Apple is planning new photo-sharing features for the next version of its iOS mobile platform, a new report says, with an eye toward moving into territory traditionally reserved by social networks such as Facebook or Instagram.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal via The Next Web, Apple’s photo-sharing service will be upgraded with the release of iOS 6, the next version of the mobile software it uses for its iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Apple will be adding the ability to share sets of photos and to add comments on photos they and their friends post, similar to what users on Facebook and other social networks already enjoy.
Currently, Apple’s Photo Stream feature is basically just a quick way to sync your photos to iCloud, and sends them one at a time. The improvements are set to fill out that feature to make it more involved and more social, it seems.
Apple also is adding another new service to its iCloud features, WSJ’s unnamed sources claim. Like Photo Stream, it’ll allow users to upload videos to their iCloud accounts automatically through syncing, and will probably be tied to that service. Both are expected to show up in iOS 6, which sources expect Apple to open up to developers at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. That’s how Apple handled things last year with the release of iOS 5.
WWDC will also see previews of lots of new apps for the new version of iOS, according to a report from The Guardian. Apple showed the paper’s Stuart Dredge several exclusive iOS apps during a press briefing, and it appears that Apple will be pushing for more apps to appear only on its platform going forward as a means of helping it fight against Google’s Android platform.
Among the apps shown off was the upcoming Infinity Blade follow-up, Infinity Blade: Dungeons, and Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy, a flight sim title that was released earlier this year alongside the launch of the third-generation iPad. The Guardian’s report notes that Sky Gamblers was particularly impressive because of new AirPlay-centric features being rolled out later this year. Using an Apple TV, players using different iOS devices as controllers were able to play together on the same TV, using a video game console-style split-screen approach. That very feature hints at what the future of Apple TV might be like, or Apple’s means of sneaking into the video game console market. It’s a move many have been expecting for a while, but Apple has yet to really capitalize in that department.
Apple also featured some indie game titles, such as SpellTower, and put some focus on e-books and book apps. All of those demonstrate where Apple is strongest in relationship to other mobile platforms. It seems that WWDC may see Apple highlighting improvements and features that will bring more developers to iOS and keep them there, as more and more devs hop the fence and spread their apps to Android as well. We’ve already heard rumors that Apple is planning a revamp of its App Store: it’s hard to say what else might be on the cards, but knowing Apple, it will have lots to show off come June.
