Apple has ushered in a new era for mobile operating systems with the advent of iOS 7. The training wheels have been taken off and Apple is giving advanced users more features and still maintains a certain ease of use for new people. Today, we are going to look at some of the more compelling features found in iOS 7.
Look and Feel
The first notable aspects of the new iOS 7 are its look and feel, which are a lot simpler and flatter now without the schematic approach Apple had been following all the while. The icons now may no longer look 3D, but the layout does look refreshingly new. Also, the interface can be rendered transparent, which allows the user to keep tabs of what’s going on behind the scene. The app also tends to make the most of the entire screen real estate and is not unnecessarily cluttered. Even the signal bar has not been spared and is now depicted as a series of dots.
Control Center
A nice addition to iOS is the control center which can be pulled up from the bottom. It’s similar to the notification bar for Android in that the Control Center offers the user a variety of controls on a single place holder. So if you need to reach volume, playback controls, wi-fi settings, or invoke flight mode, all of it can be accessed from a single location. A welcome change, seeing as it would have required tapping into setting menu each time you needed to access these handy controls. There is even a flashlight included in the control center.
Notification Center
The notification center remains the same pull down menu as it used to be, but has been completely overhauled and the design looks better than ever before. A neat addition to the notification center is the Today section, which lists all the things that you intend to do for the day.
Airdrop
This is another innovative addition to iOS 7 which enables the users to share files with other iOS users over a wi-fi connection. Apple also didn’t resist poking fun at Android claiming, “there’s no need to wander around the room bumping your phone.” This way, photos and videos can be shared with other iOS users who appear in a menu and the user will just have to tap on the person in the list to share the files. The service is available on iPhone 5, iPad 4th gen, iPad Mini, and does not require NFC.
Siri
The friendly virtual assistant has been given a once over and now also offers a male and female voice. New languages introduced include French and German, while the entire look has been revamped. Siri has also been endowed with the abilty to tamper with your setting if you so wish. These include such tasks as changing screen brightness or connecting your Bluetooth.
iRadio
This is another hotly anticipated feature of the iOS 7 that has finally been officially released. The iTune Radio service is akin to that of Pandora and has been built on top of iTunes. The app is free and is supported by ads, though the ads will be non-existent for subscribers of iTunes Match. Users will have access to the full list of songs by tapping on “History,” while the purchase and preview buttons will take you to the iTunes store.
Anti-Theft Features
The iOS comes with better anti-theft features that should deter anyone from trying to steal an iDevice. If anyone who steals an iPhone tries to turn off the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature, they will need to have the iCloud password to turn it back on again. The new iOS 7 will also enable users from blocking calls or messages from a particular user as well, a welcome feature to take care of spammers.
Multi-Tasking
iOS 7 has been designed to let users multi-task will all third party apps in a convenient manner with optimal battery consumption. Users will have to double tap on the home screen to invoke multi-tasking mode, and the revamped interface is definitely a welcome change here. It’s more intelligent than even before since it will now automatically update apps, such as Facebook, which is accessed more often than other sparingly used apps.
Live Clock Icon – The clock icon provides the correct time, including a live second hand. The weather app does not update — it is always partly cloudy.
Newsstand Has Permanent Icon – Newsstand’s icon remains the same regardless of what publications are inside it. The app itself works similarly, though the design is substantially different. Newsstand can now be put inside a folder as well.
Release Date
Apple has stated the full iOS 7 version will out this autumn, though there is a preview version available for iPhone 5 right now. The full preview edition for the iPad is due out soon.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
