iOS 7 has been officially unveiled at WWDC, with Apple unveiling the Jony Ive designed software overhaul alongside a range of innovative new features.
The primary focus of the WWDC 2013 keynote, iOS 7 has long been known to be in the works, with the iPhone and iPad bound operating system posing the biggest overhaul yet to Apple’s much loved mobile operating system. Creating a flatter more refined user experience, Apple has introduced a more subtle colour scheme to the OS as well as a more layered approach.
iOS 7 will hit existing and new devices later this year and will replace the aging iOS 6 which has fallen someway behind the rise of Android. An iOS 7 release date has been confirmed for the ‘fall’ presumably to fall in line with the eagerly awaited iPhone 5S release.
“We wanted to take an experience that people know very well and add to it,” Apple said in announcing the new iOS 7 software. “To create it, we brought together a broad range of expertise.”
Highlighting the dramatic and all-encompassing changes introduced by iOS 7, Apple added:
Tim Cook stated: “This major effort is only possible because of the incredible collaboration between Jony and his amazing design team and Craig and his amazing engineering team.”
iOS 7 Features
Although focussing heavily on the design and feel of the company’s portable products, Apple has introduced a range of new features with iOS 7, including the much called for arrival of true multitasking.
Allowing users to simply swipe between open applications, the iOS 7 multitasking introduction will see Apple’s currently clunky double tap to re-access previously used apps system dispelled to the annals of time.
Speaking on the iOS 7 design, mastermind Jony Ive stated:”We have always thought of design as being so much more than the way something looks. It’s the whole thing, the way something works on so many different levels.”
He added: “Ultimately, of course, design defines so much of our experience. I think there is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency… True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation. It’s about bringing order to complexity. iOS 7 is a clear representation of these goals.”
Building on past successes, the iOS 7 user interface has been completely redesigned yet will be instantly familiar to existing iPhone or iPad owners.
Focusing around a new Control Center, the iOS 7 UI offers quick, convenient access to many of the software’s core features in a similar vein to Android’s drop down settings options.
Allowing users to add real-time photo effects in the camera mode, iOS 7 sees FaceTime audio added, providing the option to make high quality audio calls over a data network. On top of this, Apple Maps is set to receive a number of updates, with a new Night Mode responding to ambient light.
With Siri integration set to benefit from new voices, Twitter compatibility and Wikipedia integration, the iOS 7 updates have covered all areas of the Apple experience.
Lining up alongside the newly confirmed Apple iTunes Radio, iOS 7 will be made available as a free update to iPhone 4 handsets and up as well as iPad 2 tablets and later. Fifth-generation iPod touch owners will also benefit from the new software later this year.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
