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iOS 7

21 Sep 13

So, it’s here. The biggest change to the iPhone since the iPhone (although I’m sure I've heard that before). But how was your September 18th update day? Slow, miserable, unbearable? To be honest no fault of Apple’s but maybe our lust for the newest, shiniest mobile operating system on the market. As with all major iOS updates there is always a lot of pain. Whereas the latest versions of Android which only really cover single percentage digits uptake-wise the release of a new iOS not only drums up an uncontrollable level of anticipation but an overwhelming demand. At the point I checked 24 hours prior to the release of of iOS 7 Twitter was abound with tweets from excited Apple advocates who couldn't wait for the new Jony Ive goodness so if you wanted it within the first few hours of release you were due a wait.

As a good dad I upgraded my daughters iPhone first as she was really excited about it (I love my little nerd) and opposed to doing it over the air I used the iTunes update which on my first attempt (around 7pm GMT) took around 20 minutes and after one fail seemed to go well. Since then she’s ‘pinked’ it up buggery but she’s a very happy girl. I then proceeded to plug in my 5 at which point I was presented with a wait time of 5000+ hours, not good, so I tried the other options. The first was to grab the official IPSW file which told me that 3 hours was my waiting time but in the name of science I thought I’d give the OTA a go which game similar times so in the end I went back to iTunes for consistency and went back to my life until it had downloaded.

So what do you think about iOS 7? Personally I like it, it’s not perfect but it’s at least something new. We've basically all been looking at the same screen since 2007 and it was so in need of a refresh. The overall opinion that I've experienced is divided but on the whole it’s been well received.

The Look

Well it certainly looks a lot fresher than its predecessor, it’s definitely good to get rid of all that skew-morph-ism because that was driving me up the wall. The icons are OK but there are some I really can’t stand, contacts, Safari, Game Centre I’m looking at you. The other issue is that not all developers have updated their own icons for iOS 7 and it looks a little odd. Those apps have been relegated to a folder on another home screen called ‘sort it out’. The animations take a little while to get used to, for me the flying in and out of apps was a little jarring, especially on the full size iPad but you can live with that. I do like the general colour scheme, I know that it’s not been popular with everyone but on a retina display it just seems that it was made for this flat design. When my phone is sitting on my desk it looks like I just have picture of the home screen stuck to it it’s that clear. I don’t really get the parallax either, it just seems wrong to me so it’s been switched off. But on the whole I like it and it is a change for the better.

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Functionality

General day to day use has certainly been improved with the introduction of Control Centre. I’m someone who is constantly changing the settings on their phone so this quick and simple way to get access to those features is a thumbs up. I’m also very interested in how Control Centre will evolve as time goes on. I’m loving the new Web OS style ‘card’ multitasking. It’s really great to see what your apps are actually doing and the fact that you can dismiss them with just a swipe is genius. Notification Centre is greatly improved as is a lot more simple to take in with the improved look. The today, all and missed sections make it easier to use and you can’t help but adore that satisfying thud as you swipe it down across your screen.

One thing I don’t like is a feature on the new key code lock screen. I totally love the big full screen layout with the lovely big buttons but after going to all that effort why oh why is the OK button so teeny tiny? Please note that this is only an issue if you use the 6 digit pass code which is in my case imposed by my employer.

Everything you expect from iOS is there though and there’s not too much re-learning that you’d have to do to get to grips with so once upgraded you should be able to go on your merry way pretty soon after but things such as buttons being replaced by text and additional gestures may catch some people out.

Siri

I’m a big Siri user, probably because I’m just plain lazy. I’m always setting reminders, timers and sending messages with it. Now there isn't really any dramatic improvements but it looks good at least. And another thing that I discovered today is that you can actually ask Siri questions by typing them in so if you feel a little silly talking to your phone but want to get the more out of Siri you can now just tap it in. One thing I would ask for is for a female voice for UK English, that American chick just doesn't get me.

Apps

The basic apps that come with your iOS device have not really improved functionality wise, they just look better. The one app that I did find had some improvement is the camera app. It’s a lot easier to toggle between settings and there’s now additional filters if you’re into making your photos look like they’re from the 70’s. Safari is much cleaner now and does allow much easier switching between and dismissing tabs much in the same way that Chrome for iOS does.

One thing I did like though is the fact that new devices get the entire iWork suite for free. When I upgraded to my iPhone 5 last week I thought that this was going to be something that I was going to miss out on but it seems that any device obtained and registered after a certain date get the apps for free after the iOS 7 upgrade and that’s a nice touch. I was then also able to install these apps on my other iOS devices as they were linked to my account.

In Conclusion

iOS 7 is pretty decent and it’s about time for a change. On the iPhone it’s lovely but I’m finding on iPad’s it’s pretty buggy so you may want to hold off if you haven’t done so already. The design isn't for everyone but with my tastes it suits rather nicely. If you’re a lifetime iOS user then you’ll probably be pleased with the change, it’s not for everyone but with time and evolution I can see this release becoming something that everyone will end up falling in love with.

The updated OS is available for the iPhone 4 and upwards, iPad 2 and up and the 5th gen iPod Touch.

Generally. A thumbs up!

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