Apple’s new operating system for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch – iOS 7, launched this month. iOS introduces great new features like control center, AirDrop for iOS and smarter multitasking. It makes the things you do every day faster, easier and enjoyable.
iOS 7 is the most advanced mobile OS in the most advanced form. Here are some quick tips for using iOS 7 with the freshly introduced features and design.
Control – just a swipe away
Control Center gives you quick access to the controls and apps you always seem to need right this second. Just swipe upward from any screen, including the Lock screen and you can do things like switch to Airplane mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off, or adjust the brightness of your display. You can even shine a light on things with a new flashlight feature. Goodbye flashlight apps.
Notifications – Never skip an update
To get to the notifications area you need to swipe downward from the top and you will be able to see all the notifications regarding messages, emails, applications, birthdays, weather and everything else you need to be updated or reminded about. You can also view it as “Today”, “Missed” or “All” separately under each tab and swipe left and right to switch between these tabs.
Multitasking – Everything that you need to do
Switching between apps has been made smarter and more efficient. Now, when you press the home button twice, you will see live previews of the different apps that are open instead of just their icons as it used to be in the past. To quit an app, just swipe it upwards and out of the screen. iOS7 is built in a way that it updates your apps and content every day before you open them. iOS schedules updates during power-efficient times, so don’t worry about the battery life. It knows what you want to do before you do.
Camera – Edit your Photos Instantly
iOS7 provides you different ways to take a pictures with options like still, video, panorama and now square. An option of adding filters allows you to do even more with your image. Black and white, retro texture or set the contrast or brightness. It also allows you to switch to another picture during the edit by simply swiping the image to either side. Now you can capture what you want and the way you want it through just a swipe.
Photos – Capture all your memories
Introducing the “Years”, “Collection” and “Moments” feature creates a smart grouping of images based on time and year. It has become easier and faster to scroll down memory lane. Inside the collection view, type the location and you will be able to view all the images taken at that place during that whole time. The year view surprises you by displaying every single image that you have taken in the previous years. And now with collaborative photo streams, your friends can finally add memories into your cloud.
AirDrop – Instant Sharing
Sending documents, files or photos through emails or text is fine, but sharing through AirDrop will transfer your files within seconds! Enter AirDrop for iOS. It lets you quickly and easily shares photos, videos, contacts and anything else from any app with a Share button. Just tap Share, and then select the person you want to share with.
This feature works through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. No setup required. And transfers are encoded, so what you share is highly secure. It allows you to send files to more than just one person on iOS7. It gives you the option to make yourself visible to others or not. Files received are automatically saved in the list where it needs to be saved, for example: sharing a contact would save the contact it in the contacts list; a photo will be saved in the photos app automatically.
Safari – Bigger, Better, Browsing
Buttons and bars stay hidden until you give the screen a tap. This allows you to view more content on the screen. Opening new tabs or viewing older ones are now in a consolidated 3D view that lets you scroll effortlessly from tab to tab with previews of the content on each tab. Closing the tab is done by just swiping it off the screen.
Siri – Interactive Search
Siri in iOS 7 gets a new look, a new sound, and new capabilities. Now when you ask Siri something, audio waves move across your screen, letting you know Siri is listening and processing your request. Siri has answers to everything and you’ll see them right on the screen. It filters web search results from Bing, Wikipedia and Twitter too!
App Store – No more Red Badges
A new feature in iOS7 called as “Apps Near Me”, shows you all the apps relevant to your location. And the new Kids category lets you browse and buy the best apps for children based on age. iOS7 also keeps apps updated automatically so you don’t need to bother about the red badges anymore.
Visual Language
The parallax background is one of our favorite parts of the UI. The bigger change is actually with the color palette. Richer, earthier tones are out and bright, bold primary colors and gradients are in. Beyond just the look of icons, Apple has also changed the way apps interact. Everything just feels faster and more fluid.
Conclusion
iOS7 comes with a collection of apps that lets you do your everyday things, in a way that they are intuitive, simple and fun. It is more than just a pretty face and a design overhaul. It is loaded with useful features you’ll wonder how you ever did without.
