Apple yesterday launched iOS 7, featuring a redesigned user interface, which will be available from today for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users as a free software update.
New features in iOS 7 include Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music users listen to on iTunes.
In addition, iOS 7 has been engineered with deep technical and design integration with both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
“iOS 7 is completely redesigned with an entirely new user interface and over 200 new features, so it’s like getting a brand new device, but one that will still be instantly familiar to our users,” says Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of Software Engineering.
“Next month we’ll be shipping our 700-millionth iOS device, and we’re excited about what our hundreds of thousands of iOS developers are doing to bring great new features to their apps.”
Apple engineered iOS 7 to take advantage of the advanced 64-bit technologies in iPhone 5s, including the native 64-bit kernel, libraries and drivers. All the built-in apps have been re-engineered for 64-bit, and iOS 7 provides a seamless developer transition with Xcode support and the ability to run both 32-bit and 64-bit apps.
iOS 7 also provides deep integration with the new Touch ID sensor and takes advantage of the new iSight camera sensor to enable new features like automatic image stabilisation, Burst Mode and Slo-Mo video with 120 fps.
Combined with the new Camera App in iOS 7, iPhone 5s provides up to two-times faster auto-focus, faster photo capture and better dynamic range. iOS 7 is designed to complement the gorgeous exteriors of iPhone 5c, with matching wallpapers and translucency.
With more than 200 new features, iOS 7 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch includes:
* Control Center, which gives users quick access to controls with one swipe from the bottom of the screen;
* Notification Center, now available from the Lock screen so users can see all your notifications with a swipe, and the new Today feature gives them an at-a-glance view of the day with a summary of the important details such as weather, traffic, meetings and events;
* Improved multi-tasking that gives users the ability to switch between their apps in a more visual and intuitive way, and iOS 7 pays attention to which apps are used most while automatically keeping content up to date in the background;
* AirDrop, an entirely new way to quickly and easily share content with people nearby;
* New Camera app filters so users can add realtime photo effects, a square camera option, and the ability to switch between your four cameras – video, photo, square and panorama – with a swipe;
* A redesigned Photos app that introduces Moments, a new way to automatically organise photos and videos based on time and location;
* Full-screen browsing with Safari’s new redesigned user interface;
* Siri with new male and female voices, Twitter search integration, Wikipedia integration and Bing web searching within the app; and
* iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service featuring over 200 stations and a catalogue of music from the iTunes Store.
Additional new iOS 7 features include a new Find My iPhone Activation Lock, that requires an Apple ID and password before users can turn off Find My iPhone, erase data or re-activate a device after it’s been remotely erased; FaceTime audio for high quality calls over a data network; and new ringtones, alarms, alerts and system sounds.