Loves and Loathes: Our feelings about iOS 6

We know that love and loathe are strong words, but when it comes to Apple, there seems to be no middle ground. The newest version of Apple’s operating system for its mobile devices – iOS 6 – has caused so much of an uproar since its release that even CEO Tim Cook apologized for the updated, yet worse, maps. The App Store even curated a list of alternatives for disenfranchised e-cartographers.

Apple competitor, Samsung, is taking this opportunity to poke a little fun at Apple enthusiasts. Watch the latest line of commercials for the Samsung Galaxy S III on YouTube.

There will always be loyalty and gripes for the phenomenon that is Apple, but here are the loves and loathes we’ve had here in the Beekeeper hive about iOS 6:

Loves

• iOS 6′s new “share” screen has a much better interface as well as Facebook integration.
• The “One-swoop” ability to wave your iPhone, with the camera-app enabled, over a scene to take a panoramic photo.
• “Do not disturb” mode – finally, a good night’s sleep without the buzzing and chiming of incoming calls, emails and iMessages.
• Passbook, which allows you to keep all of your e-tickets and gift cards in one place. It’s perfect for those afternoon Starbucks outings when you’ve left your credit card back at the office.
• App Store redesign is cleaner, easier to navigate and more intuitive to use.
• Updating apps no longer requires an iTunes Store password.
• Maps features built-in turn-by-turn navigation, so users can finally ditch their subscription-based apps and join Android users whose phones had Google Maps navigation built-in.

Loathes

• We aren’t the first to say so, but just to get it out of the way: Maps isn’t as great as Apple claimed it was. They even dropped its description as the “most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever” on Apple’s site.
• There is a lack of “Flyover” imagery for the Washington DC area in Apple’s new Maps app. Satellite imagery populates Apple’s Maps app, and since the feature is new, and a replacement of Apple’s previous Google-based map system, not every city is supported yet.
• Until just a couple days ago, iPhone 5 users on Verizon data plans were seeing their precious data go out the window even when connected to a WiFi network. Apple released a carrier update to fix the problem and Verizon has said it won’t charge customers for the leaked data, but it shows a general lack of polish from usually squeaky-clean Apple.
• The context based color-changing bar at the top of the screen is unnecessary and clunky – and just doesn’t look right.
• iOS 6 has introduced all sorts of WiFi bugs. WiFi in our office seems to work just fine on iPhones, but WiFi-only iPads with iOS 6 are having trouble getting connected to wireless networks.
• Despite the trouble with Maps, iOS 6 has surpassed every previous version’s adoption rates. While it might not be Apple’s most seamless launch ever, we are still finding things to love with each passing day.