The iOS 6 Preview & Beta Versions

So after months of speculation about what it will include, Apple finally released an iOS 6 preview to get the Mac fans salivating at what’s to come “this fall”. I’ve finally had the time to sit down and take a look at all the new goodies to behold.

You can view their full list of new features and gizmos here. Anyone who’s game can also try out the beta release of iOS 6 on their device(s). Though personally, I’m gonna wait till the bugs are fixed, thanks.

The parts that sound coolest to me?

• Siri will now “work in more countries” – I can only hope this means that when I ask Siri for the nearest restaurant she doesn’t tell me “I can only look for businesses in the United States”. That’s something that should just never have been a problem in the first place.
• It’s also going to bring Siri to the iPad. Hoorah for more Siri fun.
• Maps is getting a revamp and will include a “flyover” view…which just looks cool.

• Facebook integration: now I can be even more social media mad.
• FaceTime will now work over a cellular connection (and not just wifi). I mean, I would normally just go with Skype, but hey – FaceTime is a real novelty for my parents, so they’re disappointed when it doesn’t work.
• The “Passbook” idea sounds cool – having all your movie tickets, boarding passes, retail coupons and loyalty cards all in one place, and with the ability to scan them directly from your phone – I have a feeling its one of those things that will only work at a few places and won’t quite be a viable replacement for these things – it’ll be a cool novelty without actually being more convenient. I certainly doubt that budget airlines are going to be able to use that as a boarding pass…

Why don’t you guys check out the features of the latest iOS and tell us what you think? How do you think it measures up to the Windows 8 preview and the Windows Surface tablet?

[Via Apple and FreakGeeks]