Apple announced the iPhone 5 today and updated its website. iOS 6 arrives on September 19 for all compatible devices (starting with the iPhone 3GS), while the iPhone 5 ships September 21.
I noticed some new features during Apple’s announcement and on its updated product site that I think were either previously unannounced or simply not made public outside of the developer beta. In no particular order:
- You can snap still photos while recording 1080p video on the iPhone 5. It is unclear, however, what resolution these photos will be. Hat tip to Tom Reestman on App.net for this one
- Siri can now look up local movie showtimes, facts and trailers, get sports scores, find restaurants by cuisine, price, outdoor seating, and other features, and even make reservations at restaurants that work with OpenTable
- Passbook, a new iOS 6 feature for using your affiliate memberships, gift cards, and event tickets on your iPhone, is time and location based. So as you arrive at the airport or the football stadium, an alert prompts you to open your ticket so it’s ready
- You can finally ignore and reply to calls. New options in the incoming call interface let you decline a call and reply with a text message and add custom messages
- Safari now has a full-screen view (this is not in the developer betas)
- Weather’s hourly forecast (tap anywhere to view) has been redesigned with a horizontal interface (also not in the developer betas)
- The on-device iTunes and App Store in iOS 6 let you post any item you find to Twitter and Facebook
- On iPhone 5, Calendar can display a full five-day week view in landscape
- While in the middle of composing a message in Mail, you can now tap to add a photo or video from your library. You no longer need to switch apps or copy-paste your existing message in order to restart the message from the Photos app
- Apple has a comparison page that lists not just specs, but many of the big features that will and won’t work across the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5. Curiously, even though the 3GS will get iOS 6, there’s no mention of it on this page
See anything I missed?