Apple iOS6 Preview(apple.com)
apple.com
Apple iOS6 Preview
http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/
157 comments
Sort of FYI, Google's original effort at providing their own database for map information was that Navtec would not license them the right to use map data for turn-by-turn navigation. It was really quite amazing to see all of the constraints that were put on map data (it was so much easier for Trimble, the original company, to exploit their map database than to try to compete in the gadget space).
I don't doubt that Apple has been working on their own database to use for turn by turn and it wasn't until now that they had it ready to go. Stuff you need that isn't "normally" in a GIS database are driving restrictions, road quality metrics, etc. There are also 'quirks' exceptions for this data like "In theory you can get from A->B->C in Portland on this route but you really want to go A->D->C." some of the "roads" in SE Portland would challenge dune buggies :-)
I don't doubt that Apple has been working on their own database to use for turn by turn and it wasn't until now that they had it ready to go. Stuff you need that isn't "normally" in a GIS database are driving restrictions, road quality metrics, etc. There are also 'quirks' exceptions for this data like "In theory you can get from A->B->C in Portland on this route but you really want to go A->D->C." some of the "roads" in SE Portland would challenge dune buggies :-)
In my former life in US-GEO (MapPoint, Streets & Trips, 1997 or 1998) at Microsoft, one of the tools I worked on normalized data sets from disparate vendors. One of the largest jobs we had was figuring out mappings from the "north" of one vendor and the "north" of another, as the vendors for high-quality data sets varied from locale to locale.
Frequently, you would need to rotate and transform the data to get it close enough that the geometry could be snapped together. This usually required some manual intervention; nothing like the human eye for detecting an array of streets suddenly had a 1 degree kink where it crossed some stitching line.
Our licensing for the data sets was very strict, and deformed the products in interesting ways, as you might imagine.
My fondest memory of working with that group was inserting POIs - we all got a POI, provided it wasn't obscene or something. I named a feature close to where I grew up; sadly, the POIs were culled every edition.
Frequently, you would need to rotate and transform the data to get it close enough that the geometry could be snapped together. This usually required some manual intervention; nothing like the human eye for detecting an array of streets suddenly had a 1 degree kink where it crossed some stitching line.
Our licensing for the data sets was very strict, and deformed the products in interesting ways, as you might imagine.
My fondest memory of working with that group was inserting POIs - we all got a POI, provided it wasn't obscene or something. I named a feature close to where I grew up; sadly, the POIs were culled every edition.
Sort of FYI, Google's original effort at providing their own database for map information was that Navtec would not license them the right to use map data for turn-by-turn navigation.
Of course Navteq would allow them to use map data for turn-by-turn navigation, but Google didn't want to pay the price they were asking for license fees.
Earlier Navteq and Tele Atlas had a duopoli in worldwide map data - no-one else had as good coverage as they had. And they used tiered licensing structure. On lower tiers, you were allowed to display maps, but you couldn't use them for turn-by-turn navigation or for example dynamically show locations of your friends.
Of course Navteq would allow them to use map data for turn-by-turn navigation, but Google didn't want to pay the price they were asking for license fees.
Earlier Navteq and Tele Atlas had a duopoli in worldwide map data - no-one else had as good coverage as they had. And they used tiered licensing structure. On lower tiers, you were allowed to display maps, but you couldn't use them for turn-by-turn navigation or for example dynamically show locations of your friends.
Actually in that particular case, according to what the employees were told at one of the TGIF events, previous deals Navtec had made with navigation device vendors precluded them from licensing Google the turn by turn rights at any price.
Now that may have been a misstatement, but it was presented as a large part of the rationale for the whole project which encompassed getting rights to satellites, driving data, broadcast source locations, etc etc. Things like "we bought Keyhole and got great satellite imagery but we're forbidden from image processing that imagery into a map, so we bought a satellite and took our own damn pictures." It played well with the whole 'think bigger than that' mantra that Larry Page embodied.
Now that may have been a misstatement, but it was presented as a large part of the rationale for the whole project which encompassed getting rights to satellites, driving data, broadcast source locations, etc etc. Things like "we bought Keyhole and got great satellite imagery but we're forbidden from image processing that imagery into a map, so we bought a satellite and took our own damn pictures." It played well with the whole 'think bigger than that' mantra that Larry Page embodied.
Good quality of results is difficult to get even on paved roads without "boots on the ground". Consider driving down a street with stop signs at every intersection (NW Northrup St) or one with speed bumps every block (SE 41st Ave).
Yes, when people asked me why Google was spending millions on driving around taking a picture of every street I explained they were actually taking pictures of the signs on every street :-) That you can see your front door is just a bonus on top of the intelligence that is gained by being able to image process miles and miles of streets for data about how they are used (or not).
Or both...yesterday google maps on my iPhone took me to Taylor Ave in Sunnyvale. Those are stop signs and gutters deep enough for cars to scrape the ground! Either street north or south would have been better.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.384429,-122.022368&spn=0....
https://maps.google.com/?ll=37.384429,-122.022368&spn=0....
Maps in iOS6 look great, but will moving away from Google break legacy apps for <5.1? I'm sure main stuff will integrate pretty seamlessly, but what about the little stuff? (e.g. in a UIWebView, if I make a link to google maps, when the user clicks it, they are taken to the Map app). In the long run, it's the right decision, I'm just eager to test some of our MapKit apps on iOS6, to see what breaks
FWIW, my small app which uses MKMapView just to show a location - works fine on iOS6 as is. Of course. I'd guess that API (is and) will be backward compatible.
I'll chime in here as I'm currently working on an app that uses MapKit extensively. MKMapViews work in pretty much the same way as they did in iOS 5, no breaking changes.
The one thing that did break in my case was the feature of my app that opened up a walking route in the old Maps app. On iOS 5 this is done by redirecting any maps.google.com URL requests to the Maps app but of course this doesn't work with the new method. Thankfully they've replaced this with a generic API that allows you to programmatically create a routing request (no more string concatenation!) and pass it to any app which implements the required protocol for handling it, right now that's just the Maps app but I'm sure that selection will expand once iOS 6 is out.
The one thing that did break in my case was the feature of my app that opened up a walking route in the old Maps app. On iOS 5 this is done by redirecting any maps.google.com URL requests to the Maps app but of course this doesn't work with the new method. Thankfully they've replaced this with a generic API that allows you to programmatically create a routing request (no more string concatenation!) and pass it to any app which implements the required protocol for handling it, right now that's just the Maps app but I'm sure that selection will expand once iOS 6 is out.
It really bothered me that Google Maps on Android got vector maps and the iOS Google Maps didn't. I guess that won't be a problem for me later this year.
Did I just read this right "iOS 6 brings even better web browsing to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch." .... "And when you’re posting a photo or video to eBay, Craigslist, or another site, you can take photos and video — or choose from your Camera Roll — without leaving Safari." mobile web just took a huge step forward if so.....
This has been in HTML for almost 2 years now. Rather than being a step forward foe the mobile web, it shows how behind the mobile web is, as the two most dominant players in mobile only update their browsers once a year.
I'm guessing iOS6 doesn't add support for IndexedDB either. So we're stuck using the deprecated WebSQL until mid 2013 or later.
I'm guessing iOS6 doesn't add support for IndexedDB either. So we're stuck using the deprecated WebSQL until mid 2013 or later.
> it shows how behind the mobile web is, as the two most dominant players in mobile only update their browsers once a year.
As opposed to the desktop world where IE 8 is still your best-case minimum browser?
As opposed to the desktop world where IE 8 is still your best-case minimum browser?
As opposed to the desktop where you can install any browser you want.
… which changes little because actual web developers have to support the worst-case browser for all of the millions of people who don't install a modern browser. For most of us who aren't running something like a Mac or browser nerd website, that means the latest version of IE available to Windows XP users.
Didn't realize until just now what a pain it is to post photos on craigslist, etc: take photo with camera/phone, sync with laptop, use laptop to post photo. That's probably the reason Instagram had traction. Is this already easy on Android?
There are Craigslist apps out there that work great. I used Craigslist Mobile last week (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/craigslist-mobile-photo-previ...) to post a bunch of stuff without leaving my phone. Was super easy to use and fast.
Yep, it looks like Safari's getting upload support. Finally!
Ooh, if this means that even a file upload limited to photos is available then that makes my life a million times easier.
I really wouldn't call it a huge step forward for mobile web as much as it's a huge step forward for Apple.
For what it's worth, my BlackBerry Curve from 6+ years ago supported form uploads. Apple was just years behind on this.
For what it's worth, my BlackBerry Curve from 6+ years ago supported form uploads. Apple was just years behind on this.
I'm very curious about the Passbook app. This seems to be the beginning of Apple's payments platform, and not just that; coupons, location based alerts, and - why not - P2P payments.
Yeah, this stuck out to me as well, more than pretty much anything else they announced this morning. This has the potential to be quite a large piece of their ecosystem. If they do it like they have done with iCloud -- starting out with a few applications, then expand its functionality later -- then it could be quite interesting.
That's exactly what I was thinking. Android has a lot of features. Turn by turn directions? Android has had it for years. Notifications? Android first. Video calls over cellular? Android apps did that.
But Passport, that's a fantastic feature. Adding in the geofencing (so my airline ticket shows up when I get to the airport) is genius.
But more than anything else, you know that everyone is going to integrate into this. Every brand already has their own app (some with this sort of functionality). That's going to be a HUGE block of users.
Android apps can't easily fill that space, because they'll all have different standards. The fact that there is only one standard on iOS now is very convenient. Google could add one, but that would take dev time, not to mention how long it would take to get 5.0 on a reasonable number of devices.
It wasn't a headline, but it could easily be one of those features that everyone ends up loving and using all the time.
But Passport, that's a fantastic feature. Adding in the geofencing (so my airline ticket shows up when I get to the airport) is genius.
But more than anything else, you know that everyone is going to integrate into this. Every brand already has their own app (some with this sort of functionality). That's going to be a HUGE block of users.
Android apps can't easily fill that space, because they'll all have different standards. The fact that there is only one standard on iOS now is very convenient. Google could add one, but that would take dev time, not to mention how long it would take to get 5.0 on a reasonable number of devices.
It wasn't a headline, but it could easily be one of those features that everyone ends up loving and using all the time.
Some of the ideas behind passport are available in other apps or on other platforms. Windows Phone 7.5 has something very similar for boarding passes/departure information via live tiles.
The downsides to the Windows Phone approach is that it's for specific apps and specific airlines.
What do you mean by "Android apps can't easily fill that space, because they'll all have different standards." ?
Passport looks very similar to part of the features already available in things like Google Wallet and Square's Card Case.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this doesn't have the potential to be great for Apple, iPhone users, retailers, and iOS app developers ....
The downsides to the Windows Phone approach is that it's for specific apps and specific airlines.
What do you mean by "Android apps can't easily fill that space, because they'll all have different standards." ?
Passport looks very similar to part of the features already available in things like Google Wallet and Square's Card Case.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this doesn't have the potential to be great for Apple, iPhone users, retailers, and iOS app developers ....
Google Offers on Android IIRC already has this capability. When you enter a region where a deal or offer is applicable, you get notified.
Indeed, this is huge. Passbook seems like prime commercial real-estate on iDevices.
Totally. I would go so far as to say it's the most important new feature of iOS 6 - I do a lot of apps work with retail clients, and some of the things passbook provides (alerts when you enter a store, etc) are in high demand. Centralising all your coupons, tickets, and loyalty cards means people are going to be more likely to use them (since you don't have to faff around in individual apps or sites). Very much looking forward to learning more about it!
I hope they pair it with a hardware solution to emulate RFID cards and key fobs. Work badges, transit cards, Zipcard, key fobs to get into the apartment building--we all have a ton of these, why not distribute them electronically?
Wonder if it'll integrate with Square.
Bring your iPhone with a coupon, have iPhone based POS recognize it wirelessly or via QR code.
Bring your iPhone with a coupon, have iPhone based POS recognize it wirelessly or via QR code.
looks like a lot of catchup with android.
from maps to sharing to video chat to reply with text message to offline browsing, android has all of this.
competition is a wonderful thing. this is the right way to do it (not with a lawsuit)
competition is a wonderful thing. this is the right way to do it (not with a lawsuit)
Easy reply messages / reminders accessible when you have an incoming call? Passbook? (this one is huge)
> Easy reply messages / reminders accessible when you have an incoming call?
Reply via text has been a popular feature in custom Android ROMs for a while. Setting a reminder is new to me, though.
Reply via text has been a popular feature in custom Android ROMs for a while. Setting a reminder is new to me, though.
Ironically, those "copyists" Samsung and HTC had "reject call with text" in their Gingerbread editions of TouchWiz and Sense (I'm not sure about earlier skins since I haven't used them), even before Google added it to ICS. I'm sure both are kicking themselves that they didn't try to patent it (though I suppose patents move slowly, so maybe they have).
It's likely not patentable, similar feature has been in old Nokia phones years ago.
Many current mobile usage ideas, like e.g. location based reminders, Nokia had in design board or development internally already in early 2000s. Many ideas are common sense. At the end of the day, ideas don't matter that much, it's the execution that matters.
Many current mobile usage ideas, like e.g. location based reminders, Nokia had in design board or development internally already in early 2000s. Many ideas are common sense. At the end of the day, ideas don't matter that much, it's the execution that matters.
Oh, I totally agree on patentability, but... not patentable and not getting past the USPTO are two very, very different things.
If HTC and/or Samsung were to get their own versions of the "slide-to-unlock" nonsense past the the USPTO, that would substantially affect at least the US theater of the mobile patent wars.
If HTC and/or Samsung were to get their own versions of the "slide-to-unlock" nonsense past the the USPTO, that would substantially affect at least the US theater of the mobile patent wars.
Reply via text was a key feature on Palm Treo a decade ago. I believe Blackberry too.
The reminder looks very cool. I use iOS reminders every day. Often with location info too.
The reminder looks very cool. I use iOS reminders every day. Often with location info too.
Interesting that the new Maps makes no mention of public transit support. Is that gone completely now? It looks like your app can register as a "router" to support different types of navigation routing, but it would suck if that is no longer built in.
That would be a hang-up for me. I'm pretty dependent on Maps for busing around to random destinations in SF...
Since it was Google's data, Apple will probably build it back in at some other point since it's what they've done previously.
Hopefully Google will produce (and be allowed) a Google Maps app for iOS.
And we will see whether Apple will allow such app in their store. I would imagine they will not, because they would rather have people using their own maps, but perhaps they will be benevolent this time.
Apple seems to have moved away from disallowing apps for "duplicate core functionality" - we have GVoice, Sparrow, Camera+ now. I don't see how they could not allow it.
If I had to guess, Google will attempt to get it into the App Store before iOS 6 is released. Apple will probably end up delaying approval of the app for a few months after iOS 6 to let users become accustomed to using their own solution.
Apple could use the same data standard as Google does already:
https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs/reference
I'm sure the transit providers would be happy to provide the same feed to Apple and Google, but it looks like Apple want to make something new and incompatible.
I'm sure the transit providers would be happy to provide the same feed to Apple and Google, but it looks like Apple want to make something new and incompatible.
Supposedly it integrates with third-party apps. If done well, this would be great--in Seattle, I have to integrate directions from Maps with information from OneBusAway by eyeball.
At least the beta supposedly just points you at the app store for public transport in Boston.
(haven't tried this myself, asked a friend of mine who installed the beta)
(haven't tried this myself, asked a friend of mine who installed the beta)
Right now transit directions are dead in the water since nothing in the App Store supports the new API yet.
"Dead in the water" means no progress will be made.
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/dead+in+the+wat...
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/dead+in+the+wat...
Passport could be pretty big... point of sale advertising, in store purchases, promotion, etc... A lot of potential revenue here.
I had an idea similar a while back and then found... http://keyringapp.com/
Apple is in a much better position to launch something like this, as it needs quite a few relationships difficult for a new start up to establish and scale.
I had an idea similar a while back and then found... http://keyringapp.com/
Apple is in a much better position to launch something like this, as it needs quite a few relationships difficult for a new start up to establish and scale.
Impressed by all the new accessibility features! Guided Access seems like it will be hugely useful for both parents and professionals working with children with autism - in addition to the example from the keynote of administering tests on the iPad.
A big yes! As a father of an autistic child, the first thing I actually cheered for was being able to lock out the home button! Such a simple thing will make a big difference. I haven't even spent much time looking at the other features under Guided Access yet.
Guided Access also seems like it'd be useful for setting up applications for "kiosks" and other restricted environments.
One of my greatest points of irritation with the old Maps app is that there are no scale bars. People working on Google Maps have told me it's Apple's problem, and Apple employees (though granted not people directly involved with iOS) have told me it's Google's problem. Maybe now that it's all under one roof, someone can figure out how to put them in...
I wish the zoom slider existed too. Sometimes I cannot afford to use two hands to pinch-squeeze and it would be nice to adjust zoom level with one finger.
you can double-tap with one finger or two fingers to do stepped zoom in or zoom out
I wish they had added some form of multi-user or user control to iOS. Today, if you hand your iOS device to someone they can access things you might not want them to. Same if you loose it or need a repair. I'd love to setup users for kids and guests and segment app access in this fashion.
I've been trying to get serious about claiming specific periods of the day for productivity, and have been trying to find a good way to allow my wife to still contact me in case of emergencies while otherwise preventing other distractions from coming through on my phone. The new Do Not Disturb features are exactly what I've been looking for, and I really like some of the specific touches like the ability to let people call twice to bypass the setting.
That's a nice feature, but still looks half-baked for me.
It's now ios6 and you still need to jailbreak your iphone to blacklist people harassing you with phone calls or imessage.
What I do need is a blacklist feature which send to /dev/null people I don't want to talk to or receive imessage or sms from, and the DND feature looks more like a whitelist only available to phone calls.
Maybe in ios 7 ? It seems like a basic feature and I wonder which Apple Developper Program rule prevent to develop such an app available in the app store.
Can't you just blacklist on your provider?
No, I can't !
There's no way a provider could help you block unwanted imessages sender or unwanted facetime caller anyway.
What is your provider who let you do that for free on behalf of apple products ?
well ok, with imessage it doesn't work, but you also talked about phone calls. I agree, blacklisting should be there.
If you are using a Blackberry, my Blackberry App (Callernizer) does exactly that.
It's hard to get excited when there is no mention of how well it is supported in the UK. I don't know how well Siri will do in the UK with the updates and if we will get the map support for turn by turn.
We still can't search for businesses in the UK
We still can't search for businesses in the UK
It's the same in Canada. It's quite frustrating, especially when that's one of the heavily marketed parts of Siri.
I was interested to see "The Transamerica Pyramid Building is a registered service mark of Transamerica Corporation" at the bottom of the page.
I can't see how using a photograph of SF requires this disclaimer.
I can't see how using a photograph of SF requires this disclaimer.
Better safe than sorry? I agree with you, but maybe Transamerica Corporation's legal department would think it's too close to their ads and such (huge stretch though).
So... is this maps thing going to work in Europe?
Anyone know when the iOS 6 SDK will be released to non-paying developers? I'm not enrolled in the developer program, as I have no intention of publishing an app to the app store at the moment, but I'd like to play around with the new APIs.
Free developer accounts get to download the SDK when the iOS software is released to the public.
And since major iOS releases are tied to new iPhone releases, you're looking at sometime this fall.
And since major iOS releases are tied to new iPhone releases, you're looking at sometime this fall.
Anyone able to download the beta yet, or is everyone getting "Access Denied" like I am?
If you look at the Passbook preview (http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/#passbook), the example is 'John's card' with Starbucks. Johnathan's card anyone?
Their examples almost always use an Apple ID with the name "Johnny Appleseed"
I find it strange, but perhaps I'm just missing some crucial, that it appears as if this update is really just app updates for ios? I do not own any ios device but I normally expect some updates to the OS itself in some capacity. Am I reading this list wrong?
China will be a very significant market for Apple. Here Google gains too much competitors, the biggest competitors are partners of Apple now.
And also the market potential, there are still lot of demand of iOS devices, Mac OS devices, more than North America.
And also the market potential, there are still lot of demand of iOS devices, Mac OS devices, more than North America.
The same way the answer to a headline with a question mark is no, every time I read "even more" in a new product description I understand "nothing new", and there are a lot of "even more" on this one.
A bit bummed that Siri in iOS 6 won't be supporting iPhone 4
Not sure how I feel about the Facebook integration...
Siri needs to learn R-R-Russian :).
iOS was a revelation in 2007 but it seems to have stalled since then. The static grid of information-free tiles and clunky task management are starting to feel downright archaic even compared to Android and their decent into cheap skeuomorphism continues unabated.
Apple is lucky Google is having so much trouble getting ICS out there.
Apple is lucky Google is having so much trouble getting ICS out there.
On the flip side both the iPhone and iPad have amazing customer satisfaction numbers so we can probably conclude that most iOS users like things the way they are. Why would Apple want to change it up too much? If live tiles or better task management were important we'd all be using WP7 or WebOS.
Sure, it shows how far ahead of the game Apple was in 2007.
But they've left the door open for competitors, in my opinion. If Google had the distribution issues plaguing ICS sorted out they would be in trouble, IMO, particularly because the iOS UI conventions are more awkward on tablets and that's currently Apple's stronghold.
But they've left the door open for competitors, in my opinion. If Google had the distribution issues plaguing ICS sorted out they would be in trouble, IMO, particularly because the iOS UI conventions are more awkward on tablets and that's currently Apple's stronghold.
iOS 6 is not compatible with: iPad 1
Maybe Apple should warn people that when they shell out $600.00 for an Ipad that in about 2 years Apple will no longer support it with their new software. I was looking to buy an Apple laptop. Not now. Not EVER! Why would I? will Apple refuse to support that with new software in 2 years? What a JOKE. I did not know that my iPad would be treated by Apple like a disposable throw away item like a cardboard camera. My first purchase of an Apple product will be my last. I took a bite of the apple and all I got was a worm. Steve Jobs told us it was a magical device. I feel it was more of a rotten apple
The iPad 1 is more than two years old, so is not supported in upcoming OS versions. Every iOS devices has been updated only two major OS versions so far; it looks like the 3GS will be the first to beat this trend with three major OS updates from iOS 3, but has the advantage of a rather low resolution screen needing less memory for graphics.
It's kind of lame, but it was clear within weeks after launch that the original iPad was gimped for RAM. Apple manged to make it bearable for a while, but iOS 5 on the original iPad has always been hitchy with a crashy Mobile Safari, so it's no surprise that iOS isn't going to be supported.
And yet the 3GS is supported. I think I'm right in saying that almost no one would have worried too much if Apple had dropped the 3GS too. They would have understood that the 3GS wouldn't be able to run the latest and greatest iOS. The fact that they are supporting the 3GS and not iPad 1 is surprising.
The difference is that you can as of today get a 3GS free with contract. Don't underestimate Apple's desire to push competitors out of the low end of the smartphone market. Steve Jobs always said that the Mac went premium when they should have been going for market share and that Apple wouldn't make such a mistake again. Supporting the 3GS is critical for that. Especially when you consider global expansion.
The iPad 1 does not have contract lock-in and is not actively being sold by Apple. Apple is not facing serious tablet competition right now so what incentive do they have to support the iPad 1? What are people going to do, throw out the iPad 1 for a Kindle Fire? Maybe if Windows 8 or Android get their act together, but right now, Apple is chasing demand and has little incentive to support old hardware when they can push you into the new one. This is why the tablet space needs some real competition.
The iPad 1 does not have contract lock-in and is not actively being sold by Apple. Apple is not facing serious tablet competition right now so what incentive do they have to support the iPad 1? What are people going to do, throw out the iPad 1 for a Kindle Fire? Maybe if Windows 8 or Android get their act together, but right now, Apple is chasing demand and has little incentive to support old hardware when they can push you into the new one. This is why the tablet space needs some real competition.
> The iPad 1 does not have contract lock-in and is not actively being sold by Apple
Bingo. Apple still sells new 3GS phones, so it would directly impact customers that may be buying their products today. This isn't the case with the iPad1.
Apple rarely does things (solely) based on technical requirements or some architectural vision. It may be frustrating, but it is consistent - they are primarily customer focused, not specs-focused or vision-focused. Yes, there is attention to specs and an underlying vision of computing, but they are 2nd to the (paying) customers.
Bingo. Apple still sells new 3GS phones, so it would directly impact customers that may be buying their products today. This isn't the case with the iPad1.
Apple rarely does things (solely) based on technical requirements or some architectural vision. It may be frustrating, but it is consistent - they are primarily customer focused, not specs-focused or vision-focused. Yes, there is attention to specs and an underlying vision of computing, but they are 2nd to the (paying) customers.
It's likely still a memory issue though rather than anything to do with the CPU. As with the 4th gen touch, it's smaller display on the 3G likely means it has enough memory for enough of iOS 6 features compared to the iPad 1.
I think you're probably right - to give some context, the iPhone 3GS and iPad 1 have the same amount of RAM (256MB), but the iPad has to push roughly four times the amount of pixels as the 3GS.
The 3GS phones are still being sold. It would be a real surprise if it didn't support a product currently on the market ...
I currently have a 3GS and am planning on getting the new iPhone when it's released, and will give my 3GS to a family member when that times comes. I'm excited about the new features for iOS6, but I'm a little wary of the performance. Upgrading from iOS4 to iOS5 was quite nice, but it caused a large number of performance hits when it came to app loading and switching between apps. Even bringing up my Messages would cause delays in which I could count to "10-Mississippi" before finally being able to let me interact with it. I don't expect it to perform the same was at an iPhone 4(s)/(new one), but it does make me grit my teeth a little sometimes :)
Agreed - the iPad 2 is also still being sold, so there's incentive to support that too (over the iPad 1).
The iPad 1 has the same 256MB of RAM but it has to allocate more than double the amount of space towards VRAM than a 3GS. Also in general iPad applications have a larger memory footprint than iPhone applications. Those two factors combined pretty much doomed it. Most importantly Apple just decided to starve it of RAM. Very bad design choice.
I'm not surprised, as iOS went thru 3 versions on iPad, and the newest hardware is far enough ahead of the old that keeping up compatibility across all versions (original hardware included) would grow strained.
But yeah, that's a big downer. I'm still lovin' my iPad 1, and won't be able to swing a replacement anytime soon (assuming the new iMacs show up, which to the surprise of many didn't today).
But yeah, that's a big downer. I'm still lovin' my iPad 1, and won't be able to swing a replacement anytime soon (assuming the new iMacs show up, which to the surprise of many didn't today).
First generation hardware is difficult to support. They dropped the original iPhone in iOS 3.
That almost gave me an aneurysm at the time - I had a first generation iPod touch, and it quickly became less useful app-wise. But long term it was still probably the right move, iOS 3 ran slowly on the first gen touch.
And iOS 6 dropped the third generation iPod Touch. Even iOS 4 is noticably laggy on mine.
Yea, this is a real downer. I still like my iPad 1 and was planning on upgrading eventually, but it feels like Apple is kind of forcing my hand here. PS I realize I don't have to upgrade, so Apple isn't really forcing me to do anything.
An iPad 1 is not trash, even though it can't run iOS6. I suspect you'll be surprised how well it holds its value when you resell yours.
Not to mention that, but you can jailbreak it and install things via cydia.
Looked into selling our 64GB WiFi+3G iPad 1 just after the launch of the new iPad. Going rate on eBay was ~AU$350, originally AU$1050. For that, plus the losses in fees, we just kept it.
I'm really getting sick of this "throw-away hardware" culture that Apple is enforcing.
Just because iPad 1 can't run iOS 6 doesn't mean it's suddenly "trash".
Also, the first iPad is woefully underpowered – thanks to the display, it's quite memory and graphics constrained. It's entirely possible Apple wasn't willing get new iOS features working well on that hardware, especially considering iPad 1's install base is a rapidly decreasing percentage of the overall iPad market.
Just because iPad 1 can't run iOS 6 doesn't mean it's suddenly "trash".
Also, the first iPad is woefully underpowered – thanks to the display, it's quite memory and graphics constrained. It's entirely possible Apple wasn't willing get new iOS features working well on that hardware, especially considering iPad 1's install base is a rapidly decreasing percentage of the overall iPad market.
Lots of iOS 6 features doesn't require more processing power. They could have easily turned off the features that did, just like they did with iOS 5 on the iPhone 3G / 3GS.
But they don't have an incentive to do that, and it would mean more work for them supporting a shrinking user base.
However, customer loyalty may have been increased quite a bit by providing updates for more than 2 years. I'd have much less of a problem with Apple dropping iOS 7 support on the iPad 1, for instance.
But they don't have an incentive to do that, and it would mean more work for them supporting a shrinking user base.
However, customer loyalty may have been increased quite a bit by providing updates for more than 2 years. I'd have much less of a problem with Apple dropping iOS 7 support on the iPad 1, for instance.
I could see that being confusing to people. "iOS 6 includes Ultra Photos! But not on your device. Yes, you do have iOS 6, just not the good iOS 6."
My parents have an iPad one, and I've used an iPad 2 at work. I've got to say I'm not that surprised, as the thing is clearly constrained as it is. It's over 2 years old, so it's not like they just suddenly abandoned it. And you can still get iOS apps for it for quite a while. I know there are apps I use that still support iOS 3.
My parents have an iPad one, and I've used an iPad 2 at work. I've got to say I'm not that surprised, as the thing is clearly constrained as it is. It's over 2 years old, so it's not like they just suddenly abandoned it. And you can still get iOS apps for it for quite a while. I know there are apps I use that still support iOS 3.
It may be confusing but hat's how it already works. No Siri or turn-by-turn for iphone 3GS or 4 etc.
It supports iPhone 3GS, though, but that does have lower resolution.
Dramatically lower resolution. That's the key – iPad's larger display puts far more pressure on its GPU and, because there's no dedicated VRAM, it also increases the system's memory usage and reduces the amount of free RAM usable by apps. The latter issue is really a serious problem on the first iPad.
Agreed. I hated browsing the web on the iPad one because it could only hold one tab loaded at a time, and refresh the others when you moved between them.
iPad 3, sorry, 'new iPad' is vastly improved. iPad 1 is now kid's iPad: iView & jigsaw puzzles. :)
I forgot about the display. It's likely it increases memory requirements relative to the 4th gen touch enough to be a problem.
I don't care about new iOS features, or any of their iCloud nonsense, I know it won't support Siri (ipad1 lacked a microphone).
What I do care about is the web browser on my iPad not receiving any software updates... ever. That's a serious problem. Without any software upgrades ever, the iPad will become the future IE. In fact, this is worse because of Apple's closed system they also won't allow 3rd parties to upgrade the software either. That means no new web browsers, audio players, or any other new type of software which might threaten their platform.
Apple wants to pretend that software can't be upgraded because you're using old hardware, which not only is completely retarded, it defeats the purpose of software.
What I do care about is the web browser on my iPad not receiving any software updates... ever. That's a serious problem. Without any software upgrades ever, the iPad will become the future IE. In fact, this is worse because of Apple's closed system they also won't allow 3rd parties to upgrade the software either. That means no new web browsers, audio players, or any other new type of software which might threaten their platform.
Apple wants to pretend that software can't be upgraded because you're using old hardware, which not only is completely retarded, it defeats the purpose of software.
Without any software upgrades ever, the iPad will become the future IE. In fact, this is worse because of Apple's closed system they also won't allow 3rd parties to upgrade the software either.
Huh? Citation needed. Apple didn't suddenly cut off App Store updates to iPad 1. Developers are free to support (or not support) iOS 5, just as they were with other iOS updates.
Furthermore, are you remotely surprised by this? iPhones prior to iPhone 3GS aren't supported by iOS 5.
Do you have the same issues with Android? There's a platform that's destined to be the "future IE". How many Android users are stuck on 2.2 or 2.3, with a horribly crippled browser?
Finally, Apple does allow other browsers, audio players and other new types of software. They don't threaten Apple's platform, the bolster it.
I'm not sure where you're digging up this FUD, but it's way off base.
Huh? Citation needed. Apple didn't suddenly cut off App Store updates to iPad 1. Developers are free to support (or not support) iOS 5, just as they were with other iOS updates.
Furthermore, are you remotely surprised by this? iPhones prior to iPhone 3GS aren't supported by iOS 5.
Do you have the same issues with Android? There's a platform that's destined to be the "future IE". How many Android users are stuck on 2.2 or 2.3, with a horribly crippled browser?
Finally, Apple does allow other browsers, audio players and other new types of software. They don't threaten Apple's platform, the bolster it.
I'm not sure where you're digging up this FUD, but it's way off base.
Apple doesn't allow third parties to upgrade iOS's built-in apps. If you're running Windows XP you can replace IE6 with a modern Firefox, but if you're running an iPad 1 it's WebKit version whatever for the rest of time. (The only "browsers" allowed by Apple are basically thin shells around the built-in WebKit.)
> How many Android users are stuck on 2.2 or 2.3, with a horribly crippled browser?
The answer is: most of them. ~90.2% are on Android 2.3 or below as of June 1, 2012[1].
[1] http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-ve...
The answer is: most of them. ~90.2% are on Android 2.3 or below as of June 1, 2012[1].
[1] http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-ve...
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I suggest we add Apple/Android criticisms to Godwyn's law. whenever anything negative is said about Apple, someone inevitably turns it into an Android bash instead. The same applies in reverse.
In this instance, the grandparent was spreading FUD about Apple, so the usual Apple/Android digs have come out.
"Do you have the same issues with Android? There's a platform that's destined to be the "future IE". How many Android users are stuck on 2.2 or 2.3, with a horribly crippled browser?"
You do realize that there are third party browsers on Android that have their own rendering engines that you can install right? You don't have to ever use the built in Android browser if you don't want to. I've found Firefox works quite well actually.
You do realize that there are third party browsers on Android that have their own rendering engines that you can install right? You don't have to ever use the built in Android browser if you don't want to. I've found Firefox works quite well actually.
You could always install Firefox on Windows 2000, too. Didn't mean IE6 wasn't a major problem.
Apple doesn't pretend anything. You're just making reasons up. They didn't state any reason for not providing iOS 6 for the first iPad. They are a company. Common sense dictates that if they saw a viable reason to invest the resources into the first iPad, they would have.
iPad 1 does have a microphone.
The processor has to wavelet compress the audio and ship it off to Siri for processing. Apple might not be happy with the performance on the original iPad.
I recall that someone got it running on a jailbroken device. I don't remember how well it worked.
The processor has to wavelet compress the audio and ship it off to Siri for processing. Apple might not be happy with the performance on the original iPad.
I recall that someone got it running on a jailbroken device. I don't remember how well it worked.
If other audio recording apps (I've never used any) work just fine then any excuses Apple uses to not support Siri the iPad is a load of bullshit.
It's not that simple.
Recording is easy. Dump the ADC output to a buffer and call it a WAV file. Or an AU.
Sending it to Siri requires chunking the audio into small pieces, compressing them with a wavelet table (I'm assuming here, my DSP knowledge is a bit dated), and shipping them off to North Carolina.
If this can't be done quickly, Siri appears to suck. Apple is religiously conservative about enabling features on hardware that might cause the experience to suck.
Audio compression was a slow thing on desktop computers when desktop computers had similar specs to the first iPad. I'm no authority, but this seems like a relevant detail to me.
Recording is easy. Dump the ADC output to a buffer and call it a WAV file. Or an AU.
Sending it to Siri requires chunking the audio into small pieces, compressing them with a wavelet table (I'm assuming here, my DSP knowledge is a bit dated), and shipping them off to North Carolina.
If this can't be done quickly, Siri appears to suck. Apple is religiously conservative about enabling features on hardware that might cause the experience to suck.
Audio compression was a slow thing on desktop computers when desktop computers had similar specs to the first iPad. I'm no authority, but this seems like a relevant detail to me.
The installed base for iPad 1 won't be anywhere near as large as that for IE6. It's a ridiculous concern.
I too have a first model iPad and it sucks, but I also kinda expected it. Other developers also don't seem that much surprised/disappointed. The problem is RAM: The iPhone 3GS and the iPad have the same amount of RAM, but the iPad has twice the resolution and almost 5 times the amount of pixels to push to screen.
I suspect Apple and third party App developers will support the second Generation iPad exceptionally long, because it is still selling (obviously), it has much better hardware specs and it outsold the first Generation over 3:1. It makes sense to make the cut now with iOS 6.
iPad 1 has a microphone, I Skype on it all the time.
iPad 1 does have a microphone; I use mine for Skype calling at times.
Oops, I've actually never used it. So I guess Siri should be able to work on iPad 1 also. Anything Apple says about the hardware being incapable of using Siri sounds is probably a load of their typical bullshit.
They're still supporting the iPhone 3GS, aren't they?
If they had a viable reason to put resources into the iPad 1 and have it meet their performance and usability requirements, they would have.
If they had a viable reason to put resources into the iPad 1 and have it meet their performance and usability requirements, they would have.
They're still selling the iPhone 3GS.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iph...
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iph...
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The purpose of Apple software is to sell Apple hardware. In this sense, forced obsolescence works wonderfully... for them.
Unlike all those 2010 Android devices that are all running ICS... er ...
So far the main reason Apple has not supported new OS updates on old hardware is due to hardware requirements, usually memory. I agree it seems odd as the 4th gen touch is basically the same spec as the iPad 1, but in general their record in this area is unmatched by any of their competition. Nobody else even comes close.
So far the main reason Apple has not supported new OS updates on old hardware is due to hardware requirements, usually memory. I agree it seems odd as the 4th gen touch is basically the same spec as the iPad 1, but in general their record in this area is unmatched by any of their competition. Nobody else even comes close.
I know, but that's really no excuse. I don't have a problem with Apple dropping support for old hardware, but this feels a little forced on a device that's only two years old.
Of course, forced obsolescence is a fact of life with commercial, proprietary products, and of course you're not entitled to software updates apart from bugfixes.
But it's very different world compared to the PC world where companies like Microsoft and other OS vendors have an incentive to stretch compatibility as far back as possible.
As more and more developers drop support for iOS 5, an otherwise perfectly working device becomes less and less valuable, which is a shame. Of course an option is still to jailbreak it.
Of course, forced obsolescence is a fact of life with commercial, proprietary products, and of course you're not entitled to software updates apart from bugfixes.
But it's very different world compared to the PC world where companies like Microsoft and other OS vendors have an incentive to stretch compatibility as far back as possible.
As more and more developers drop support for iOS 5, an otherwise perfectly working device becomes less and less valuable, which is a shame. Of course an option is still to jailbreak it.
So what should they do about the memory limitations on old devices. Just not add more features to the OS, so it still works on the older hardware?
No, they could add features, but leave out those features on older devices just like they have done previously with each new iOS release.
Many if not most of the new features in iOS 6 doesn't require more processing power.
Many if not most of the new features in iOS 6 doesn't require more processing power.
You automatically assume hardware is trash when it doesn't support the latest OS but still works just fine with the older version, and you're blaming Apple for a throw-away culture? I think you need to look in a mirror....
A significant number of apps require the latest version of the OS. The utility really does drop off if you are a major OS version or two behind. Trash? Maybe not, but definitely worth much, much less. I agree that 2.5 years is far too soon to stop updating the iPad’s OS.
Just a wasted 1 year...
Not much of an improvement since iOS 5.
Maps (with turn-by-turn navigation) and offline reading seems nice, but nothing else.
But they've added a lot of new developer APIs, which is the loveliest part. But as an avid iOS user, I call my beloved platform semi-broken until it gets a decent inter-app communication channel (something better than documents in the cloud). I'm disappointed that I have to wait for at least iOS 7 for that...
Yes, you are right about the new APIs.
Since i'm not an iOS developer, i was looking from the eye of an end-user.
"I'm disappointed that I have to wait for at least iOS 7 for that..." Couldn't agree more.
"I'm disappointed that I have to wait for at least iOS 7 for that..." Couldn't agree more.
iOS is a mature platform at this point. Apple doesn't usually shuffle things around or make huge changes just to say they did it. It has to fix a specific problem or add enough functionality to justify increasing complexity. Some significant changes weren't really covered in detail (App Store redesign) so likely there will be more to come on iOS6 when the 6th generation iPhone is released. (or just read the rumor sites later today to get all the little details)
I think Passbook is actually the star of this upgrade. My phone noticing I walked into a Starbucks and giving me a quick shortcut to bring up that barcode? Brilliant!
You have no idea how much of an advertiser wet dream this capability is.
When I worked for Yell/Yellowbook, one of the most common requests was for anything that we could develop that could "Allow a shop to know when you were walking by, and offer deals and enticements to get you either into the shop fully or to push you towards the items that they most want to sell to you.".
This never didn't horrify me. May be good for them, but terrible for consumers.
If Apple have managed to package the functionality such that consumers are excited by it then it is a gold mine for Apple.
When I worked for Yell/Yellowbook, one of the most common requests was for anything that we could develop that could "Allow a shop to know when you were walking by, and offer deals and enticements to get you either into the shop fully or to push you towards the items that they most want to sell to you.".
This never didn't horrify me. May be good for them, but terrible for consumers.
If Apple have managed to package the functionality such that consumers are excited by it then it is a gold mine for Apple.
Also, turn-by-turn navigation has this "overview" mode--tap it and you exit the forced-point-of-view navigation and get to pan around the map in 2D mode. This is critical for being able to inspect the area for improvised routes. In the past, this has not been easy to do on all my old-school GPS navigation devices, including a Tom Tom hardware unit of a year ago. Cannot compare to Google Navigation or Tom Tom on the iPhone, so it would be great if anyone familiar with those can chime in.
Fully vector maps (no more f'king double tap to get that shit at pixel-perfect view) and much more legible traffic marking (such that it doesn't kill the name of the street) are two minor changes that will have a major impact for me personally.