iOS 6 on iPhone 4S

Well,
The most painless major iOS update to date from Apple has arrived.

This is the first in a short series of posts on the process and the changes.

Installation:

As mentioned in the post yesterday, the first indication that the update was available was that all my games threw me out and prompted for a Game Center login.
So I checked under Settings, General, Software Update and bingo!

Clicking the “Learn More” link gives you page after page of information on what’s included in iOS 6. It is an impressive list of changes, not all will be welcome though.
Apple have now got these updates working PC free but as it always pays better in the long run to be cautious, updating a phone over WiFi may not be sensible.
So I toodled over to the PC, loaded iTunes and plugged in the iPhone.
Sure enough, there was the same (or nearly) update prompt.
Selecting the “Download” option rather than the “Download and Install” seemed a sensible option. The download is well over 600MB but even on my useless broadband connection this took less than an hour. The size of the download is another reason for WiFi caution.
To be honest, installation is merely a matter of following the (very few) on screen prompts and instructions. For me the were no issues, utter smooth and error free process. It really looks like Apple have put some time and effort into the update mechanism this time.
It is very important that you take note of the prompt before it installs the firmware. You must leave your iPhone connected whilst it reboots. Otherwise you may end up with a (expensive) paperweight.
First start:

Again Apple lead you by the hand through the last few steps in configuring iOS 6. This is pretty much the same process as with iOS 5.
On that very first page, as well as the obvious iOS 6 background, there is a little (i). Click this and you get two important pieces of information, your iPhone’s IMEI and ICCID. These are worth recording somewhere.

IMEI is International Mobile Equipment Identity, used to uniquely identify [sic] your iPhone amongst the billions of mobile phones, tablets and such out there. ICCID however identifies the SIM card within the device.
You may find yourself being asked one or either by your network provider in some difficult support cases. They can also be found by going to Settings, General, About. Both are listed near the bottom.
Going back to starting iOS 6 for the first time…
It remembers your Passcode (you do use one – don’t you) so put that in to get started.
Simple screens confirm WiFi, Location Services, Apple ID, T&C [sic], Messaging and then you’re done!

Sort of.

Minor Post Installation Tweaks:

You may find that a bit of time is required in setting up elements if the system as you need them.
Two you can start with immediately are the Dictionary and Facebook integration.
If you have followed my previous posts, you’ve already activated the two-factor authentication for new devices/services in Facebook so make sure you have GPRS or 3G connectivity. You’ll need it to receive the SMS authority. More on is when I take a look at Facebook integration.
The Dictionary was an interesting one. It didn’t ask me my locale or language so I assumed it detected these but more weirdly it didn’t automatically finish. Indeed it sort started dribbling along the progress bar then stopped at about 5%. After stopping that process manually though I found the Dictionary is installed and seems to be set (correctly) to UK English… aluminum has the little red dots and aluminium does not.

Conclusion:

“Reasonably painless and quick installation.”

No glaring immediate big changes to the user interface but perhaps the tweaks behind the scenes will prove to be great enhancements or disasters?
Rating just the installation process I’d have to give it an easy 4/5, 🌟🌟🌟🌟💢.
The Dictionary weirdness that required me to exit an install process wasn’t ideal, thus the lost mark.