IOS 6

iOS 6

Version of the iOS operating system
iOS 6 running on an iPhone 5, showing five rows of icons due to the increased screen height of the iPhone 5 compared to previous models.
Developer	Apple Inc.
Source model	Closed, with open source components
Initial release	September 19, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-09-19)
Latest release	6.1.6 (10B500) / February 21, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-02-21)
Update method	Software Update
Package manager	App Store
Platforms	iPhone iPhone 3GS iPhone 4 iPhone 4S iPhone 5 iPod Touch iPod Touch (4th generation) iPod Touch (5th generation) iPad iPad 2 iPad (3rd generation) iPad (4th generation) iPad Mini (1st generation)
Kernel type	Hybrid (XNU)
Default user interface	Springboard
License	Proprietary EULA except for open-source components
Preceded by	iOS 5
Succeeded by	iOS 7
Official website	Apple - iOS 6 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 4, 2013)
Tagline	It takes your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in entirely new directions.
Support status
Obsolete, unsupported. Drops support for the iPod Touch (3rd generation) and iPad (1st generation).

iOS 6 is the sixth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc, being the successor to iOS 5. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11, 2012, and was released on September 19, 2012. It was succeeded by iOS 7 on September 18, 2013.^[1]

iOS 6 introduced a new Apple Maps app, which replaced Google Maps as the default mapping service for the operating system; a dedicated Podcasts app, as a central location for podcasts; and a Passbook app, for managing different types of tickets, boarding passes, coupons, and loyalty cards. The App Store received a visual overhaul, featuring a card-based app layout and improved search algorithms. Facebook integration was added to the operating system, allowing status messages, like buttons, and contact and event synchronization with several of Apple's apps. New privacy controls gave users more fine-grained app permissions, as well as an option to prevent targeted advertising. Siri was expanded to more devices and updated with more functionality, such as the ability to make restaurant reservations, launch apps, retrieve movie reviews and sports statistics, and read items from the Notification Center. iOS 6 also added LTE support for more carriers, the ability to purchase movie tickets through Fandango with Siri (USA only), a new button to reset the Advertising Identifier, and improvements to Maps in Japan. Additionally, iOS 6 improved the Photos and Camera apps, allowing users to share photos with iCloud Photo Stream, add filters to their camera shots, and take panoramic photos. The Phone app also received some enhancements, such as the option to reply with a message or set a callback reminder when declining a call, and the ability to enable a Do Not Disturb mode.

iOS 6 received positive reviews. Critics noted that the operating system did not offer any significant speed improvements or major redesigns, but instead focused on refinements, with a general consensus that Apple "isn't overhauling things for the sake of it." iOS 6 did not "completely change the way you use your device," but "each of the tweaks will make many daily smartphone actions easier across the board," and critics praised the refinement of "something that already works extremely well" as "something other companies would do well to emulate."

The release of Apple Maps, however, drew significant criticism, due to inaccurate or incomplete data. The issues prompted an open letter of apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook. Scott Forstall, who had overseen iOS development since its inception, announced his departure from the company shortly after the release of iOS 6.

iOS 6 is the last version of iOS that supports the iPhone 3GS and the fourth-generation iPod Touch. iOS 6 is also the last iOS with the skeuomorphic design.