At Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company executives unveiled Apple's new operating systems, iOS 7 for mobile devices and OS X Mavericks for Macs, as well as a new version of its MacBook Air and a sneak peek at the next MacBook Pro.
By combining the best of Apple design with good ideas from its competitors, Apple's latest and greatest is exactly what Apple needed to fend off the competition.
Although Apple didn't announce any new iOS devices, the big redesign featuring an array of new software upgrades in the iOS 7 operating system will make existing devices seem new. Apple's iOS 7, the successor of Apple's iOS 6 marks the biggest change since the first iPhone.
"IOS 7 is probably the biggest news since the first iPhone came out," Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.
"We want to make the best product that people use more and love more than anyone else's," Cook said.
Many stuck with the iPhone back when iOS had no copy-and-paste, no MMS support, no Notifications Center. They didn't mind the flaws, because the available alternatives weren't as stable and pretty. But the developers behind Android, Windows Phone and even BlackBerry are able to create elegant new ways to interact with a phone, enhancing its capabilities. After a while, this has made Apple look that it is already steps behind its competitors.
New Design, New Interface
The power behind Apple's clean, minimalist hardware designs - and now the head of the company's human interface division - addressed many points of tension. With iOS 7, there's no need for Apple device users feel jealous when glancing at Android's easily accessible settings: iOS 7 puts the important things into a Control Center which can be pulled up with a swipe. And you don't have to wish for Windows Phone's front-and-center notifications: iOS 7 slips them straight onto the lock screen.
The best way to describe iOS 7's new redesigned interface is that it looks like a crystal-clear pane of layered glass with elegant "flat" icons and features.
Simple and clean, Cook said, it is the "most significant iOS update since the original iPhone."
iOS 7 has a new font leading the way, which seems to be a skinny and clean. Instead of white bars on a black background, Apple will now tell users what kind of service coverage they have with five little dots, which are white and grey depending on how strong the signal is across a translucent background.
Apple also changed the lock screen for the first time in iOS’s history, with no more shine top or bottom bars for slide to unlock or the clock. Instead, Slide to unlock is translucent above the background image. The notifications panel isn’t laced with dark grey linen anymore, but actually has a very flat look to it. There is a today view, that lets you see friends birthdays, upcoming invitations, calendar, stocks, and a quick look at tomorrow.
With iOS 7, the apps all seem to have a white base, except for the stocks app which has a black background and the weather app, which shows motion in the background to convey the current weather. Apple also made the keyboard is more white, than grey, with a translucency that lets you see what’s underneath the keyboard.
New Features, New Experience
The first notable update is the Control Center. the feature is a pull-up tray that is available in the lock screen. With the Control Center, users can adjust brightness, volume, and other settings including WiFi, Airplane mode, rotation lock, or Bluetooth. The Control Center also provide users the ability to access Do Not Disturb, and pause or play a song, jump to the next track and stream music with AirPlay. Control Center also gives users instant access to apps such as Clock, Camera, Calculator and the Flashlight, along with tabs for music, camera, and other quick-access apps.
The Control Center takes on the environment it’s in, so if a user swipe up while he/she in mail, it will have the same blue and white coloring under that translucent panel.
Apple's iOS 7 lets users multitask between all third-party apps with much better battery consumption. Users can double-tap the home button to enter into multitasking mode, just like previous version of iOS, but with a redesign interface. And iOS 7 pays attention to which apps users use most and automatically keeps their content up to date in the background.
Apple's iOS default browser, Safari, opens straight into full screen mode now, with the option to pull down to bring up the search bar at the top. Apple also has improved the search field to be a unified smart search field, which lets users have access to all their favorite websites with a single tap.
Safari's tabs come with a totally new interface, scrolling in a vertical carousel, and there are no longer any limits. In other words, users can now have as many tabs as they want, as opposed to just 8 like before. And with by swiping the tab off to the side to close it.
The new Safari, integrated with iCloud Keychain, making passwords and credit card information are securely stored and available on all of the user's Apple devices, this creates an environment where navigating password protected sites or autofilling during transactions simple and secure. Enhanced Parental Controls allow users to automatically block access to adult websites or only allow access to a specific set of permitted websites.
AirDrop lets you share files between devices with other users just by tapping. Airdrop supports iPhone 5, iPad 4th gen, iPad Mini. AirDrop, an entirely new way to quickly and easily share content with people nearby. When a user got something he/she wants to share, AirDrop shows contacts that are close by. Selecting with whom to share and AirDrop does the rest. AirDrop transfers are peer-to-peer so users can use it anywhere, without any network or set up required, and transfers are fully encrypted so contents is protected and private.
The Camera app lets users swipe between their various camera types, The Camera app now includes a square camera option, and users can quickly and easily switch between your four cameras - video, photo, square and panorama - with just a swipe.
Photos marks the first update to the photo gallery on iOS since it was introduced. The Camera app enables users to search based on date, and location, within the photos app. Apple also introduced photo filters so users can add a little professionalism to the picture. Photos app that introduces Moments, a new way to automatically organize photos and videos based on time and location. Users can now zoom out to see all their photos organized by Moments, Collections of Moments and Years.
Pictures taken can be shared via AirDrop, iCloud photo-sharing, as well as shared Photo Streams. Users can even share video with iCloud photo-sharing.
Siri got a new interface, as well as a new voice (one male and one female). It can adjust settings, like turning on Bluetooth and change screen brightness. It’s integrated with Twitter, Wikipedia and Bing search results.
The visual UI has also been upgraded, with a sound wave going along the bottom.
Siri also works with iOS in the Car to let users display iOS right on the screen in their car’s dashboard. It lets users access maps, messages and more without taking their eyes off the road.
The App Store got a much-needed overhaul as well - most notably it is able to update apps automatically in the background. It also has improved suggestions, including age-appropriate ones.
Apple's App Store is one of the biggest app marketplace along with Google Play. The new App Store in iOS 7 now features Popular Apps Near Me, a new way to find apps based on the users current location. The App Store also comes with a new Kids category, allowing teachers and parents to easily discover apps for children by age.
iTunes Radio, a free internet radio service based on the music users listen to on iTunes, is Apple's answer to internet radio giants such as Pandora and Spotify.
Similar to other online music-streaming products, iTunes Radio has over 200 stations and allows users to create stations based on artists or songs, but Apple's version also offers stations based on what others users are talking about, including a Trending on Twitter station and an Artists on Tour station.
The feature is built into iOS 7, and available on supporting iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad devices, as well as iTunes on Mac and PC and Apple TV.
Apple's competitor, Google, has also announced it was jumping on the online music streaming bandwagon with its All Access service through Google Play.
Additional new iOS 7 features include:
- A new Find My iPhone Activation Lock feature that requires your Apple ID and password before you can turn off Find My iPhone, erase data or re-activate a device after it’s been remotely erased.
- Night Mode in Maps that responds to ambient light when users use it in the dark.
- FaceTime audio for high quality calls over a data network.
- Notification sync, so when users dismiss a notification on one device it is dismissed on all of their devices.
- Phone, FaceTime and Messages blocking to prevent specific people from being able to contact the owner of the device.
- Tencent Weibo support for users in China, a Chinese-English bilingual dictionary, and improved Chinese input including handwriting recognition for multiple Chinese characters.
- The ability for businesses to more efficiently deploy and manage iPhones and iPads.
Beyond the functionality that iOS 7 brings - not just improved controls and notifications, is Apple's way to catch up with the competition. Thin fonts and bold primary colors with the interactions on layered visual planes that drift in and out of view - these are the highlights of the new design.
There are a host of other new features as well. It’s a massive update, Apple notes that iOS 7 is made as a free software update for iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation). However, not all devices will have all features.
Apple's is competing tightly with Google and its Android OS. With several "borrowed" features from its competitors, Apple has introduced a new OS that resembles its competitors. And when the time comes, Google will probably show off a new version of Android, one that will highlight remaining iOS shortcomings. After all, even in iOS 7, there are no customizable homescreen widgets, no gesture-based Swype-style keyboards, no hands-on control over an apps' system usage - and Apple's phone maker competitor from Korea, Samsung with Samsung Galaxy S 4 have camera apps with more powerful editing tools.
But meanwhile, iOS 7 is as good as it gets. It binds hardware and software in a way rarely seen, it's easy on the eyes with a lot of improvement and features.