This week a little badge with the number 1 inside it will appear on your Settings App. Follow it and you’ll see another, beside Software Update in General. Run that update and grab hold of your new iPhone… even it’s a iPhone 4.
iOS 7 is being pushed out to millions of iPhones, iPads and iPods this week, and it’s going to be a monumental change for your device. Here are some quick notes on the changes to expect!
Appearance
The first thing you will notice is a drastic change in the visuals. A much more subdued color scheme, simpler icon design, and a deep layered effect that works with your devices sensors to show parallax. This effect was teased in iOS 6 with the iTunes volume control.
All function icons have been made simpler, but retain the same idea so not to confuse you, but some icons have a completely new look. The Photos and Game Centre app icons are the biggest change.
The layering effect is used system wide and you will notice elements resembling frosted glass that blur the content underneath, but take on the general color of the content as well. Apple feels this will allow you to put visuals into context easier.
Function
There are a few changes in the operation of iOS with iOS 7. Swiping from the bottom to the top of the screen now brings up a quick access menu. It has controls for Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb and Music control, even a flashlight. Swiping from left to right brings up a refined search, and swiping from the top down brings a greatly improved Notification Centre.
Notification Centre now has a Today function which gives you appointments, weather and birthdays. It is now also accessible right from the Lock Screen.
A double tap of the home button, (or four finger swipe up on iPad as well) brings up a improved Multitasking Bar. Just swipe up on the app preview to close it, or tap it to open that app. The Multitasking engine is also improved, it learns from what you do and tries to anticipate what you are going to use at different times.
You will also notice that controls system wide do their best to get out of their way when not in use.
Apps
The Camera app has been improved as well. You now change between modes by swiping left or right. Built in filters are accessed by tapping the three circles, allowing you to do Instagram like effects.
The associated Photos app now intelligently arranges your photos into Collections and Moments. These are dynamically organized based on date & time as well as GPS data. You can zoom in and out chronologically to see an interesting way of visualizing your experiences.
Safari has been improved with a unified search bar like the desktop version, and a new tab view. Shared links are going to be an interesting way to socialize bookmarks as well.
Siri is officially no longer a beta! She is growing up with a new voice, (actually, a few of them, choose male or female) and much more functionality. You can ask her to launch Apps, check voice mail, retune calls, even search Twitter. Content is also displayed inline instead of taking you out of the Siri interface.
A method of sharing from OS X has been including called AirDrop. It looks for other iOS devices on the same network or within bluetooth range and displays an avatar, allowing you to share content with them, no previous set up required. Security is paramount though as you can easily choose to be visible or not.
Summary
Even if you don’t get an iPhone 5s this week, you will get a new phone! The changes are going to be drastic, but for the better. If you have any questions regarding iOS 7, please “Like” The Stem Group on Facebook and ask your questions via The Wall.
Enjoy your new phone this week!
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