iOS 6.1: Getting up-to-date

To check out more blog posts about iOS 6, including my introductory one, click here.

Last week, Apple released iOS 6.0.1, to combat some bugs in the iOS 6.0 release. Around the same time, they also posted iOS 6.1 for developers to try out. So, I updated my iPhone out of curiosity. There are 2 additions to iOS that come with 6.1 that most blogs have already picked up on, but I'll go over them anyway. They both have to do with catching up with the rest of iOS.
First is the updated lockscreen media controls. The picture below on the left  was what you saw by double-clicking the home button on the lockscreen. The one on the right is the new iOS 6.1 view.

 

The rewind, play/pause, and forward buttons, as well as the volume slider, have been brought up to date with the iOS Music app's style. The control layout is also much more compact, moving the time up to the status bar upon bringing up the controls.

I'm not a fan of what the blank controls look like. In pre-6.1, the buttons & slider would appear under the time, but the top bat wouldn't extend down to where song info would fit, it would only accommodate the controls. Now, because the song info is displayed above the controls, there's just an odd gap left. And the time is still pushed up from being the largest thing on the screen to one of the smallest, up into the status bar. That's really nothing to complain about, though.

The only other big thing found in iOS 6.1 so far is an addition to the Maps app. When Apple launched iOS 6, it included its very own Maps app, with map data coming straight from Apple (and TomTom, Acxiom, AND, CoreLogic Inc., DigitalGlobe...) servers. There were plenty of problems with it, and hoards of jokes were created, aimed at Apple's failed Maps app. Some guys in the iOS department decided to try to help all the errors in Apple Maps by adding a button in the peel-up menu:
I doubt the addition of a "Report a Problem" button will actually help to resolve problems, but it's nice to see them trying to respond.




That's really everything that's been found in the latest .1 update in iOS. I'll be sure to go over any new features that might emerge, as well as when iOS 6.1 goes public.