passbook

How iOS 6's Facebook integration is a boon to developers

Developers can't wait for iOS 6 and Facebook to show up on Apple's mobile devices.

That's according to Matt Gillis, who spent much of last week chatting with developers at Apple's WWDC event. As the head of global monetization for mobile advertising company Millennial Media, he's tapped into the developer community.

The key verdict from WWDC: a lot of excitement over the closer integration between Apple and Facebook. Developers are licking their chops waiting to tie their apps into Facebook, allowing the apps to show up in news feeds and eventually solving the problem of … Read more

iOS 6 Passbook vs. Google Wallet

Sorry, Google Wallet fans, but Apple may have just pulled the mobile-payment rug from under Android's feet. In signature Apple fashion, the new iOS 6 Passbook app takes a shockingly simple approach, which is just why it'll prove a hit. … Read more

What iOS 6 tells us about the next iPhone

Apple's WWDC may not have resulted in an iPhone announcement, but it provided the next best thing: a detailed look at iOS 6.

It doesn't come out until the fall, and will only work on the iPhone 3GS and models after that, but a lot of iOS 6 features will be welcomed by any iPhone owner.

New versions of mobile software (be it iOS or Android) can often be as feature-packed and exciting as new phone models, and frequently kick a lot of new value down to older hardware.

The question is, can we look into the new features of iOS 6 to peer upstream at what Apple's next iPhone might be like? I'll try. Here are my best guesses.… Read more

New Apple features may leave fresh app roadkill in their wake

While fanboys everywhere are basking in the glow of hundreds of new Mac and iOS features, executives at a number of app makers are no doubt cursing the fact that, with some of those features, Apple just ran them over and left them for dead.

Take Instapaper, for example. For some time, the app has given Mac, iPhone, and iPad users the ability to save Web pages they want to read later, when they're offline. But today, at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote in San Francisco, Apple unveiled its Offline Reading List feature for both the Mac and iOS … Read more

Apple demos Passbook, a ticket, coupon organizer for iOS 6

Apple's iOS 6 includes a new Passbook feature that lets users store and quickly access electronic versions of all their tickets, boarding passes, and merchant cards in one place, executives said during WWDC 2012 today.

In a demo, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software, showed how to use the feature with a San Francisco Giants ticket. The feature will work with things like Starbucks cards, Apple Store cards, and plane tickets, as well. Passbook is dynamic, so users will be notified of flight delays and gate changes, he said.

Passbook is integrated with the lock screen so … Read more