iOS 7 was released on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. With great anticipation, Apple customers rushed to get the new updates, virtually crashing Apple's servers. Of course, there was a lot to be excited about. Apple, for the first time, redesigned the entire operating system, moving away from skeuomorphism in favor of a more flatter and translucent design. In the rush to download the software, you may have missed the detailed explanation of all the new features, so, for your convenience, I listed them below.
New design Redesigned interface updates the entire system and every built-in app Subtle motion and animation; layers and translucency provide depth Elegant new color palette and refined typography Updated system sounds and ringtones Control Center Quick access to commonly used controls and apps with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen Turn on & off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb; adjust screen brightness; access media controls; turn on AirPlay and AirDrop Quickly access flashlight, timer, calculator, camera, and music controls. Notification Center improvements New Today view gives you an overview of your day, including weather, calendar, and stocks Notifications dismissed on one device dismisses across all your devices Multitasking improvements Preview screens of open apps when you switch between them Permits any app to keep content up to date in the background Camera improvements Swipe through different camera modes - video, still photo, square aspect, and panorama Real-time photo filters with iPhone 4S or later, and iPod Touch (5th generation) Photos Improvement Automatically organizes your photos and video based on time and location into Moments iCloud Photo Sharing supports multiple contributors and videos, plus a new Activity view Add photo filter effects Flickr and Vimeo support AirDrop Quickly and easily share content with people nearby Securely encrypted transfers with no network or setup required Supported on iPhone 5, iPad 4th generation, iPad Mini, and iPod Touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account Safari improvements New iPhone tab view that lets you easily switch between open web pages Unified smart search field for both search terms and web addresses Shared links show web pages shared by people you follow on Twitter iTunes Radio Streaming radio service Pick from over 250 featured and genre-focused stations Start our own station from your favorite artist or song Siri Improvements New more natural sounding male and female voices for US English, French and German Integrated Wikipedia, Twitter search, and Bing web search results Change settings including WiFi, Bluetooth, and brightness Supported on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina Display, iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th generation) App Store Improvements See apps relevant to your current location with Popular Near Me Discover age appropriate apps in the kids category Keep your apps up to date automatically Find My iPhone Activation Lock Turning off my iPhone, erasing your device, reactivation, and signing out of iCloud requires our Apple I.D. password A custom message can be displayed on your device even after a remote erase iTunes Store Improvements Preview and buy songs you’ve heard on iTunes Radio while inside the iTunes Store Add to, and shop from, your iTunes Wish List Scan code with camera to redeem iTunes gift cards Music Improvements Play music purchases from iCloud Rotate your iPhone or iPod Touch to browse your music with the album wall Video Improvements Play movie and TV show purchases from iCloud View similar movies and TV shows fro Related (this also includes music videos) Maps Improvements Turn-by-turn walking directions Automatic night mode Bookmarks shared across devices via iCloud Mail Improvements New Smart Mailboxes, including Unread, Attachments, All Drafts and To or CC Improved search View PDF annotations FaceTime Audio Calling Block unwanted Phone, Messages, and FaceTime callers Support for sending long MMS messages Pull down on any Home Screen to reveal Spotlight Search Scan to acquire passbook passes New ringtones, alarms, alerts and system sounds Definitions of a selected word for additional languages: Italian, Korean, and Dutch Inclinometer in the Compass app WiFi hotspot 2.0 support Accessibility Features Individuals with limited physical motor skills can now control their device using Switch Control Customize closed caption style Handwriting input support in VoiceOver Select from multiple premium voices for speak selection and VoiceOver Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids and stereo audio for iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5th Generation Enterprise Features Manage which apps and accounts are used to open documents and attachments Per App VPN App Store License Management Enterprise Single Sign on Remote configuration of managed apps Automatic data protection for third-party apps Exchange Notes Syncing Install custom fonts New management queries and restrictions Education Features Mobile Device management for Apple TV Request AirPlay mirroring from a student device to an Apple TV Preconfigure AirPlay destinations and AirPrint printers Streamlined MDM enrollment Ability to restrict changes to accounts Web content filtering Authorized apps and can initiate single app mode Configure accessibly settings for single app mode Features for China Tencent Weibo integration Chinese-English integration Improved handwriting input with improved accuracy, stroke order independence and support for simultaneous multiple character input Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas.
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If you spend time reading reviews from the tech blogosphere, you would think Apple was a company comprised of amateurs and antiquated thinkers. This plethora of misinformation is unfortunate for the consumer who truly deserves to be better informed about what Apple has to offer. The most important thing to understand about Apple, Inc is the vast amount of hardware and software that comprises the Apple ecosystem. The company can take pride in a wide range select features associated with individual products like the iPhone, but the most valuable commodity is the collective output from Apple and how the network of services it offers help to greatly enhance the overall user experience. Critics, for example, poke fun at individual features like the color of the new iPhones, or megapixels in a camera, but this retards and distorts how each feature compliments other features within a given product; how each product is enhanced by other products; how the combined network of products are complimented by an entire operating system; and how the entire operating system is tied to an ecosystem for maintaining and sustaining a superb and holistic user experience. Critics of Apple, including companies like Microsoft, and bloggers who left Apple to join the Android train (who ironically host shows about Apple products), do a grave injustice to Apple. For those of us who use Macs, iPads, and iPhones, let's talk about everything there is to celebrate. New iPhones
At the September 10th announcement, Apple introduced the long-rumored iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. Both phones offer some revolutionary new features not available before. The iPhone no longer exists as a solitary phone. You can now order a range of phones with a range of colors and features. From a consumer standpoint that is significant for a company like Apple. Apple has the legacy of the iPod which was likewise marketed to consumers in a very similar way.
iPhone 5C With the new iPhone 5c, Apple introduced a set of new iPhones to expand its consumer base. The company expanded upon the single design model to include phones with various colors. The iPhone 5C is made of a single, hard-coated polycarbonate body with a steel reinforced frame for a solid, sturdy feel. The steel frame holds the internal components and also doubles as the iPhone 5c’s multiband antenna. Color is central to this product announcement, which all the critics seem to miss or spend too much time poking fun at to understand. Apple's main slogan is "Color Through and Though." That says it right there. Color is about self-expression. When a consumer buys a product on the market, they are equally drawn to color, as they are to megapixels, but Apple never sacrifices design and aesthetics for quality (As a major Apple consumer, I still have an iPhone 4s, and the 5C has better specs than my current phone). The cheaper iPhone 5C contains the same specs as the iPhone 5. Since Apple devotes equal time to software, the new iPhones also come with the entirely new redesign of the operating system, iOS 7, which is significant for the new user interface, and, yes, color. This color will permeate every iPhone and iPad, establishing an interconnecting link between products. The hard plastic shell also makes the iPhone less fragile, especially for younger audiences. Since younger audiences are still in the process of self discovery, the decision to market the phones in many colors is very important. Adults are more stable in their evolutionary concept of self and tend to prefer the black or steel gray, but younger audiences long for color. The phones also come with cases designed with the same colors. This was an excellent decision by Apple. This latest development should also be seen in light of other initiatives, such as, the vast penetration in the K-12 education arena, specially regarding the huge contract Apple has with the Los Angeles County school district that will introduce iPads to every student. It is important that Apple continues to remain relevant to younger audiences and as the inventor of the iPod, this is a no brainer. The iPhone 5S Consistent with its yearly upgrades, Apple introduced the iPhone 5S with new features that are very exciting for those who are looking to upgrade from their previous models. Since the iPhone is still America's favorite phone camera, Apple introduced bigger pixels (as opposed to many pixels) and a bigger sensor to improve the quality of your photos. Video can now be shot with 120 frames per second (a significant improvement) with the ability to shoot slow motion video. The camera also has a tripartite structure for taking photos, panorama shots, and shooting video, along with filters built-in. And while iOS 7 seems to hover quietly in the background, it's role in the overall reception of the new phones cannot be overemphasized. As a matter of fact, it is central to the new iPhone releases. And yes, even for more mature audiences, we now have gold as a new color. Critics of course have joked about gold, including Microsoft who made reference to gold merely as a color rather something generally associated with value (Microsoft removed the videos after people found them offensive). What's going to be so laughable is that Apple will probably sell the gold phones like hotcakes. At least, that is my prediction. The iPhone 5S comes with a Touch ID finger sensor with 360 degree readability and made of sapphire crystals. The phone also comes with an A7 chip with a graphic performance that is twice as fast as the previous chip. The chip is built specifically for the new 64 bit processor uniquely designed to enhance the performance of the A7 chip. Of course, we are told by critics that the 64 bit processor will not yield any advantages any time soon without at least 4 GB of ram, so why emphasize the new technology. (As you may recall, the public was not ready for the iPhone or the iPad, so I guess we are not ready for the processor either). The iPhone also includes the M7 processor, which Apple calls the sidekick of the A7, mainly to help measure motion data. (Don't be surprised if this new technology is incorporated into the iWatch, if and when Apple releases it.) In addition to the lager sensor, pixels, and aperture that come with the new iSight camera, Apple also introduced image stabilization, true tone flash, continuous burst mode, and video zoom. In spite of these new exciting product announcements, Apple didn't even mention the iPad, the Mac or the new Mac Pro, iWatch, or Apple TV. Yet, for those of us who know very well that Apple offers more than just a phone with different colors, we will quietly wait in anticipation of all the great things to come. |
Timothy Brown
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