Apple appears to be gearing up for releasing the new version of the iPhone and for existing users, a new release of the iOS, which will now be version 6. So far several beta releases of iOS 6 have been unveiled and right now, beta 4 is the going version. There are a few significant changes so far and while some are going to be welcomed, others might be frowned upon as they involve missing out on a few of the most popular applications and services.
To start with the good news, iOS 6 is going to enable users to avail the facility of ‘Wi-Fi plus Cellular’ while using applications i.e. installing and downloading to ensure that the process doesn’t get interrupted due to poor network availability. With this option on, the phone will switch over to the cellular network when Wi-Fi reception is poor and applications become dysfunctional. So far, there have been several applications that run exclusively on Wi-Fi networks owing to their data intensive functions. It is unclear now whether these apps will be allowed to run on the cellular data network in the new iOS.
The other change in the beta 4 is something disappointing as it marks the end of one of Apple’s most surprising endeavors. When the iPhone was first released, the company had focused on its integration of the YouTube application after licensing it from Google. The inclusion of this service on the iPhone triggered several other manufacturers to do the same. However, it appears that YouTube’s stay on iPhone has come to an end as the client is no longer available on the latest beta release of iOS. Initially it was thought that the move to remove YouTube was Apple’s policy to not have any Google branded services on its devices. That was the reason why Google Maps was replaced by Apple’s own application. However, it is because of the expiry of the license that the YouTube app is no longer offered.
Does this mean that there will be no more video streaming on iOS devices? Not true. The Safari browser is tuned to access YouTube in a convenient manner and Apple claims that Google is working on an app for the App Store. Whatever the reason might be to remove YouTube, it is not going to go down well with the users.
