Bottom line
iPhone OS 1.0 was all about delighting users with a an enthralling multitouch interface and a fresh new take on the smartphone. iPhone OS 2.0 to iOS 4 were about filling in and rounding out features and functionality, and making the iPhone, and later the iPad, an ecosystem. iOS 5 was about taking the iPhone and iPad to the iCloud.
iOS 6 is all about preparing for what comes next, and unfortunately for users this time around, a lot of that has to do with Apple. There's never a good time to go back and rebuild things users don't think need rebuilding, like Maps, or set up things that won't be fully realized for another generation or two, like Passbook. Yet Apple is choosing to do all of those things, and more. And they're choosing to do them now, in iOS 6.
Android remains a relentless competitor, but Google is being forced to go back and work on user experience, cohesiveness, and consistency, something Apple nailed in iPhone OS 1. webOS has been murdered by HP. Windows Phone is as much held back as it is supported by a Microsoft obsessed with Windows everywhere, and is yet to find a clear story or market. BlackBerry won't even have a shot at a relaunch into early 2013. And the Facebooks and Amazons are still more vapor than ware.
Apple seems to believe they have an opportunity, right now, to fix some of the problems they themselves have been facing. They seem to believe the tock in their product update cycle that includes the Retina iPad, iPhone 5, and perhaps iPad mini give them the chance to repatriate and reforge the vital elements of their platform.
In a perfect world, Apple could do everything all at once. But we don't live in a perfect world. We live in a world of opportunity costs, where even one of the richest, most successful companies on earth has to face certain realities. Namely, engineering talent is as limited as time itself. The money and effort expended on redoing Maps and expanding Siri couldn't be spent on actionable notifications, inter-app communications, new fast app switching metaphors, or any of the other higher hanging fruit iOS arguably still needs.
Compared to previous versions of iOS, and compared to competing platforms, iOS 6 doesn't have the same level of customer facing pizazz this year. Sure, there's Do Not Disturb and the new Privacy features, FaceTime over 3G, Siri for iPad and iPod touch, VIP mail, Panorama photos, Safari image uploads, single-app-mode, and many small, satisfying gems, but making a new Maps app was a huge amount of work for Apple that couldn't be spent elsewhere. And positioning Siri and Passbook for the future compromised Apple's ability to deliver on the present.
So yes, iOS 6 is a software update divided against itself. But taken as a whole, as the sum of all its new and better features, it's still strong enough to stand. Now that they've positioned the platform for the future, however, the bigger challenge Apple faces is nailing what comes next.
