Earlier this summer, Apple unveiled iOS 7, which is the most ambitious change to its iPhone,
iPod, iPad, and Apple TV operating system that we’ve ever seen. The new update
brings a complete visual overhaul and a number of updated and upgraded
features. There’s a little something for everyone here. But, with every change
comes some good and some bad. There are always compromises and lingering
issues. Below is our review of the new OS. For your reading pleasure, we’ve
formatted things a little differently than usual. Here are seven things we love
about iOS 7.
The new Control Center
iOS 7 has a surprising number of small upgrades, but the Control Center is the best of them. This highly needed menu is accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. It lets you easily turn on and off quick vital functions like Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the new Do Not Disturb mode, and screen rotation. (We wish the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth buttons would let you choose which networks or devices to connect to, but a toggle is a start.) The also lets you change the screen brightness and play, pause, or toggle the volume of any music or podcasts you have going. There is also access to the camera, alarm/timer, calculator, and a built-in LED flashlight. We haven’t used the calculator much, but everything else has come in handy on a regular basis.
The multitasking menu
We forgive you if you didn’t know that the iPhone had a multitasking menu in it. You could reach it by double tapping the Home button or, if you’re on an iPad, swiping up with four fingers. Instead of cramming it way down at the bottom, the new multitasking menu takes up the whole screen and lets you swipe up (and away) apps that you want to close, if they’re giving you a hard time or freezing up. As always, you don’t have to close apps for battery saving reasons. Apple does a great job of freezing them in place so they don’t suck up your battery life.
The new photo gallery
Gallery app innovation has been at a standstill for years. Until now, the iPhone has just shown a grid of photos that you must endlessly scroll through. Now, the Photo app intelligently organizes your photos in some new ways. The default “Moments” view shows you your photos organized by day (and labeled by location). If you back out a level into the “Collections” view, the app bundles them more broadly, again by date taken and location. Finally, a new “Years” view shows you every picture you took in an entire year. Cooler still, you can hold your thumb over the collection of pictures to preview individual photos and jump right to them. This app is great and we hope other phones follow Apple’s lead.
App Store automatic updates
The App Store has a few new categories, but the big feature this go-round is automatic app updating. We love this. Android devices have had it for a while, but that’s okay. Instead of forgetting to update and having 38 app updates waiting for you, iOS downloads updates on an invisible schedule that it sets. The system works well. We haven’t had to think about updates for some time, and we don’t mind that. By default, Apple won’t update apps using your cellular data. Instead, it will wait until you’re on Wi-Fi.
The new Camera app
Apple’s new Camera app has a few new features, some of which you might like. The best feature is that you can take pictures extremely fast by tapping on the shutter button. Instagram fans, there’s now a “Square” option and some built-in filters so you can make your pictures look old and washed out before you ever open Facebook’s photo app. Other features are less prominent. You can toggle HDR on and off (though Apple never explains to you what HDR is, which is un-Apple-like) and while you’re recording video, you can also take pictures of what you’re recording – a feature originally made popular by HTC. All good stuff…
Siri has improved
Apple has enhanced Siri in a few new ways. First, you can tell when it’s listening because a sound wave appears at the bottom of the screen. Now, if you want to look up a celebrity, you can ask what they’re “saying” or about them and Siri will show tweets or Wikipedia pages. By asking Siri “What is Molly McHugh saying” I got an instant link to our star Social Media Editor. It’s also now powered by Bing. It can help you navigate, play your voicemail, return calls, control iTunes Radio, and do other things, too. If you want to give Siri a sex change, you can do that; a male voice is also available.
The new visual design
We’ve been defending the design of iOS 7 for months. Seriously, we’ve defended it a lot, even as people nitpicked its icons to death. It’s a good looking OS and should be a welcome change for almost anyone who is considering an iPhone, or has been staring at the iPhone apps and homescreen for years. If you love glossy skeumorphic gradients, then yes, you will miss the way iOS has looked for the last six years. But times change, and this new design will grow on you. We promise. The new minimalist look to apps makes them easier to use much of the time, and as all apps begin to incorporate the new style, things will only improve.
