Apple announced the features of iOS 6 yesterday (to be released this Fall), but they didn’t clarify explicitly what features will work or not work depending on your iPhone or iPad version. On their iOS 6 page, they have clarified a nice visual of which devices are supported–but as for the features, we have to read through the fine print below:
- Some features may not be available in all countries or all areas. Flyover and turn-by-turn navigation will be available only on iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later. Cellular data charges may apply.
- Siri will be available only on iPhone 4S and iPad (3rd generation) and requires Internet access. Siri may not be available in all languages or all areas, and features may vary by area. Cellular data charges may apply.
- Shared Photo Streams requires iOS 6 on iPhone 4 or later or iPad 2 or later, or a Mac computer with OS X Mountain Lion. An up-to-date browser is required for accessing shared photo streams on the web.
- FaceTime over a cellular network requires iPhone 4S or iPad (3rd generation) with cellular data capability. Carrier data charges may apply. FaceTime is not available in all countries.
- VIP list and VIP and Flagged smart mailboxes will be available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.
- Offline Reading List will be available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later.
- Made for iPhone hearing aids require iPhone 4S.
- Find My Friends and Find My iPhone enable you to locate iOS devices only when they are on and connected to a registered Wi-Fi network or have an active data plan. Not available in all areas.
It might be hard to digest all that text so the following chart (created by MacRumors) sums it up pretty well:
Conclusion: If you want the latest features of iOS 6, let’s hope you have an iPhone 4S or new iPad.
Does the gps voice guidance work for you?
Turn by turn nav seems to work on the 4S, but no voice guidance.
Yep… That’s why I’ve asked. I hope it’s not yet enabled, but still coming, otherwise it’s useless 🙁
Me too i was wondering why no voice on my 4S, but now i realize i am not the only one. turn by turn works great but i hope they enable the siri voice in the next beta or ill go back to 5.11 and use speakevents as voice guidance
No FaceTime over 3G, Steve jobs promised us all FaceTime would be available that year (2010) at the announcement for the iPhone 4, now we don’t get it at all. Disappointment! I guess I gotta get the iPhone 5!
I agree with disappointment, but this makes me want an iPhone 4 less, not more.
Flyover… cool for a good few mins but not something I will be using every day.
Turn-by-turn -> I already have Navigon which I find amazing
FaceTime over 3G -> My3G has been serving me well for years now
The new Apple Maps doesn’t seem to be half of what Google Maps can do. 2D mode isn’t all that great from what I have seen. And not having Street View would be a big loss for me because I use it A LOT.
This iOS 6 update is *Yawn* boring for my iPhone 4….
I’m hoping that the “new iPhone” will offer something worth while and different from the competition.
If I had to guess, I’d say passbook will be compatible with an NFC chip in the new iPhone!
Don’t forget that Siri wasn’t even a part of the iOS 5 update until the 4S rolled around so I’m sure we will see a few more iOS 6 features. (Hopefully iPhone 4 compatible ones)
Don’t worry about google maps, it will come back, but this time in google’s way (with a lot more updates and hopefully with navigation).
I’m surprised Siri is still not supported on the iPhone 4 when there have been successful ports being done albeit unofficial ones. And why is the iPad 2 not getting Siri and FaceTime over 3G as well? I can see the original iPad not getting it but the iPad 2 specs are comparable to the iPhone 4S. Battery issue maybe?
It’s not current gen hardware. I don’t like it but I understand that Apple needs to create demand for the new products. It’s not right, but it’s Apples moniker.
Luckily I have the 4S and new iPad… but man… they complain about Android being fragmented. Gotta say it’s kinda BS Apple.
Yeah this changes things up. Sure, lots of devices can get 6.0 (not the iPad 1) but features are limited depending on device.
I’m not so sure. I would think that with the launch of the iPhone 5 a significant amount of the iPhone user base will migrate to newer devices. The Iphone 4 will be 2 years old by the time the i5 launches and the 3GS 3 years old. Seems silly for people to complain about not getting all the cutting edge features on a 2 or 3 year old device. Especially when most everyone has an upgrade available to them from their carrier in that time frame.
Such a big disappointment with iOS 6 ….. It is not keeping up with android phones.. Just a few random tweaks here and there.. The iPhone 5 better be amazing!
Does anyone else think its reasonable to assume that there may be more features that they may be saving for the Iphone 5 launch?
When iOS 6 comes out I’ll have new iPhone
Is it normal that i can’t seem to use Flyover in Canada for now?
**updated my iPhone 4s on iOS 6 beta 1 … obviously**
they only have a couple of cities in 3d for now (SF and Sydney). Not even NY, let alone Canada!
a shared photo stream is not incentive enough to lose the jailbreak on iphone4. may have to start researching android phones..
Lots of fucking whinning on here. Go get ur androids and see how happy you are…just saying
very happy.. thank you very much…
you should try it
just jump over to android guys.
i did….from the 4S to the SGS2.
you wont be disappointed… and this is coming from probably one of the biggest iPhone fanboys ever. i had every iPhone version…. even upgraded from the 4 to the 4S….
There are still too many benefits to multi apple owning households like mine to justify the jump. I have more purchased app than I can count, and by moving to android I would lose all that. Right now, any app I purchase will run on the 2 iPads and 2 iPhone I have, the amount of savings is overwhelming.
Also, as much as the android marketplace has improved, for an app and game addict like me, its limitations would drive me up a wall. There are too few everythings in the android market, and I have no interest in losing what apps I can run.
As much as not having some of these features sucks if you’re on a less than current gen device, the amount of support is still impressive. The 3GS is still supported over how many years? 3 now? The first gen iPad has had 2 full years of iOS support, and has run 3 generations of iOS… Apple is still doing better
Continued from my last message, discus always does this…
Apple is still doing better with its old device support than android, which has to deal with its carriers releasing the OS upgrades. My friend who had a current android phone on T-Mobile waited over 6 months for them to release their upgrade, and it may be the only one theyll give. That to me is a damn shame.
So apple isn’t perfect, but I’ve had a good run with my iPhone 4, which will be 2 years old by the time the iPhone 5 releases, and is the longest time I’ve ever had a phone, so for me Apple is still doing enough things right, and I won’t be jumping over anytime soon.
I was hoping my wife’s iPad 2 will have Siri support since it has the dual core CPU in it, similar to the 4S. The iOS 6 features are not enticing enough to upgrade to the latest iOS. I’ll stick with my iPhone 4 + 5.01 with some JB tweaks :p
I wonder if I’ll be able to get iOS 6 on my iPhone 4 before I can get ICS for my Galaxy tab? LOL