Apple's new iOS 7 is all set to launch today. Many of the changes in Apple's operating system for mobile devices are cosmetic. The first thing that users will notice is that the three-dimensional icons that mimic real-world counterparts are gone such as a magazine rack for the Newsstand app. Instead, the new OS comes with larger, two-dimensional icons sporting abstract designs and pastel colors. Apple also extended that new look to many of its apps. In Maps, the green boxes are replaced with solid white across the top.The new software does have several functional improvements, but those take time to stumble upon. The good news is that even if users never discover them, they can still use their device the way they did before. The biggest functional change is the use of swipes instead of taps to access key functions. Users can already swipe up from the bottom right side of the screen to quickly access the camera when their phone is locked. With iOS 7, users can also swipe up for the Control Center, which contains frequently used settings and apps. That's available whether or not the phone is locked.
Users can swipe down from the top of the screen to get recent notifications and the day's highlights, including the weather, appointments, reminders and stock quotes. Swipe down from the center of any home screen for a search box. From many apps, users can swipe from the left or the right instead of tapping the left and right buttons. The Control Center is the most useful of the functional improvements.From there, users can turn Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and off. Before, users had to find those switches in the settings. Likewise, a Do Not Disturb feature is easier to access. It lets users silence incoming calls and messages, though users can make exceptions for certain numbers or for those calling repeatedly, in case there is a true emergency.The Control Center also lets users easily control music playback and adjust the screen's brightness. It gives them quick access to a flashlight feature, the clock, a calculator and camera. The only drawback here is that users can't pick the apps featured and replace the calculator, for instance, with Facebook or Gmail.The left and right swipes is useful primarily within certain apps. In the Safari browser, users can use it to return to the previous page. In Mail, they can return to the list of messages after reading one. While these features were earlier available with the tapping could do before with tapping motion, the swipe motion may feel more natural to some users. The new software also makes it easier to manage multiple apps at once. Double click on the home button to see all open apps, each represented by a large image showing the app's content rather than just an icon, as was the case before. Close an app by swiping the image up. In the past, users had to hold down an icon and hit the minus button.The Siri voice assistant is better, too. She sounds less robotic than she once did and can adopt a male voice. Siri is able to handle a greater range of commands, including adjusting settings and returning recent calls. The most useful change is the ability to edit voice commands. Specific apps that come with iOS are also improved, including the Maps app which offers voice navigation for walking directions, though it still lacks biking and transit directions, as Google offers. The background of maps now dims at night so the screen light doesn't distract drivers.Safari will now makes it easier to switch between open Web pages. Before, users got one page at a time and had to scroll through all to get to the last one. Now, all the open pages are presented like upright dominos, so that they can jump right away to one in the back.The Camera now offers eight filters to tweak photos the way you would on Instagram. But with Camera, you see what your filtered photo would look like before snapping. You can now take square photos, perfect for Instagram. In addition, photos you take are automatically grouped by trip and other attributes, so they'll be easier to find and share later. The App Store offers suggestions based on the users current location.A new iTunes Radio service offers free Internet radio stations, with buttons to easily buy songs users like on iTunes. Users can also create new stations based on songs or artists they have heard and can move a slider between hits and discovery, the latter for more obscure tunes. Users who dont shell out $25-a-year for iTunes Match service will get about four ads an hour.Gone are those familiar bars showing cellular signal strength. Users will now see five dots instead. The idea is to create more space for actual content. In many apps, including Maps and Safari, menus automatically disappear until you need them again, again to leave more space for content. These are all nice touches that make upgrading well worth it, especially for something free. Users upgrading to iOS7 will most likely not feel the need to get a new phone.
iOS 7 comes with a lot of features that are both cosmetic and functional
Users can swipe down from the top of the screen to get recent notifications and the day's highlights, including the weather, appointments, reminders and stock quotes. Swipe down from the center of any home screen for a search box. From many apps, users can swipe from the left or the right instead of tapping the left and right buttons. The Control Center is the most useful of the functional improvements.From there, users can turn Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and off. Before, users had to find those switches in the settings. Likewise, a Do Not Disturb feature is easier to access. It lets users silence incoming calls and messages, though users can make exceptions for certain numbers or for those calling repeatedly, in case there is a true emergency.The Control Center also lets users easily control music playback and adjust the screen's brightness. It gives them quick access to a flashlight feature, the clock, a calculator and camera. The only drawback here is that users can't pick the apps featured and replace the calculator, for instance, with Facebook or Gmail.The left and right swipes is useful primarily within certain apps. In the Safari browser, users can use it to return to the previous page. In Mail, they can return to the list of messages after reading one. While these features were earlier available with the tapping could do before with tapping motion, the swipe motion may feel more natural to some users. The new software also makes it easier to manage multiple apps at once. Double click on the home button to see all open apps, each represented by a large image showing the app's content rather than just an icon, as was the case before. Close an app by swiping the image up. In the past, users had to hold down an icon and hit the minus button.The Siri voice assistant is better, too. She sounds less robotic than she once did and can adopt a male voice. Siri is able to handle a greater range of commands, including adjusting settings and returning recent calls. The most useful change is the ability to edit voice commands. Specific apps that come with iOS are also improved, including the Maps app which offers voice navigation for walking directions, though it still lacks biking and transit directions, as Google offers. The background of maps now dims at night so the screen light doesn't distract drivers.Safari will now makes it easier to switch between open Web pages. Before, users got one page at a time and had to scroll through all to get to the last one. Now, all the open pages are presented like upright dominos, so that they can jump right away to one in the back.The Camera now offers eight filters to tweak photos the way you would on Instagram. But with Camera, you see what your filtered photo would look like before snapping. You can now take square photos, perfect for Instagram. In addition, photos you take are automatically grouped by trip and other attributes, so they'll be easier to find and share later. The App Store offers suggestions based on the users current location.A new iTunes Radio service offers free Internet radio stations, with buttons to easily buy songs users like on iTunes. Users can also create new stations based on songs or artists they have heard and can move a slider between hits and discovery, the latter for more obscure tunes. Users who dont shell out $25-a-year for iTunes Match service will get about four ads an hour.Gone are those familiar bars showing cellular signal strength. Users will now see five dots instead. The idea is to create more space for actual content. In many apps, including Maps and Safari, menus automatically disappear until you need them again, again to leave more space for content. These are all nice touches that make upgrading well worth it, especially for something free. Users upgrading to iOS7 will most likely not feel the need to get a new phone.
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