In all the hype surrounding the
new iPhone, quite a few things get
missed, and the country-specific feature availability is one of them.
Due to some or the other reasons not all software features tend to reach
every market, and same is the case with iOS 6, which is powering the
iPhone 5. (See:
10 new features in Apple's new iOS 6)
Apple claims that
iOS 6 is bringing over 200 new features,
but not all iOS 6 features will be available in India. Here is a look at
the key missing features.
Maps
Ditching Google, Apple
introduced its own mapping application in iOS 6 and as expected the
company does not have data to support all the map features in India. The
consumers in the country will only have access to standard/satellite
maps and the local search. Rest of the mapping features including
directions, turn-by-turn navigation, 3D buildings, Traffic and Business
Reviews and photos will not be currently available in the country. Last
we saw, even the data that is available in Apple Maps is very sparse and
nowhere near the quality of Google Maps.
The non-availability of
turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic is especially going to be
missed by Apple iPhone 5 customers as Google had recently released free
turn-by-turn voice navigation in India along with real-time traffic
information.
Siri
Apple has also introduced several new
features in its voice assistant Siri, including making it better at
answering subjective questions and providing information about movies,
restaurants and other things.
Apple is also partnering with Yelp
to provide ratings and prices of restaurants via Siri. But none of this
is accessible with Siri in India, and nor are sports, Twitter
integration, Facebook integration or local search. Quite a bummer! (Source)
Passbook
Apple
wants us to get rid of our wallets by introducing Passbook, but that's
unlikely to happen in India anytime soon. The company might provide
Passbook app as a part of iOS 6 in the country, but it will be pretty
useless, considering there are no airline/retail/cinema partners that
will accept Passbook as the replacement of normal tickets.
Passbook
normally allows users to keep their boarding passes, movie tickets,
retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more in one place. With Passbook,
they can scan their iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get
into a movie and redeem a coupon.
Other features like films and
TV shows from iTunes store, which were already not
accessible to Indian users, wouldn't be available in iOS 6 either. (Source)
See: 10 new features in Apple's new iOS 6
Good News
But
it's not all doom and gloom. While all these features might not be
reaching India, several other features which will soon be making their
Indian debut.
Facebook Integration
Yes, now iOS devices will
have deep Facebook integration as well. Previously only Twitter
integration was present in iOS. You can post pictures and videos directly
to your Facebook account or share links from Safari with just a couple
of clicks.
FaceTime over 3G
Apple's video calling feature
FaceTime is finally going to include 3G support and unless local
operators decide to block it (some reports indicate that AT&T might
play spoilsport), Indian users should benefit as well. However, only
iPhone 4S, new iPad and iPhone 5 users will be able to make FaceTime
calls over 3G.
Safari
There are a few cool additions to
Safari as well. Apple has announced that you can view webpages in
full-screen in landscape mode, or save them for offline reading. A new
feature "iCloud Tabs", is also making its debut. Thanks to this, you'll now
be able to pick up where you left off on any iCloud-connected iOS/OS X
device.
Others
Similarly, there are several other features
including Shared Photo Streams, improved Email, and phone controls,
which will be available to Indian users.
In other news, iOS 6 will
not only be available to iPhone 5 buyers, but also to iPhone 4S, iPhone
4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, new iPad, and iPod Touch users. Apple iOS 6
download will be available starting September 19 to these consumers.
See: 10 new features in Apple's new iOS 6
iPhone 5 launch in pics