We take a whistle stop tour of Apple’s radically redesigned iOS 7 ahead of tonight's iPhone 5S reveal
In just a few short hours Apple will launch the iPhone 5S alongside iOS 7 and potentially a cheaper iPhone handset known as the iPhone 5C. That’s three pretty sizable updates in one sitting… tonight looks to be anything but boring in this regard.
Lauded as the biggest overhaul to Apple’s mobile platform since its inception way back in 2007, iOS 7 looks to be one of the biggest talking points of tonight’s media event. The gold standard release of iOS 7 will likely be markedly different, featuring a variety of bug fixes and UX changes.
Below is our first look at the developer edition of iOS 7 from back in June.
When I first loaded up iOS 7 on the iPhone 5, my first thought was, 'Whoa. This is definitely different.' The latest version of iOS kind of looks like Apple, Samsung's TouchWiz and Windows Phone had a baby. It's still very much an iPhone but the new interface will turn heads. Thankfully, the brightness and the Fresh Prince aesthetics doesn't come off as poorly in the hand as it does in pictures or renders.
For all intents and purposes, iOS 7 is still the iPhone software you know and love but with a fresh and deep coat of paint. We had heard a lot of talk about iOS 7 being very 'flat' but I've found it to have clearer dimension and depth than previous versions. The notification bar and Control Center are clearly layered above whatever app is underneath it, which gives you a unique sense of place within iOS 7.
Everything from the unlock screen to the stock apps has been redone to show this new design philosophy and most of it seems to work. I'm not a designer and won't pretend to know or care about the gradients of icons but I do think that iOS 7 creates a 'wow moment' when you first actually use it.
I like the new text on iOS 7, although it does remind me a little bit of the Roboto font found on the latest versions of Android. This makes the virtual keyboard appear different but I haven't noticed any real improvements to the typing experience so far.
The new design in iOS 7 is not perfect by any means. One would expect more visual cohesion between the stock apps and that's not always the case. Game Center looks like a messy ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheese while apps like Weather show a very polished look.
Siri has also received a makeover and it also follows the design philosophies nicely, as it will pop over whatever app you're using and then disappear when it's finished. It has a new voice and you can even choose the gender.
It has improved slightly with Twitter integration and the ability to do things like control your display's brightness, but I haven't seen anything that comes close to the mind-blowing nature of Google Now.
Another key change to iOS 7 is the ability to add an unlimited amount of apps to a folder. This is a godsend for me because I'm always testing out new apps and on previous versions of iOS things used to get rather cramped.
There are also a lot of other little visual flourishes which show how much time and care Apple has put into iOS 7. For example, there's a parallax effect which utilizes the phone's accelerometer to adjust how the icons look depending on how you hold it. There’s no practical benefit to this feature but it does look rather cool.
The new look of iOS 7 does make a lot of third-party apps look out of place, however, but that's what the developer preview is for. You can bet that by the time iOS 7 lands for the public the majority of popular apps will be updated to fit in with its new flat styling.
The Control Center will let you toggle on your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, Lock orientation, display brightness and control what music is playing. This Control Center menu also includes controls for AirDrop, AirPlay, a new built-in flashlight, the stopwatch, calculator and quick access to the camera.
The whole thing slides gracefully over any app you're using and while it is a rather small detail in the grand scheme of things it's something iOS has been missing since day one.
Multitasking also gets a much-needed refresh, too. Since iOS 4, multitasking was handled by double-tapping the Home button causing icons to pop up at the bottom of the screen. With iOS 7, your running apps now fill up the screen as cards and the effect bears a striking resemblance to the multitasking in Windows Phone and webOS.
Stolen or not, this interface makes switching between apps and killing apps (just swipe the cards up) significantly easier and a whole lot more intuitive. Yes, it’s the same thing we've seen on webOS and Android phones but it's very effective here.
Beyond the visual refresh, multitasking in iOS 7 now gives app makers free reign when it comes to background processes. Apple insists this will be done in a battery-efficient manner and I'm looking forward to seeing what app makers do with this newfound freedom. Another added bonus is that apps will now be able to update in the background.
The notification bar has been redesigned and it gracefully slides over whatever app you're using too. While it looks prettier, it doesn't seem to be that much more useful. There are no in-line response capabilities and it's even tougher to clear notifications than before. It looks nicer but I wish iOS 7 would provide more practical measures for dealing with your notifications.
AirDrop seems easy to set up and use but it's honestly tough to gauge its real-life uses without iOS 7 out in the wild. It is definitely easier than bumping handsets together with NFC-enabled apps like Bump.
The iTunes Radio music discovery service is built into the default Music app and is aimed at helping you discover new artists based on bands and songs you like. Think Pandora, but built into your next iPhone and with deep hooks into iTunes.
The iOS 7 beta version is still trying to work out the kinks, as the catalogue didn't even have results for some very high-profile artists. Still, when it does work, iTunes Radio is a visually pleasing way to discover new tracks. It also integrates with Twitter Music, which could also be a good way to find out what’s cooking on the music scene.
The iTunes Radio service is a nice thing to have as a default part of iOS 7 but I'm still more interested in services like Pandora, Spotify or Google Play Music All Access. Note: iTunes Radio is free with ads and will be available in the United States only at first.
Lauded as the biggest overhaul to Apple’s mobile platform since its inception way back in 2007, iOS 7 looks to be one of the biggest talking points of tonight’s media event. The gold standard release of iOS 7 will likely be markedly different, featuring a variety of bug fixes and UX changes.
Below is our first look at the developer edition of iOS 7 from back in June.
iOS 7: The new look
iOS 7
For all intents and purposes, iOS 7 is still the iPhone software you know and love but with a fresh and deep coat of paint. We had heard a lot of talk about iOS 7 being very 'flat' but I've found it to have clearer dimension and depth than previous versions. The notification bar and Control Center are clearly layered above whatever app is underneath it, which gives you a unique sense of place within iOS 7.
Everything from the unlock screen to the stock apps has been redone to show this new design philosophy and most of it seems to work. I'm not a designer and won't pretend to know or care about the gradients of icons but I do think that iOS 7 creates a 'wow moment' when you first actually use it.
iOS 7
The new design in iOS 7 is not perfect by any means. One would expect more visual cohesion between the stock apps and that's not always the case. Game Center looks like a messy ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheese while apps like Weather show a very polished look.
Siri has also received a makeover and it also follows the design philosophies nicely, as it will pop over whatever app you're using and then disappear when it's finished. It has a new voice and you can even choose the gender.
It has improved slightly with Twitter integration and the ability to do things like control your display's brightness, but I haven't seen anything that comes close to the mind-blowing nature of Google Now.
Another key change to iOS 7 is the ability to add an unlimited amount of apps to a folder. This is a godsend for me because I'm always testing out new apps and on previous versions of iOS things used to get rather cramped.
There are also a lot of other little visual flourishes which show how much time and care Apple has put into iOS 7. For example, there's a parallax effect which utilizes the phone's accelerometer to adjust how the icons look depending on how you hold it. There’s no practical benefit to this feature but it does look rather cool.
iOS 7
New controls: Notifications, Control Center, Multitasking
iOS 7 adds some much-needed toggle switches with Control Center and Android users have long known how great this can be. With iOS 7, you simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you'll have access to a handy menu in which you can do a lot of useful things.
iOS 7
The whole thing slides gracefully over any app you're using and while it is a rather small detail in the grand scheme of things it's something iOS has been missing since day one.
Multitasking also gets a much-needed refresh, too. Since iOS 4, multitasking was handled by double-tapping the Home button causing icons to pop up at the bottom of the screen. With iOS 7, your running apps now fill up the screen as cards and the effect bears a striking resemblance to the multitasking in Windows Phone and webOS.
Stolen or not, this interface makes switching between apps and killing apps (just swipe the cards up) significantly easier and a whole lot more intuitive. Yes, it’s the same thing we've seen on webOS and Android phones but it's very effective here.
Beyond the visual refresh, multitasking in iOS 7 now gives app makers free reign when it comes to background processes. Apple insists this will be done in a battery-efficient manner and I'm looking forward to seeing what app makers do with this newfound freedom. Another added bonus is that apps will now be able to update in the background.
The notification bar has been redesigned and it gracefully slides over whatever app you're using too. While it looks prettier, it doesn't seem to be that much more useful. There are no in-line response capabilities and it's even tougher to clear notifications than before. It looks nicer but I wish iOS 7 would provide more practical measures for dealing with your notifications.
New features: AirDrop, iTunes Radio,
AirDrop lets you quickly and securely transfer files locally. This utilises Bluetooth to create an ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection between devices, so you can share photos, videos and other types of files between devices inside Apple’s ecosystem.AirDrop seems easy to set up and use but it's honestly tough to gauge its real-life uses without iOS 7 out in the wild. It is definitely easier than bumping handsets together with NFC-enabled apps like Bump.
iOS 7
The iOS 7 beta version is still trying to work out the kinks, as the catalogue didn't even have results for some very high-profile artists. Still, when it does work, iTunes Radio is a visually pleasing way to discover new tracks. It also integrates with Twitter Music, which could also be a good way to find out what’s cooking on the music scene.
iOS 7
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