The iOS 6.0 is expected to be announced hand in hand with the iPhone 5, Apple’s most awaited release, on September 12th, although the date is yet to be confirmed. It has been available to developers for testing purposes who have labeled it as Apple’s greatest ever operating system till date. iOS 6.0 will be backwards compatible, being able to run on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S although not all devices will have all the features. The third generation iPad and its predecessor, iPad 2 can also be upgraded to run the latest Apple software. We take a look at some of the major changes in the upcoming version – some of them expected and some not.

New Youtube App is in and Google Maps are out!

The major announcement is that the Youtube and Maps apps have been taken off from the iOS – mainly due to the animosity between Apple and Google. Apple’s license with Youtube has expired and it seems as if they did not put a great deal of effort in renewing it. Google are already on to designing a new Youtube app that will be available at the Apple Store. Apple would be using their own geo-graphical data for their new maps application thereby decreasing the reliance on Google but they are not confident in saying that it would be better than the Google Maps app. There is a possibility that 3D view would be incorporated for major metropolitan areas into the maps application using the model Flyover.

Improved Phone Call and Facetime features!

The phone call feature has been improved significantly after quite a long time as users will now be able to respond to calls through pre-set text messages – messages that can also be user customized. It will be much easier to avoid calls now as the option of do-not-disturb can be configured. Reminders can be set so that users can respond to the previously declined calls. The Apple’s video messaging application, called Facetime, was previously available only on wifi connections but now it can be used through your mobile service provider to increase availability. However, it will be much more costly.

Better Facebook Integration:

Facebook will be integrated with the OS in the same manner that Twitter is with iOS 5. All your digital passes will be stored through the Passbook app and will act as electronic tickets. The tickets can be automatically updated by the authorities that issue them.

A More Intelligent Siri:

Siri looked an ingenious idea when it first came but overall it did not have much to offer to the users. Apple have rectified that and enabled the feature to interact and share data with other applications such as being able to post tweets and open various applications. It now supports more languages, can be used in more countries and is also available for the iPad now.

iOS 6: Expected to be the Best!

The OS has been built keeping in mind the iPhone 5 release and therefore it supports 640×1136 colors. This is another indicator that the screen size of the new iPhone will be around the 4-inch mark. The best use of the new OS will be on the iPhone 5 and together they will be the most anticipated release of the year come the second week of September. There will be huge expectations considering that the overall package was the last project Steve Jobs was working on.