Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has released its first major update to iOS 6, which was released in September. The company released a statement today saying that the new version adds LTE capabilities for 35 more iPhone carriers and 23 more iPad carriers globally. iOS 6.1 also enables users to buy movie tickets through Fandango in the U.S. by using Siri. Users of iTunes Match are also now able to download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud.
The update was released over the air today and is also available as an iTunes download. The new iOS version works on the iPhone 3GS and newer, as well as the third and fourth generation iPads, the iPad Mini, the iPad 2 and the fourth and fifth generation iPod Touch. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said the LTE capabilities are limited to the iPhone 5, the iPad Mini, and the fourth generation iPad Wi-FI + cellular models through select carriers.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also added a setting to reset the “non-permanent, non-personal device identifier,” a feature which was added with iOS 6. That gives users an additional level of privacy. Other minor changes include some changes to Apple’s Safari web browser, changes to the controls for music playback and updates to the dreaded Apple Maps software and Apple Passbook.
Today’s release comes only about two days after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) released its fifth beta for iOS 6.1. That beta was released over the weekend. The last time iOS 6 was updated was in the middle of December, and that update was only done to fix a few bugs.
