On June 10th Apple hosted it's Worldwide Developers Conference and used this as an opportunity to reveal some of the most significant changes to it's long standing iOS operating system since it first launched back in 2007. As well as a host of new features, Jonathan Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, revealed that the new update will also bring in a complete overhaul of it's user interface. Moving away from the glassy effect web 2.0 style icons and ditching the dated green felt, leather, and wood effects that have dominated the bookshelf and games centre features the new design offers a sleeker, flatter interface giving the device the feeling of newness without being a massive departure from the tried and tested formula that's made the iPhone such a dominant market force. As well as the new icons the interface offers transparent overlays rather than a straight switch between applications, this makes the whole interface seem much sleeker and more modern. Whether this revamp was a continuation of Steve Jobs vision for Apple and it's products or if it's something that has only been able to be brought to market since Jobs passed is unclear however it's most definitely a welcome change and breathes new life into what was becoming a dated and boring (albeit iconic) interface.
In addition to the new visual style Apple have considered the way that it's customer base use their products and continue their philosophy of investing in the social aspects of their flagship product. Several of the new features enhance this philosophy with Airdrop allowing users to share files from their iPhone with people in the immediate vicinity by utilising the Ad-hoc WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities of the device without the need to e-mail, text or use 3rd party apps to get a photo or video to someone standing right next to you. The photo library uses the EXIF data stored in each photo to automatically sort your albums more easily, using this data you can easily find the photos you want without having to go scroll through hundreds of snaps, want to see that photo from when you went to the Grand Canyon 2 years ago? Easy, go into Photos, select the year, the country, the specific location, show the collection off to your friends!
A new Control Centre has been implemented which can be accessed with a simple swipe up from the bottom of the screen (much in the same way that it's Notification Centre can be accessed with a downward swipe in iOS6) and offers quick access to settings such as Airplane Mode, brightness, and media controls as well as shortcuts to several apps like the built in flashlight and compass.
The way open apps are closed has been greatly improved, gone is the requirement for a long key press to get the option to fully close apps running in the background now they can simply be swiped off the screen. iOS7 learns your habits and utilises it's multitasking ability based on this - check your Facebook every morning at 9am? iOS learns this and will update your news feeds before you open the app saving you time and effort!
Admittedly some of the new features in iOS7 are just features you would have expected to be there in previous iterations, others seem to be simply 'borrowed' from Android (swipe to close apps, transparent windows, parallax scrolling on the background), and some just seem to be common sense - like displaying a message on the lock screen if you lose your iPhone and requiring your Apple ID and password to turn off the Find my iPhone feature or to erase the iPhone.
Probably the most innovative feature with iOS7 isn't even going to be available until next year and that's 'iOS in the Car' which integrates the iOS with your cars dashboard computer (if the car is equipped with it) and allows you to make calls, send and receive messages, play music, and get directions using the cars in-built display and controls or Siri Eyes Free.
Whilst this update represents a big leap forward for iOS and some of the features seem innovative I can't help but feel that many of the features are simply Apple integrating 3rd Party apps into their OS or taking the best parts of other well known operating systems to integrate into theirs. Apple are doing well in keeping up with their competitors here but need to come up with something special to define themselves as the market leaders for their products features rather than their style and accessibility.
Full details of the iOS7 features can be found on Apple's website.
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