Why iOS 6? It's more like iOS 5.2 ...

[globalist]

Thread title says it all.

Is there anything substantial in this new iOS version that warrants the full version number increment, going from 5 to 6?

I mean really, with all the miniscule, buggy and half-baked features that made it into this OS, the only significant thing that comes to mind is the replacement of the Maps app but even that is not something Apple of the past would have gone a full version higher over.

Let's see:

iOS3->iOS4 ::::: Multitasking, copy&paste, etc. Substantially changed the way the phone was used and the apps were written for it.

iOS4-> iOS5 ::::: iCloud, substantially changed the way the phone was set up and the data on it kept

iOS5->iOS6 :::::: *crickets*


Anyone else annoyed by the bull-headed, marketing-driven decision to call what should have been iOS5.2 "iOS6"?

 

[Dwalls90]

Thread title says it all.

Is there anything substantial in this new iOS version that warrants the full version number increment, going from 5 to 6?

I mean really, with all the miniscule, buggy and half-baked features that made it into this OS, the only significant thing that comes to mind is the replacement of the Maps app but even that is not something Apple of the past would have gone a full version higher over.

Let's see:

iOS3->iOS4 ::::: Multitasking, copy&paste, etc. Substantially changed the way the phone was used and the apps were written for it.

iOS4-> iOS5 ::::: iCloud, substantially changed the way the phone was set up and the data on it kept

iOS5->iOS6 :::::: *crickets*


Anyone else annoyed by the bull-headed, marketing-driven decision to call what should have been iOS5.2 "iOS6"?

Wow, good thing this exact thread hasn't been posted here before a million times

 

[AdrianK]

Anyone else annoyed by the bull-headed, marketing-driven decision to call what should have been iOS5.2 "iOS6"?

No, not really. The changelog is what's important, I don't care what they call it.

 

[macbookairman]

As if this topic hasn't been beaten to death already….

[…]the only significant thing that comes to mind is the replacement of the Maps app but even that is not something Apple of the past would have gone a full version higher over.

Apple of the past? Look, Steve is gone, but Apple is still Apple. You can be sure iOS 6 would have been released even if Steve was still around. Look at OS X. Snow Leopard wasn't a release with huge new features, but it was still released. The point is an update doesn't require a totally different design or spectacular new features to be considered worthy of the iOS 6 name. New stuff is nice, but it shouldn't be forced.

Anyone else annoyed by the bull-headed, marketing-driven decision to call what should have been iOS5.2 "iOS6"?

I'm not. I couldn't care less what they name it, its just a number. There is no rule stating that x.0 releases must have shiny new features to be worthy of that title. Given that it is the name of a phone OS, I really don't see the point of debating this. They released it with the name iOS 6. Nobody can change that. Its done. Its not like they are going to go back and rename it.

 

[MattInOz]

Its iOS 6.x because it deprecates API methods that work in iOS<=5. So there is no guarantee a iOS5 app will work and need to be tested by their developers. Apple just chooses to pair feature updates with these to try and drive adoption.

 

[JRoDDz]

Thread title says it all.

Is there anything substantial in this new iOS version that warrants the full version number increment, going from 5 to 6?

I mean really, with all the miniscule, buggy and half-baked features that made it into this OS, the only significant thing that comes to mind is the replacement of the Maps app but even that is not something Apple of the past would have gone a full version higher over.

Let's see:

iOS3->iOS4 ::::: Multitasking, copy&paste, etc. Substantially changed the way the phone was used and the apps were written for it.

iOS4-> iOS5 ::::: iCloud, substantially changed the way the phone was set up and the data on it kept

iOS5->iOS6 :::::: *crickets*


Anyone else annoyed by the bull-headed, marketing-driven decision to call what should have been iOS5.2 "iOS6"?

I agree. What's really new? They removed Google maps? What other major features are there. It all looks like same to me.

 

[Branskins]

Just because there aren't a lot of end-user changes doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other changes behind the scenes...

 

[Nathan576]

it's a significant update, just not enough though. We need widgets!!

 

[kenypowa]

Just because there aren't a lot of end-user changes doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other changes behind the scenes...

If that's the case, it doesn't warrant form going 5.1 to 6.0. Android goes from 2.0/2.1 to 2.2 and then 2.3 before jumping to Honeycomb or ICS.

 

[SporkLover]

Y u mad bro?

I'm not sure why it matters. iOS is a pretty mature OS, the features they add shouldn't really be that revolutionary at this point, but more evolutionary.

They did add quite a bit of new features like Facebook integration and APIs for third party apps (finally catching android in this area), new functionality to Siri, built in turn by turn! There are other small things but they add up to a pretty good release.

 

[globalist]

Its iOS 6.x because it deprecates API methods that work in iOS<=5. So there is no guarantee a iOS5 app will work and need to be tested by their developers. Apple just chooses to pair feature updates with these to try and drive adoption.

But didn't they deprecate the iOS5 API methods arbitrarily then?

 

[globalist]

Also, wouldn't something like iOS 5.5 gel better with the name iPhone 5?

Now we get the brand new Iphone 5 with the brand new OS that's ... iOS6.

Seriously whoever thought this was a good idea needs to be fired pronto.

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

I believe Scott Forstall worked very hard on iOS 6 and maps, can't you tell???

 

[Vizin]

.

 

[globalist]

Firefox and Chrome increment their major version numbers once every couple months. Mac OS's major version has been at 10 since 2001, and the Linux kernel's major version number didn't change for 15 years.

All the while everybody else in the industry pretty much knows how to properly increment their version numbers. Please let's not bring the likes of Google and Mozilla (in fact the first culprits of this "marketing-versioning" craze) as good examples of version control, thx.

 

[Vizin]

.

 

[globalist]

I said everybody esle can and in fact is sensible about versioning, apart from those crazy examples you keep bringing up.

Even Apple themselves: iTunes has been sitting on 10.xxx for some time now and it will become 11 only with the major UI overhaul that's coming up soon.

Continuing, off the top of my head or just looking at the software installed on my desktop:

Ubuntu and other Linux distros have rational versioning, Skype has rational versioning, Trillian, VMWare Workstation, Adobe Reader, Cubase, Internet Explorer, VideoLAN Player (VLC), etc, they all have it. Even Windows 7/8 where unlike you I don't think the kernel version has much to do with the overall package that's delivered to the end user.

 

[rorschach]

The same thing is said every year about every. single. iOS update.

iOS 5 = iOS 4+JailBreak
iOS 5 looks exactly like iOS4 - don't understand what the hoopla was all about
Who's disappointed with iOS 5?
Negative Reactions to iPhone OS 4.0 / New Features
Kind of underwhelmed with 3.0
iPhone Firmware 2.0: It's just a disaster

 

[Jibbajabba]

ffs - give it a rest ..

 

[pittpanthersfan]

So rather than give specifics as to the "substantial" features you would have liked to see, you're just whining instead? Sounds about right.

 

[phillytim]

This actually is a pretty darn good answer in of itself why a new version # was used. It's not sexy for most users, but it IS a reasonable explanation.

Its iOS 6.x because it deprecates API methods that work in iOS<=5. So there is no guarantee a iOS5 app will work and need to be tested by their developers. Apple just chooses to pair feature updates with these to try and drive adoption.

----------

If you need widgets, Android is over there for ya. iOS is not gettin' them.

And just what IS enough? Now that phone platforms (iOS, Android, WP8) are in a relatively matured state, you're not gettin' new features that trump leaps and bounds. Just not happening. It's all about incremental updates of newer technologies as they come out over time.

iOS 6 is pretty significant in it's own right, with over 200 changes. New technologies such as Passbook. Plus, don't forget that this release brings a lot of cross-platform feature homogeneity between iOS devices and MAC OS X computers.

Now that Android is maturing to a similar state (not growing by radical leaps and bounds with every release), I expect to hear a lot of bemoaning of boredness over there before long!

it's a significant update, just not enough though. We need widgets!!

 

[KnightWRX]

This actually is a pretty darn good answer in of itself why a new version # was used. It's not sexy for most users, but it IS a reasonable explanation.

No it's not. iOS 5.2 could very well have deprecated APIs that were used in iOS 5.1.

The point is : there are no good explanations behind version numbers because there just isn't any defined standards around them. Everyone pretty much uses whatever floats their boat and can change the meaning of the numbers around as they see fit.

You can't even claim that a higher number version is more recent as sometimes some vendors support multiple different branches of a software (Apache Tomcat 5.5 vs 6 vs 7 for example).

Arguing what version number something should have been is thus pointless : If you don't like the versionning scheme the vendor is using, start your own software project and number it however you see fit. Or get hired by that vendor, get on the project and change the scheme to fit your whims.

 

[Abazigal]

Basically, try to tell a 3gs or 4 user what they can gain from upgrading to IOS6. Not much really. Contrast this to IOS5, where I could easily demonstrate to my 3gs-using colleague some very significant benefits like icloud, imessage, notifications, new camera features and multi-touch gestures + split keyboard (for ipad)

I guess one reason is because the biggest highlights of IOS6 just don't work. Maps isn't quite there yet, siri hasn't quite caught on, and passbook still isn't that much supported.

Take these away and we are left with minor features that you can't really crow about like panorama, 3g facetime, do not disturb and souped-up safari, and the 1st 2 features don't work on pre-4s phones (and not everyone on an iphone 4 or 3gs is necessarily upgrading to an iphone5).

 

[takeshi74]

Arguing what version number something should have been is thus pointless : If you don't like the versionning scheme the vendor is using, start your own software project and number it however you see fit. Or get hired by that vendor, get on the project and change the scheme to fit your whims.

Or stop just assuming that they mean what you think they mean when there are plenty of examples that do not support your understanding. I don't think anyone pointing out the other examples is claiming they're "good" examples. The point is, as stated above, that there are no standards despite the OP's assertion that "everyone" meets his requirements for "sensible versioning". It's just a number. Don't rely on it for anything. Read the changelogs. That's what they're for.

 

[monkey28rb]

If I could get a great spec'd Android phone around 4-4.3", better build quality with a more polished OS, I would be gone. I love android, but something about iOS keeps me coming back. Android is much more powerful and not boring IMO, but its still missing something, and until that polish is there, I will keep iOS.