Coming in the autumn, iOS 7 sports a revolutionary new design, under-the-bonnet features like Control Center and card-based multitasking, and app updates.
When taking the wraps off iOS 7 at June's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook called it the most significant overhaul of its mobile operating system since the company got into the smartphone business in 2007. Indeed, this is a dramatic re-invention of its mobile software that goes beyond mere additions and enhancements.
Apple is overhauling the very look and feel of the operating system itself.
Something as different as iOS 7 is going to raise questions. Fortunately, we have the answers. While there's still much to be learned about the new OS between now and its arrival later this year, we can still provide an overview based on what we've seen and heard so far from Apple.
What's the biggest change with i05 7?
Where do we begin? The entire look and feel of the system has been overhauled, with flatter icons, less skeuomorphism, and thinner typefaces. That said, anybody who's used i05 will probably feel mostly at home: Apple hasn't changed the home screen much, and the basic gestures and interactions are largely the same, with a few exceptions.
How does the new design differ from the old? How did you feel about green felt? Wood bookshelves? Stitched leather? We hope the answer is "not great", because they're all gone in iOS 7. Instead, they've been replaced with a new cleaner design that's largely about simple lines and icons. While there are elements reminiscent of Microsoft's recent Windows Phone design, iOS 7 clearly has its own distinct style. These aren't just subtle enhancements either; they permeate every bit of the interface.
The operating system also takes design cues from your content too, tinting controls and panels based on the colours of the photos behind them. Apple's Sir Jony lye spoke about layering the interface, with panels such as Notification Center and Control Center visually residing "on top" of apps and the i05 home screen.
Will we have to relearn how to use the iPhone?
Not really. Launching and using apps is largely the same, though there will be some new things to learn. For example, you can now swipe up from the bottom of the screen to summon Control Center (a handy panel that gives you access to many of your most commonly used system features). There's another new swipe-from-the-left-edge gesture that means "go up a level" when you're in Mail, for example. But, as Apple's Craig Federighi described it: "iOS 7 is like getting a new phone, but one you already know how to use."
When will i0S 7 be available?
Apple says the updated i05 will arrive in the autumn, which has become something of a standard for iOS releases. i05 6 arrived last September, while i05 5 made its debut in October 2011, (Before that, both iOS and the phones that it powered were on a summer release schedule.) When iOS 7 becomes available, we expect you'll be able to upgrade the same way you could with i05 6 either downloading the update via iTunes or by taking advantage of i0S's over-the-air updating ability.
Which Apple devices will support i0S 7?
If you're looking to update to iOS 7, you'll need to have one of these devices: the iPhone 4 or later; iPad 2 or later; iPad mini; or fifth-generation iPod touch. (And, of course, whatever new mobile hardware Apple releases between now and iOS 7's official launch.)
Specific features have more stringent device requirements (see below for details on these features):
+Enhanced panoramic photos are only available on the iPhone 45 or later, and fifth-generation iPod touch.
+You can't shoot square photos or video using the iPad 2; all other devices can use this feature, though.
+For the nifty new live camera filters, you'll need an iPhone 5 or fifth-generation iPod touch. Putting filters on after the fact in the Photos app is an option for the iPhone 4 or later, third-generation iPad or later, iPad mini, and fifth-generation iPod touch.
+To AirDrop a photo or other file to your friends, you'll need an iPhone 5 or later, fourth-generation iPad or later, iPad mini, or fifth-generation [Pod touch. You'll also need an iCloud account.
+Siri continues to be limited to those using an iPhone 45 or later; a third-generation iPad or later; an iPad mini; and a fifth-generation [Pod touch. And if it's a new Siri voice you desire, for now the new voices are only available in US English, French, or German. However, we expect that a new British English female voice will available when iOS 7 launches.
The latter acts a little bit like Google's Google Now feature, providing you with an overview of what you have to do today, including the current weather forecast, upcoming appointments on your calendar, stock quotes, and even a quick paragraph about what kind of day you have tomorrow.
Behind the scenes, there are other, more significant differences. In iCS 4 and later, only certain tasks could run in the background (in order to save battery life). In iOS 7, we finally get full multitasking. So any app can run in the background, providing you with up-to-the-minute information as soon as you switch to it.
+To AirDrop a photo or other file to your friends, you'll need an iPhone 5 or later, fourth-generation iPad or later, iPad mini, or fifth-generation [Pod touch. You'll also need an iCloud account.
+Siri continues to be limited to those using an iPhone 45 or later; a third-generation iPad or later; an iPad mini; and a fifth-generation [Pod touch. And if it's a new Siri voice you desire, for now the new voices are only available in US English, French, or German. However, we expect that a new British English female voice will available when iOS 7 launches.
THE SYSTEM
What is the Control Center?
If you've ever grumbled while navigating three levels deep into Settings to turn off Bluetooth, you're going to love the Control Center. This new panel, which you can open anywhere in i0S by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, will give you easy access to common settings, including Wi-Fi and AirPlay. There are also media playback controls, and icons at the bottom enable you to launch frequently used apps and utilities: you can turn on the iPhone's camera flash to use as a torch, or open the Clock or Camera apps. But it's not to be confused with Notification Center.Notification Center
This has been given a complete overhaul. While you still summon it by swiping down from the top of the screen, Notification Center has a new translucent look, like much of the rest of the operating system, and offers some different information. In addition to storing your notifications, as it did in previous version of 10S, it also offers a tab where you can view only your missed notifications, as well as a Today view.The latter acts a little bit like Google's Google Now feature, providing you with an overview of what you have to do today, including the current weather forecast, upcoming appointments on your calendar, stock quotes, and even a quick paragraph about what kind of day you have tomorrow.
Multitasking
You can still switch apps by double-clicking the Home button, but the interface for doing so has changed: it now resembles the old interface for switching pages in Safari on iOS 6. and before, where you see a thumbnail of the page. A row of app icons still appears below, and you can swipe back and forth to find the app you're looking for. Force-quitting programs is a little different, though: instead of tapping and holding on the icon, you flick a thumbnail up to dismiss it.Behind the scenes, there are other, more significant differences. In iCS 4 and later, only certain tasks could run in the background (in order to save battery life). In iOS 7, we finally get full multitasking. So any app can run in the background, providing you with up-to-the-minute information as soon as you switch to it.
Battery life
Apple has spent a lot of time making sure that battery life won't suffer from the new multitasking. It tries to collect updates from different apps and run them all at the same time, and keeps an eye on both power efficiency and the current network situation to make sure it doesn't run down your battery.THE APPS
Camera
Like the rest of iOS 7, the Camera has received a significant overhaul. It will offer four different modes: standard camera, video camera, a square camera, and panorama; you can swipe back and forth between them.
If you think that square camera might be Apple's way of taking a shot at Instagram, congratulations: you're spot on. The app also now includes different live photo filters that you can apply to your still or square shots. They're even non-destructive, in case you want to remove them later.
Moments and Collections
those of us that end up with thousands of pictures in our Camera Rolls, Moments and Collections offer a better way to organise those photos. Just as iPhoto on the Mac can automatically break pictures into events, Photos on iOS can use metadata like time and location to create different "Moments" — all the pictures you took on Thursday at dinner, for example, or all the photographs you snapped while on that weekend trip to the country.
Collections are larger groupings of Moments — often all the photos you took in a general area (around your house) during a time period of often several months. Beyond that, you can zoom out even further to a Years view, which breaks down all the pictures you took in various years.
AirDrop
AirDrop in iOS 7 lets you exchange files like pictures, Passbook passes and contacts between two iOS users over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, without any configuration and (as Apple's Craig Federighi pointed out) without the need to walk around and "bump" phones with people. It will appear in the Share sheet, along with more conventional items like Mail and Messages; you can even use it to share multiple items to multiple people at once. Files end up right in the appropriate app and are encrypted during transmission. You can also change permissions to determine whether everybody can share with you, or only certain people nearby (or people in your contacts).
What we don't know is whether or not iOS devices will be able to AirDrop files back and forth with Macs.
Safari
Apple's web browser - which the company likes to point out is the most used browser for mobile devices - has some new tricks up its sleeve in i05 7. There's an entirely new minimalist interface; the search and URL fields have been merged into one, which will now suggest URLs, bookmarks and search results as you type. In addition, your favourites are quickly and easily available from that screen, allowing you one-touch access to your bookmarked sites. And the interface will disappear into the background as you scroll, giving you even more space with which to view your content.
A new tab interface lets you scroll more quickly through open pages (and continue scrolling down to iCloud Tabs); there are also the same continuous-scrolling Reading List and Shared Links features that will appear in OS X Mavericks. And iCloud Keychain, a new feature that syncs your passwords between your devices and even helps you generate new passwords, should work seamlessly with Safari.
iTunes Radio
Some have argued that iTunes Radio is basically Pandora (the popular US radio service), but that doesn't mean it won't be popular. As with Pandora, you can create stations based on a song, artist or genre, then rate the songs as you go along - in case you want to hear more like that track or nothing like it ever again. You can also control the balance of your stations, determining whether they're hit-heavy, favour new music discovery, or a mixture of the two. A history tab will give you a full list of all the songs you've listened to, just in case you can't remember the name of that track that had you tapping your toes.
But Apple's new streaming service has the additional benefit of being closely tied in with the rest of the iTunes ecosystem, meaning that you can easily buy songs from the iTunes Store, directly from within iTunes Radio. Apple hasn't yet confirmed when it will launch the iTunes Radio service in the UK.
Music
Most of the changes to the Music app are cosmetic, it seems, reflecting the new design aesthetic of iOS 7, Despite the extensive overhaul of iTunes on the Mac that Apple did last year, there didn't seem to be much crossover to 105 - or, if there is, Apple hasn't revealed it yet. In particular, there's no indication that iTunes 11's Up Next feature has jumped to Apple's mobile platform.
THE REST
Siri
We don't yet know whether Siri is out of beta. Apple's virtual assistant didn't get much screen time in the keynote, and what time it did have in the spotlight was relegated to discussing its new integration features, such as in-Siri results for Bing search, Wikipedia and Twitter, as well as some new control features for things like iTunes radio.
Siri's also got new, high-quality voices and a fancy new interface - though it doesn't yet have the live-transcription feature that Google recently showed off for its voice search offering.
Activation Lock
This is a system whereby a thief who attempts to disable Find My iPhone or wipe the phone won't be able to do so without entering your Apple ID and password. While dedicated hackers may still be able to find a way around it, the hope seems to be that Activation Lock is enough of a deterrent that thieves will think twice before stealing iPhones to sell.
iOS in the Car
At the moment, Apple says that a dozen car manufacturers, including Honda, Nissan and Jaguar, have signed on to provide support for the iOS in the Car initiative, which will allow drivers to use the screen in their car to access certain lOS features, including navigation, phone, and entertainment functions.
Other changes
Apple's Federighi limited himself to previewing just 10 new features at WWDC, but one of the final slides during the iOS 7 sneak peek hinted at many more changes - everything from system improvements to
developer APIs.
Macworld's Serenity Caldwell dug into some of the iOS 7 features Apple didn't talk about during its WWDC keynote, and that's a worthwhile read if you'd like greater depth on what Apple has planned for its mobile operating system.
What's missing
There are a few things we hoped iOS 7 would offer that it doesn't yet, For example, the Maps app has no public transport directions; Sin doesn't feature live transcription, a la Google's Voice search; Home screen organisation doesn't seem to have changed; you can't apparently set third-party apps as defaults for tools like browsers or mail clients; there's no Up Next feature in iTunes; and mare. But hey, that just means there's room for improvement.
Posted By Lotfi Ben Taleb
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