iOS 6

A major update to the Facebook SDK for iOS “coming soon”

The social networking behemoth Facebook just announced in a post over at its Facebook Developers blog that it is working on a major update to the Facebook SDK for iOS that will launch "soon".

The company also confirmed its acquisition of the Face.com startup that should result in a more accurate facial recognition when you upload and share your photos...

Virtual keyboard in iOS 6 now finally capitalizes after quotes and emoji

Here's another small but useful tweak in iOS 6 which went under our radar: the virtual keyboard is now clever enough to capitalize after quotes and emoji.

Previously, when you started or ended a quote or ended your sentence with emoji followed by a period, the keyboard wouldn't switch to capitals.

iOS 6 tweaks its virtual keyboard's behavior, now capitalizing after quotes and emojis, just as you'd expect...

How to install Cydia on iOS 6 beta

Last week a tethered jailbreak was released for iOS 6 running on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod touch 4th generation. While it was great to have a jailbreak so soon, the jailbreak didn't include any GUI tools like Cydia, only SSH and afc2 support were added.

Fortunately, now that we have SSH access, we can transfer and install pretty much anything on our jailbroken iOS 6 devices, including Cydia.

Check inside for the full video tutorial that shows you how to install Cydia on iOS 6 beta...

The ultimate list of new iOS 6 features

As expected, Apple took the wraps off the latest iteration of its mobile operating system last week. And although it may not be quite the upgrade that its predecessor was, iOS 6 still includes a ton of new features and other enhancements.

We've covered a number of these additions here on iDB already, but it's hard to keep up with each and every new discovery. So, we've decided to put together a census of all of the new changes. Here's iDB's ultimate list of new iOS 6 features...

iOS 6 brings built-in support for Government Alerts

Still looking for new iOS 6 features? Then you're in luck, because we've just come across one that you might not have seen yet: Government Alerts.

That's right, it looks like the latest iteration of Apple's mobile OS includes built-in support for AMBER alerts, and other emergency notifications...

Podcasts will have their own app in iOS 6

According to Peter Kafka of AllThingsD, and verified independently by my sources, podcasts in iOS 6 will have a dedicated app come this fall. Though the Podcast section is still present in desktop iTunes 10.6.3, released earlier this week, removing it from iOS 6 iTunes storefront indicates plans that a brand new Podcast app is in the works. Another tell-tale sign: at first run, the iTunes app tells you the iTunes U section has moved to a dedicated app, released back in January. Oh, Audiobooks too are MIA...

New iOS 6 3D Maps ported to iPhone 4

With its in-house mapping solution in iOS 6, Apple basically pulled a Siri in that folks in Cupertino have limited this headline feature to the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later (full iOS 6 device compatibility list is here). Now, I realize graphics-intensive 3D Flyovers require A5-enabled devices. But turn-by-turn? Seriously, Apple?

Worry not, those crazy Russian hackers have cracked the code to run the new iOS 6 Maps on the iPhone 4, complete with 3D Flyovers and turn-by-turn navigation - without even using Cydia...

Apple looking to take Find My Friends to the next level with iOS 6

Apple debuted Find My Friends last fall during their iPhone 4S event. Similar to Google's Latitude service, Find My Friends uses GPS and Wi-Fi triangulation to track the locations of its members.

While the platform certainly has potential, it's failed to garner much user-traction thus far. But it appears that Apple is looking to change that in iOS 6, with a new geofencing notification system...

How to jailbreak iOS 6 beta with RedSn0w 0.9.13dev1

Earlier today, the iPhone Dev Team released RedSn0w 0.9.13dev1 to jailbreak the iOS 6 beta on certain iOS devices. Because this jailbreak is obviously aimed at developers only, the process and the results are a tad bit different that normal.

If you're a developer, and you have an iPhone 4, 3GS, or iPod touch 4th generation running iOS 6 beta, then step inside as we showcase how to jailbreak with this development version of RedSn0w.

Schiller on app discovery, Passbook not being a direct payment product

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of all marketing at Apple, talked to The Wall Street Journal yesterday about the app ecosystem, how the upcoming iOS 6 mobile operating system helps third-party developers get better exposure for their software and why Apple's brand new app called Passbook is not meant to become a full-blown mobile payment solution...

RedSn0w 0.9.13dev1 released to jailbreak iOS 6 beta

As promised, the iPhone Dev Team has released RedSn0w 0.9.13dev1 for both Windows and Mac. This latest RedSn0w update is for developers only, as it allows you to perform a tethered jailbreak on iOS 6.

If you're not a legitimate developer, it's advised that you stay away, as there is no Cydia install performed with this jailbreak. The only thing you will have access to is SSH or afc2, which are certainly useful, but you have to know what you're doing.

Check inside for more details, and the download links...

Siri in iOS 6 Beta spotted performing location searches abroad

Although this has been announced in the WWDC keynote, we are beginning to receive reports that Siri in iOS 6 Beta is now able to find places internationally, at least in certain countries and with limited precision. By the way, jailbreakers can get this functionality by way of an AssistantExtensions plugin called International Locations...