If you’re still “thirsty” after checking out our first 5 iOS features, you’ll be excited to note that there are more – it’s not over yet! Check out the latter portion of our unsung features below.
6. Alternate Routes in Maps
Maps now recognizes that our lives (and streets) are complicated, and can help you re-route your travel directions based on road closures, other places you want to stop, and so forth. It’s easy to select the alternates, and it makes for a lovely addition to an already fairly good mapping program (even if it is based on Google).
7. Smart Playlist Sync from iTunes
If you are sharp, have good vision, and happen to have watched the WWDC keynote, you may have seen the words ““Smart Playlist Sync from iTunes” on one of the iOS 5 slides. While nobody is quite sure what this entails (other than gaining the ability to sync Smart Playlists from iTunes on your Mac to your iOS device), it seems pretty interesting, and Smart Playlists are now marked by that all-so-familiar green gear icon next to their name in iOS.
8. Hourly Weather Forecasts
Another intriguing new un-touted feature of iOS 5 is a beefing up of the existing Weather app on the iPhone that will deliver you weather forecasts on the hour. While, sadly, this probably won’t come to the iPad (where are Stocks and Weather on the iPad, Steve?!), it still seems like an interesting feature for the iPhone.
9. Improved FaceTime Video Quality
Although FaceTime still won’t function over 3G, due to carrier restrictions, Apple is promising better video quality with the (Wifi only) calls you make from now on. Improved video is always better, so we won’t complain too loudly, but still…COME ON!
10. The iTunes Tone Store
Also hidden in small words on one of the iOS slides was the iTunes Tone Store. This will allow you to obtain and set specific tones for voicemail, as well as Mail and Calendar alerts. The store will provide you with lots of new tones for the notifications. There is no word yet on whether Apple will allow customers to create their own notification tones.
Click here to see our first 5 unsung features of iOS 5.
[Official iOS 5 Features Page]
