WWDC 2013: What You Need to Know about iOS 7
The most anticipated announcement of all at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2013 is the unveiling of the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 7. Dubbed as the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of iPhone, iOS 7 boasts quite several new features. Read on to find out more.
Highlights of Apple iOS 7
When Apple unveiled iOS 6 last year, it was admittedly a little disappointing. Even though Apple claimed that iOS 6 had over 200 new features, the mobile operating system paled in comparison with its rivals, namely Google Android and Windows Phone which were seen as overtaking the Cupertino company in its own game - innovation.
This year proved to be a very different one for Apple. With the departure of Scott Forstall and Apple's stocks plunging, expectations were growing for the company to come up with something more dramatic and different. It was reported that Apple worked overtime to deliver iOS 7 for WWDC 2013, and the company's CEO, Tim Cook seemed to agree by stating that his team had been "working incredibly hard on the latest version of iOS." Here's a look at the top features of iOS 7:
Control Centre
The concept of Control Center is similar to quick settings on Android devices, which is quick access to connectivity toggles and commonly used settings.
Apple's Control Centre is similar to the quick settings or toggles which some Android devices have been equipped with for some time. Control Center enables the user to quickly access the controls and apps such as air plane mode, brightness level, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, media controls and apps.
While users swipe from the top down to access the quick settings, iOS 7 users can swipe up from any screen (including the lock screen) to access Control Center. It remains to be seen if iOS 7 users can customize the shortcuts and settings in Control Center.
Notification Center
The All and Missed tabs allow you to view all the notifications or those that you haven't addressed in the last 24 hours.
Previous iterations of iOS have been criticised heavily for the lack of a competent notification system. With iOS 7 and Notification Center, Apple levels the playing field with Google Android.
Easily accessible from any screen (including the lock screen) via a swipe down, Notification Center collates all your notifications (emails, missed calls, to-dos and calendar) into one central location for easy viewing.
The Today tab gives you an overview of what you need to know or do about that particular day and even provides a peek at tomorrow's activities.
Multitasking
Apple's new implementation of multitasking is like a cross between Windows Phone and WebOS.
First introduced in iOS 4, multitasking has always been limited to certain apps to avoid draining battery life. With iOS 7, Apple has enabled multitasking for all apps with "great battery life" and is a step ahead of multitasking on other mobile platforms.
The multitasking feature in iOS 7 is "smart" enough to learn and monitor the ways you use your apps. For example, if it detects that you access your Facebook app every morning during your commute to work, it will automatically update the newsfeed even before you access it.
It also adapts to network conditions; it will update your apps when it detects a strong connection signal. Moreover, it intelligently schedules your updates during power-efficient times (when connected to Wi-Fi) to conserve battery.
To multitask in iOS 7, simply press the Home button twice to see preview screens of the apps you have opened. To quit an app, you just need to swipe it up and out of preview. If this seems familiar, a familiar concept was implemented by HTC on its Sense 4 user interface.
Multitasking in Apple iOS 7 seems to be "smarter" than its counterparts on other mobile platforms.
iTunes Radio
Apple takes the fight to Spotify, Google Play Music All Acess and Pandora with its iTunes Radio music streaming service.
The long-rumored streaming music service from Apple, iTunes Radio is designed to compete with the likes of Pandora, Spotify and Google Play Music All Access.
iTunes Radio is integrated with the Music app in iOS 7, which gives you access to Featured Stations that are inspired from the playlists of songs you are listening to. In other words, the stations evolve based on your musical tastes and choices. The more you use the service, the more personalized your audio experience will be.
You also can create and build your own playlists by searching for any artist, song or genre. As the world's most popular music store, iTunes gives you access to thousands of new songs every week including exclusive tracks from upcoming bands or pre-release albums.
iTunes Radio is free (ad-supported) or completely free without ads if you are an iTunes Match subscriber. The music streaming service works on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV. For now, iTunes Radio is only available in the U.S.
Photos
Photos help you organize your photos for a better viewing experience.
Feeling frustrated scrolling through archives of photos without having any memory of where and when they were taken? Fret not as Photos in iOS 7 aim to make it easier for you to organize your photos via Collections, Moments and Years.
A Collection contains photos which are organized into Moments according to specific dates and locations, while Years compile all the shots and Collections for a particular year. You can zoom in or out of Years, or even scroll images one by one to see an enlarged version. Sharing is another key function in Photos, where you can Airdrop (more on this in the next section), iCloud, tweet or Facebook the photos.
The Years view enables you to tap and view each photo individually in a slightly enlarged window.
AirDrop
Apple challenges NFC on Android devices with AirDrop in iOS 7.
We all know Android devices can transfer data via near-field communication (NFC) , but Apple takes it a step further on iOS 7 with AirDrop. Using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, AirDrop lets you share photos, videos, contacts and anything else from any app with one or more people. Compared to NFC, AirDrop does not require you to "wander around, bumping your phone" to transfer data. In addition, transfers are encrypted and secure.
Unfortunately, AirDrop does not work with iPhone 4/4S and the older generations of iPads.
Camera
The camera interface has always been an important aspect of iOS and Apple did not neglect it in iOS 7. The Camera app is given a facelift where all the shooting modes - still, video, panorama and square - are easily accessible at the bottom of the screen. To switch between the different modes, you only need to swipe.
Filters are also added to still and square photos. You can preview the effect of each filter before taking a photo. Even when a filter is applied to a photo after it is taken, you have the option to remove it.
Filters in Camera are available on iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation). Filters in Photos are available on iPhone 4 or later, iPad (3rd generation or later), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation).
Apple brings a little of Instagram into its Camera app with Filters.
Safari
iOS 7 makes browsing better and more beautiful in Safari.
Apple's default web browser, Safari received several refinements such as a unified smart search field, a new tab view, shared links and reading list.
The unified smart search field not only hides itself to allow you to see more content on the display, it also allows you to type a URL or search term and let Safari automatically suggest the closest match.
With the new tab view in Safari, you can see your open web pages as tabs which you can scroll through easily. Similar to how you quit an app in multitasking, you close a page by swiping it offscreen.
You are no longer limited to just 8 tabs.
Siri
Siri in iOS 7 gets a new look and new functionality.
Apple's personal voice assistant, Siri takes on a modernized look, complete with new sounds and enhanced capabilities. There is a more natural speech pattern in both male and female voice for French and German languages. Apple states that support for additional languages will come in the near future.
Siri can now carry out more tasks such as increasing the screen brightness, turning on Bluetooth and playing voicemails. It is also integrated with more services such as Bing's web search results, Twitter and Wikipedia.
Siri may look and function better now, but we wonder if these improvements will encourage people to use it more.
The interface remains largely the same except for some minor aesthetic improvements and incorporation of swipe gestures.
The Mail app sees minor changes to its interface. In iOS 7, it focuses more on text and photos, which gives you the ability to view full screen images within the app. It also makes use of swipe gestures to move them to trash or reveal more options such as move to other folders.
Weather
Besides having live weather elements, the Weather app uses new fonts.
The weather app in iOS 7 becomes more dynamic as it shows live weather elements. For example, if a particular location is experiencing a tropical storm, lightning will flash across the screen. Swiping left will change the location, city or country and its corresponding weather. Use a pinch gesture to get an overview of the weather forecast in multiple locations.
Messages
The Messages interface is given a major revamp, with a blue and white interface that is very different from the green chat bubbles in iOS 6. It utilizes a swipe-right gesture to go from individual messages to an overview of the messages, which is similar to what BlackBerry implemented for its BlackBerry 10 Hub.
Other Features
Here's an overview of the other features that were not discussed at the conference earlier.
One particular feature, Activation Lock, was singled out during the conference for a more elaborate explanation. Activation Lock is essentially designed to deter thefts of iOS devices. Its new feature includes the need to have an Apple ID and password to access and turn off Find My iPhone or to wipe a device. Even if the device is totally wiped, the Apple ID and password are still required to reactivate the device.
Availability
iOS 7 is now available as a beta on the iPhone for developers. iPad support will be coming at a later date. It will be available for consumers this fall, and the following iOS devices are eligible for upgrade to iOS 7:
- iPhone 4 and later
- iPad 2 and later
- iPad mini
- iPod touch (5th generation)
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