these rumors flying around that 1st and 2nd gen handsets won't be jumping to Apollo, "hey we're updating lots of old hardware, what about you?" Microsoft needs to see this and needs to deliver, even if it's going to be like Apple cutting out some features due to new hardware requirements (like NFC based stuff). The whole reason Microsoft kept strict hardware requirements was to make updates easier due to less fragmentation, and if they don't deliver on updates, they'll lose customer credibility, and would just look like hypocrites because of how underspec their hardware is right now compared to the competition that Android is bringing. The ball is in Microsoft's court now, I guess we'll find out next week what they plan.

 

[ashykat]

It was somewhat underwhelming that's for sure. At least iOS is a mature platform though. Safari is a great browser, the maps look nice, obviously every app you could ever want is available. I wish there would have been a UI overhaul but it appears they're treating familiarity as a feature. It's obviously working for them even though it gets boring super fast. I love WP7 and I hope I love WP8 10 times as much. Other platforms are definitely coming around, it's just taking a long time. I think BB10 has some great things going for it, it reminds me a lot of Meego running on the N9, a phone I wish I could get here on Sprint. They've shown the bulk of iOS 6 but I'm sure the next gen iPhone will have another feature that the older phones don't get, so only time will tell if it turns out to be a big deal. One thing is for sure, it's a good time to be a tech geek.

On a slight tangent, I don't understand people saying that the iPhone is overpriced. It's $199 for the 16GB model, on par and less than many other smartphones. Sure you have to add $100 if you want 32GB but we're still not talking about a huge difference. I'd leave the price argument for their laptops, which obviously are much more expensive than PC's.

 

[crystal_planet]

It always seemed to me that the second Apple released its latest iteration, the engineers toasted themselves and went back to their desks to design the next generation - like their timetable was years ahead. The products for the most part are polished and look like they're ready for prime time right off the hop. Well...maybe not all the time. (Looking at you - Mac Book with retinal display)

They do have something I wish we had - the most rabid fanbase in all creation. When you look up "******" in the dictionary there will inevitably be a picture of some joker hugging his 4S to chest with tears of rapture rolling down his cheeks.

The point is like many have said here, it would take an awful lot to make people turn away from i(whatever).

As an aside, I used to work with an Apple IT guy on occasion. Imagine a ****** with enough knowledge (and a boatload of arrogance) to transform me from a mild mannered IT guy myself, into a seething ball of anger that wanted to punch babies after spending a mere 5 minutes with him. At one point I asked him, "If Apple is so wonderful, why does every Mac network I've encountered have a Windows emulator running on all the desktops? And why haven't I ever seen an Apple server?"

**crickets chirping**