It’s been about a month since Apple released iOS7 to the public. I’ve put it through the rounds and have a good feel of what I like about it and what I don’t like about it. Coming from a design background, I look very critically at design features, and, as a user of a few Apple products, I look at the accessibility of it for consumers.
iOS7 is, by far, Apple’s biggest change in look and functionality since iOS launched with the first iPhone. I wasn’t sure how well I would like the change. Having Jonathan Ive as the main guy behind the change was a different move for Apple; while Ive has created some gorgeous pieces of tech, would he be able to translate that vision to software and execute it? Yes, he did.
Apple’s iOS6 was a solid piece of software. It was easy to use. The look was something we were all used to, and even though I had no problems with it, it was a bit stale. It needed to be updated. As someone who loves white space, and has near OCD if something doesn’t have any balance, iOS7 delivers in spades in regard to its new look.
Gone are the 3D-esque icons and keyboard, a look I wasn't a big fan of--It’s old-school mobile. It needed to be refreshed. It needed that Web2.0 look. Apple delivered.
Each icon is meticulously balanced down to a single pixel. All of the icon graphics have been updated to a new flat look. The applications themselves have all inherited the flat look as well. All fonts are now Helvetica thin and all buttons inside the apps are flat. These are all changes that I welcomed with open arms. I love the flat look of everything.
The stuff that’s changed functionally has been a godsend, and thank God that the jailbreak community has pushed Apple to adopt some of the biggest features. We now have easy access to our most used system tools with a single swipe up. I can’t tell you how much I was dying for this feature to be built into iOS. The home screen is now functionally robust, with three different gestures to bring up three different features. Ive was a genius for pushing for this. There was so much wasted space in iOS that it was begging to be used in new ways.
Speaking of new ways to use the interface, when music is playing and your phone is asleep, you no longer have to press the home button twice to bring up the iTunes control. While this may seem minor, those that play music often through the iPhone will be very happy this feature is there.
There are a few more minor features that were added to iOS, but have seemingly gone unnoticed. No more needing to scroll to the top of Safari to refresh a page. Again, minor, but it was annoying as all hell. Combining search and the web address bar into one bar was a long time coming.
I seem to like everything about iOS7, but there are a few things I’m picky about. One is the omission of panoramic photos as your background. This was a feature I was really looking forward to, but Apple dropped it without a real explanation. The parallax effect for the icons and home screen is gimmicky at best, and eats up way too much battery life to be considered for use. It doesn’t work that well anyway. Also, when iOS7 is first installed, there are few apps that are set to auto-refresh in the background that you may not want. I only have MapQuest and the Nike Running app set to refresh in the background. This was a major battery killer and took some searching to figure out why my battery was dying so fast. That, along with Bluetooth automatically being on when iOS7 installs, and you'll drain everything out of your battery. As someone who never uses Bluetooth, I was oblivious for the first day that the little “B” icon was up in the right.
So there you have it. iOS7 is everything I was looking for, minus a few things I wish were implemented or kept in. While there are very few things I dislike about it, overall I’m very happy with the direction Apple, Ive and his team have gone with iOS7. It’s set up for the future. With Ive, and his team’s vision, I look forward to what they will do with iOS in the future.
iOS7 is, by far, Apple’s biggest change in look and functionality since iOS launched with the first iPhone. I wasn’t sure how well I would like the change. Having Jonathan Ive as the main guy behind the change was a different move for Apple; while Ive has created some gorgeous pieces of tech, would he be able to translate that vision to software and execute it? Yes, he did.
Apple’s iOS6 was a solid piece of software. It was easy to use. The look was something we were all used to, and even though I had no problems with it, it was a bit stale. It needed to be updated. As someone who loves white space, and has near OCD if something doesn’t have any balance, iOS7 delivers in spades in regard to its new look.
Gone are the 3D-esque icons and keyboard, a look I wasn't a big fan of--It’s old-school mobile. It needed to be refreshed. It needed that Web2.0 look. Apple delivered.
Each icon is meticulously balanced down to a single pixel. All of the icon graphics have been updated to a new flat look. The applications themselves have all inherited the flat look as well. All fonts are now Helvetica thin and all buttons inside the apps are flat. These are all changes that I welcomed with open arms. I love the flat look of everything.
The stuff that’s changed functionally has been a godsend, and thank God that the jailbreak community has pushed Apple to adopt some of the biggest features. We now have easy access to our most used system tools with a single swipe up. I can’t tell you how much I was dying for this feature to be built into iOS. The home screen is now functionally robust, with three different gestures to bring up three different features. Ive was a genius for pushing for this. There was so much wasted space in iOS that it was begging to be used in new ways.
Speaking of new ways to use the interface, when music is playing and your phone is asleep, you no longer have to press the home button twice to bring up the iTunes control. While this may seem minor, those that play music often through the iPhone will be very happy this feature is there.
There are a few more minor features that were added to iOS, but have seemingly gone unnoticed. No more needing to scroll to the top of Safari to refresh a page. Again, minor, but it was annoying as all hell. Combining search and the web address bar into one bar was a long time coming.
I seem to like everything about iOS7, but there are a few things I’m picky about. One is the omission of panoramic photos as your background. This was a feature I was really looking forward to, but Apple dropped it without a real explanation. The parallax effect for the icons and home screen is gimmicky at best, and eats up way too much battery life to be considered for use. It doesn’t work that well anyway. Also, when iOS7 is first installed, there are few apps that are set to auto-refresh in the background that you may not want. I only have MapQuest and the Nike Running app set to refresh in the background. This was a major battery killer and took some searching to figure out why my battery was dying so fast. That, along with Bluetooth automatically being on when iOS7 installs, and you'll drain everything out of your battery. As someone who never uses Bluetooth, I was oblivious for the first day that the little “B” icon was up in the right.
So there you have it. iOS7 is everything I was looking for, minus a few things I wish were implemented or kept in. While there are very few things I dislike about it, overall I’m very happy with the direction Apple, Ive and his team have gone with iOS7. It’s set up for the future. With Ive, and his team’s vision, I look forward to what they will do with iOS in the future.
