Apple has unveiled its "most advanced" mobile operating system - the iOS 7 at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2013. The new iOS 7, as
reported earlier, has shunned the skeuomorphic design that has been there since the inception of iOS. It now features a completely redesigned user interface with a cleaner and simpler look. The new interface is designed to take full advantage of the entire screen and makes your phone appear bigger.
In a press release, Apple’s senior vice president of Design, Jony Ive said, "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."
Apple has introduced many new features in its latest iOS 7, some of them are listed below.
Features of Apple iOS 7
Control Center
The control Center allows users quick access to the controls and apps, by just sweeping up from anywhere. Users can turn on or off Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Do Not Disturb. Users can set screen brightness, lock screen and Play or skip a song, all from one place. It also allows quick access to AirPlay, AirDrop, flashlight, timer, calculator and camera.
Notification Center
Notification Center alerts users about mails, missed calls, to-dos and more. It can be accessed from any screen including the lock screen by just swiping down. It also gives information about weather, traffic, meetings and events.
Improved Multitasking
Multitasking is made easy with the new iOS 7, it allows easy navigation between apps. The Multitasking screen with preview of apps appears by just double clicking the Home button. To close an app, users need to swipe it up and out of the preview. It also intelligently schedules updates during power-efficient times.
AirDrop
Another new feature is the AirDrop, which allows users to quickly and easily share content with contacts nearby. It is just like Bluetooth, but doesn't require any setup and is fully encrypted for secured transfer.
Camera App
The improved Camera app allows users to shoot in various formats like still, video, square and panorama. Switching between the four formats can be easily done by just swiping on the camera screen. In addition, it comes with a new instant filter feature for real-time photo effects.
Photos
The new iOS 7 includes a redesigned Photos app with Moments, which arranges the photos and videos based on time and location. It also comes with iCloud Photo Sharing feature that allows restricted sharing.
Safari
The new Safari web browser offers full-screen, bigger and better browsing experience. Buttons and bars will be hidden until scrolled to reveal them. There's also a new tab view, which shows the users all the open tabs from top to bottom. The iCloud Keychain facility stores the passwords and credit card information securely with 256-bit AES encryption.
Siri
Siri in iOS 7 comes with a new look, new sound, and new capabilities. It features a very clear and more natural sound in both female and male voices that makes it is easier to understand. In terms of answering questions, it is much faster and checks more sources like Bing, Wikipedia, and Twitter. Siri also takes on extra tasks, like returning calls, playing voicemail, controlling iTunes Radio, and more.
iTunes Radio
iOS 7 gets the new iTunes Radio, which streams the radio from over 200 stations to the phone. It is a free Internet radio service available for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC or Apple TV. Currently iTunes Radio is available only in the US.
App Store
There are over 900,000 apps in the App Store and it comes with a new feature called the Apps Near Me, which show a collection of popular apps based on your current location. The App Store also comes with a new category for kids. And also, the new iOS 7 App Store automatically update all the apps.
Find My iPhone
A new feature called Find My iPhone makes it difficult for others to use or sell your iPhone, in case it is lost or stolen. Apple ID and password are required to turn off Find My iPhone app, to erase date or to re-activate the erased phone.
Other notable features are
- Night Mode in Maps
- FaceTime audio for high quality calls
- Notification sync
- Phone, FaceTime and Messages blocking
- Tencent Weibo support for Chinese users
- Enhanced in-car integration
The new iOS 7 will be available as a free software update from this fall. It is compatible with iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation).
