14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re excited about the upcoming release of iOS 6.1, you have every right to be. Developers testing the new software are saying that users will be able to buy tickets to their favorite movies simply by asking for them with their voice.
That’s right, iOS 6.1 boasts Siri enhancements that will allow regular users to ask for stuff like “three tickets to see Brave,” or “buy four tickets to see Toy Story 3 tonight in San Jose.”
The voice assistant will comply and use the Fandango app (if installed on the handset) to take the user to the purchase menu. If the customer doesn’t have Fandango installed, Siri will recommend the download from the App Store.
Not all theaters are supported, though. Developers say that users will be able to identify compatible theaters with a small movie tickets icon.
iOS 6.1 has no release date set yet, and developers have only been handed the first beta less than a week ago, which means we still have to wait a while before Apple launches the final version to the public.
Apple has also confirmed to developers that iOS 6.1 uses an updated Map Kit framework which introduces the MKLocalSearch, MKLocalSearchRequest, and MKLocalSearchResponse classes.
“Apps can use these classes to perform map-based searches for addresses and points of interest,” according to the company. “The results are then delivered to the app as an array of map item objects. For information about these new classes, see Map Kit Framework Reference.”
Another notable change is that the relevance behavior for boarding passes has changed. This affects passes that include both a relevant date and a relevant location. The main idea is to have the date matching the passes in order for them to become relevant.
“If both the date and location match, they are relevant for a longer window of time. You are encouraged to provide both pieces of information when they make sense for your passes,” Apple says, according to developers.