Eckroate: Apple’s new iPhone update not OMG worthy, but still decent

Devoted Apple fanatic gives iOS6 a 6 out of 10The hype was considerable. It always is. When Apple releases something new, the world is excited.

With the birth of the iPhone 5, Apple released a new operating system, iOS6. The company made the software upgrade available last Wednesday for those with the now-antiquated products — the iPhones 3GS, 4 and 4S. As always, iPhone users sat through a long and painful software upgrade.

I was thrilled with the changes back in September 2011.

After playing with the new bells and whistles on my “old” iPhone, I give it a resounding “eh” overall. Maybe a six out of 10.

The Good:

iMessage brought us new Emojis, those lovely emoticons that we used back in the day of AOL Instant Messenger. Even though we’ve used them through the Emoji app, iPhone users now have even better smiley faces, random objects and symbols to better articulate our feelings without words. I personally enjoy the ones that look like cats.

iMessage has a new blue color scheme­. It is aesthetically pleasing. But that’s about it.

In terms of more important things people actually consider, the new “do not disturb” mode is very promising. It allows me to go, well, undisturbed, when the option is activated or scheduled. I can turn it on when I’m asleep or in class and not have to worry if my phone is vibrating too loudly as a friend calls me, wondering if I’m meeting up with her for dinner.

iOS6 even gives me the option to allow calls from certain people who probably should not go ignored, like those from my mother.

Even though my iPhone is not typically used for the purpose of telephoning anyone, Apple has surely added features that make the phone, for its original purpose, even more user-friendly.

The Bad:

The most serious complaint that I have is one that is entirely too common. Apple has replaced its formerly Google-run maps application with its own version.

Initially, I imagined that this switch would be great. I heard discussion of the turn-by-turn navigation that Siri-compatible phones would have, making the phone function more like a GPS. This sounded awesome, almost as though the GPS unit in my car could be eliminated.

Well, not so much. To say that Apple’s Maps application deserves heavy criticism from users is an understatement. It doesn’t seem too trustworthy.

The Maps app has just missed the mark. On the satellite view, images appear blurry or sometimes as though the roads themselves have melted into the earth. Less buildings and landmarks are labeled on the generally less-detailed maps. There’s even a blog dedicated to Maps failures.

But the worst part is the lack of transit integration. This means if I were trying to go downtown from the William Pitt Union by bus, I could select “bus” as a mode of transport. However, no bus lines or times would be given.

I was shocked to find that, when I tried to get bus directions on Maps, I was directed to the App Store to download an entirely separate app to give me the information I was seeking.

User-friendly? Yeah, right.

The I’m-Not-So-Sure-Yet:

An entirely new feature here is Passbook, which enables iPhone users to store all of their loyalty cards, tickets, boarding passes and other things that weigh down our purses and wallets onto the phone itself.

This is great in theory. But in order for me to ditch my CVS and Rite Aid cards from my keychain, these businesses will have to cooperate with this new technology.

There’s nothing to suggest that this will be as great as we have imagined thus far. When I opened the app, I selected “App Store” at the bottom of the screen, only to find that there are a mere eleven companies that have been integrated.  I’m hopeful that this will expand exponentially once the software upgrade becomes more widespread.

Apple has certainly jumped the gun here. The flaws and underdevelopment of certain new features give the impression that we were not quite ready for this new Apple revolution.

I haven’t been completely let down, though I know others certainly have to the point of returning to the old iOS5. I hope that these flaws will be tweaked based on user reviews. Until everything is up to speed, I’ll just continue to play with the new Emojis.

Emails sent to Claire at ceckroate@gmail.com will be read on her iPhone.