14 DAY TRIAL // One of the big features in iOS 5 was supposed to be the Facebook integration. It didn't happen though, instead Twitter got the job and was baked into the operating system at a rather deep level.
It was obvious that Apple and Facebook couldn't come to terms and it's also obvious why, the two companies are increasingly at odds with each other. But they do have a common enemy, one they hate even more: Google.
So the upcoming iOS 6 will feature deep Facebook integration, similar to the way Twitter on iOS works, though it goes deeper if only because Facebook has more features.
It starts with the login, you only have to do it once and you can do from the iOS settings. You'll then be signed into Facebook not only in the OS or the Facebook app, but in any other app that uses Facebook authentication. What this means is that you won't have to log into the social network ever again.
If you feel the urge to post something, all you have to do is bring up the notification center and use the new "Tap to post" button that's next to the "Tap to tweet" one. If you're feeling too lazy or you're too busy to do it yourself, you can ask Siri to do it for you.
But the ability to share on Facebook is built into several other iOS apps, you can share a photo directly from the Camera app or the Photos app. You can also check into a location from the Maps app. You can use the same privacy settings as you can on Facebook for anything you post.
One very interesting addition is the like button in the App Store. Apps, music, movies and so on, everything will get a little like button next to it and you'll also get to see which of your friends liked it before you. This small addition could do wonders for app virality and should drive plenty of traffic to the App Store.
Contact data from Facebook is now added and synced to your device's contacts so, if someone updates their email address on Facebook, it will be updated in the local contacts as well. Similarly, events and birthdays are synced into the calendar.
Overall, there's plenty to like about the Facebook integration and seems like a solid implementation. The risk of oversharing, that some people are already worrying about, is exaggerated since all of the actions have to be initiated by you, there's no automatic sharing.