If you have an AppleTV, your pictures can even be transmitted to one that has access to your Photo Stream, so your Apple TV screen saver will always display the latest pictures, automatically.

In iOS 6, Apple will make several useful enhancements to the phone app. When a call comes in on an iPhone running iOS 5, you can swipe the screen to answer, or press a button located at the top of the phone to dismiss it. For many of us, that means forgetting a call ever took place until much, much later.

With iOS 6, you'll be able to slide the on-screen phone icon vertically for new options: Remind Me Later and Reply With Message. Selecting either produces still even more options, such as location- and time-based reminders under the Remind Me Later button, and a couple of canned messages for quick response under Reply With Messages. And the flourish: a new system-wide Do No Disturb, which can be manually turned on or set to activate during customizable hours.

Do No Disturb does just that: blocks all calls and notifications, ending the annoyingly sudden bright lights of iPhones receiving emails in the middle of the night.