Yesterday, Apple released the latest major update to iOS – iOS 6 – for the iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, new iPad and iPad 2, and iPod touch 4G. It comes with 200 new features – some game-changingly huge like the new Maps application – and other small ones like being able to send out tweets and Facebook updates from Notification Center.
Now that the initial OMG-OMG-iOS6-is-here hype has died down, it’s time for a nice poll: have you upgraded to iOS 6 yet? Or are you sticking to iOS 5?
It’s a difficult decision, to be honest. iOS 5.1.1 is stable, bug-free, jailbreak-able, and familiar. iOS 6., on the other hand, is new, and has significant user experience tweaks that make it, well, less familiar.
iOS 6 replaces Google-based Maps from iOS 5 with Apple’s own solution that has, so far, met with a lot of negative criticism. Lack of transit directions and inaccurate data are two of the biggest complaints; comparison screenshots are being shared on networks like Reddit and Twitter that show the distinct amount of missing details – smaller streets and points of interest – in Apple’s Maps vs. Google Maps. But there is workaround for that (sort of), until Google releases its own dedicated Maps app for iOS.
Speaking of UX tweaks: searching for apps the App Store on iOS 6 is now a less than stellar experience. You are required to swipe left to right one app at a time when searching; developers whose apps aren’t in the top 5-10 first results are going to have a tough time.
In addition to that, since iOS 6 is now in the hands of millions of people, expect bugs to be discovered just like iOS 5 and iOS 4 had. They will be ironed out with minor updates in the coming weeks.
But wait, there’s more! If you rely on jailbreak tweaks to make using iOS easier, you’ll know that iOS 6 doesn’t have any jailbreak for A5-based devices like iPad 2, new iPad and iPhone 4S. Older, A4-based devices get a jailbreak, but it is tethered. We have done a guide on how to jailbreak iOS 6, which you can follow by navigating to the link.
Personally, for the time being, I will be sticking to iOS 5 because of lack of untethered jailbreak and no Google Maps on iOS 6. But that’s just my opinion. What are your thoughts on iOS 6? Are the new Siri features, Passbook app, Facebook integration, App Store updates etc. worth it the upgrade?
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