Apple iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion - Top 10 features

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We take a look at the most exciting features Apple is going to bring to iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion, including updates to Siri, MacBook Pro with Retina display and an all-new mapping feature.

7. Updated Siri (iOS 6)

Apple's voice-activated personal assistant was introduced with the iPhone 4S. However, most of the location-based features were restricted to the US severely limiting the usefulness of Siri in the UK.

Apple has added to the knowledge base of Siri, so you will be able to ask questions about football, movies and restaurants. Siri will also be able to launch apps with the update.

However, the feature which will exponentially increase the use of Siri will be 'Eyes Free'. Apple has signed a deal with manufacturers including Audi, BMW, GM, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda and Toyota.

Eyes Free will allow users to activate Siri from a button on the steering wheel so users will be able to send messages, get directions or call people hands free. There is no ETA on this feature, but we expect it to be featured in road cars coming out this year and suspect it could be the final nail in the coffin for dedicated navigation devices.

iOS 6 Siri

6. Powernap (Mountain Lion)

Set to be introduced with Mountain Lion, Powernap is a simple but effective feature. It will allow Macs to update emails and sync with iCloud whilst they are in Sleep mode, so when you power one everything is up-to-date.

When connected to mains power, MacBooks will also download software updates and backup using the Time Machine app in complete silence.

Powernap will also be available on existing MacBooks that have built-in flash storage, with some devices also requiring a firmware update.

5. Dictation (Mountain Lion)

This feature will be welcomed by business users who have the privacy of an office or who work from home.

Dictation will convert speech-to-text, useful for those who write reports. The system will also be able to recognise punctuation and the names of your contacts and, if as accurate as Apple claims, could boost productivity. The feature will initially support English, French, German and Japanese languages.

Khidr Suleman
Khidr Suleman is the Technical Editor at IT Pro, a role he has fulfilled since March 2012. He is responsible for the reviews section on the site  - so get in touch if you have a product you think might be of interest to the business world. He also covers the hardware and operating systems beats. Prior to joining IT Pro, Khidr worked as a reporter at Incisive Media. He studied law at the University of Reading and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism and Online Writing at PMA Training.
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