Saturday, September 21, 2013

iOS 7 release: All you wanted to know about

Everything about iOS 7 in one place, including features, images, news and download details

So the iOS 7 update has finally rolled out, but not everything is peachy in the world of Apple users as many are reporting errors when trying to bump existing iPhone handsets up to the latest version.
The iOS 7 update launched for UK users at 6pm on Wednesday 18 September.
Twitter and other social media platforms exploded with complaints from users saying they were getting excessively long download times and failed download attempts, some said that even after several attempts they still could not download the update.
iOS 7 is still a trending topic on the social media platform which is now awash with a mixture of feedback from those who’ve managed to download the update and those who haven’t.
The most commonly reported error reads, "Software Update Failed: An error occurred whilst downloading iOS 7.0."
There are also complaints from users who didn’t expect the update to require so much onboard space, it needs 3.1GB and some are finding that even after deleting large swathes of their multimedia collections they’re still running into problems.
Fortunately, some people have seen the lighter side and are happy to enjoy a joke over it all.
Outside of Twitter, comedian Conan O’Brien, who is fast becoming a favourite of KYM for tech spoofs, did a little skit on his show where he attempts to update to iOS 7. 

iOS 7: Best New Hidden Features

iOS 7 is a big update – one that will take a few days to truly get to grips with, such is the extent of Apple’s new additions and UX changes. Still, there is a lot to get excited about. Ahead of our full review KYM’s resident Apple expert Michael Grothaus has outlined some of iOS 7’s more subtle changes and features, which you can read below by hitting the link.

iOS 7 available for download later today (potentially around 6pm)

Apple’s hugely anticipated iOS 7 update will begin rolling out later today. The update is not yet live in the UK, although sources claim it will begin rolling out OTA later this evening – potentially around 6pm.
"If you happen to be a resident of the United Kingdom, 6pm British Summer Time (BST) is the time you need to make a note of. Happen to be living in Sydney, Australia? 3am is the time that you’re concerned with,' reports Redmond Pie. 
Redmond Pie also created this helpful chart detailing the launch times of iOS 7 all over the globe: 
 Designed by Jony Ive, iOS 7, since its introduction at WWDC 2013, has divided opinion across the board. But that was always going to be the case – iOS 7 is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the first iPhone.
Industry observers appeared largely convinced and suggested the arrival of iOS 7 could go some way to silencing Apple's critics, according to Sky News.
iOS 7 is available for the following iPhone, iPod and iPad devices:
  • iPhone 4
  • iPhone 4S
  • iPhone 5
  • iPhone 5c
  • iPhone 5s
  • iPod Touch (5th Gen)
  • iPad 2
  • iPad with Retina Display
  • iPad Mini
With more than 200 new features, iOS 7 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch includes:
  • Control Center, which gives you quick access to the controls you want in one convenient place with just one swipe from the bottom of your screen;
  • Notification Center, now available from the Lock screen so you can see all your notifications with a simple swipe, and the new Today feature gives you an at-a-glance view of your day with a summary of the important details such as weather, traffic, meetings and events; 
  • Improved Multitasking 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 you use most and automatically keeps your 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 you can add real-time photo effects, a square camera option, and you can quickly and easily switch between your four cameras—video, photo, square and panorama—with just a swipe;
  • A redesigned Photos app that introduces Moments, a new way to automatically organise your photos and videos based on time and location;
  • Full-screen browsing with Safari’s new redesigned user interface, the new smart search field helps simplify searching, and there’s a new view for your bookmarks and your Safari tabs;
  • 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 an incredible catalogue of music from the iTunes Store, combined with features only iTunes can deliver.

Twitter planning massive update for iOS 7

Twitter is planning a rather significant update to its mobile apps that will coincide with the release of iOS 7, reports suggest. 
The social network will release a minor update hot on the heels of the release of iOS 7, with a major overhaul landing in the not-too-distant future. 
The news comes via The New Yorker, which claims the new-look Twitter application will be very significant and focus on bringing more multimedia into your timeline – that means more pictures and videos.
“Among Twitter's plans for the app redesign include getting rid of the four categories listed at the bottom of the app. Instead, users will be able to swipe with their finger across several different streams. Also gone in the update will be the Discover tab,” reports Pocket-Lint.
The new version of Twitter is expected to feature a dedicated photo and multimedia stream, bringing the service more in-line with peer applications like Instagram.
The overhauled version of Twitter is also expected to get a release on Android. No images have yet been published of what the finished article will look like but with the release of iOS 7 just around the corner – it’s landing tomorrow – it shouldn’t be too long before we know more. 

Apple confirms iOS 7 release date

At Apple’s media event today the company announced that iOS 7 will become available for current iOS devices next Wednesday, September 18th. iOS 7 will be a free download for anyone who has a compatible iOS device. Those devices include the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad mini, and the iPod touch (fifth generation).
“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,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president 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.”
In addition, if you plan on grabbing the new iPhone 5S with the 64-bit A7 processor, know that iOS 7 has been rewritten from the ground up as a 64-bit OS to take advantage of the latest chip architecture. In other words: iOS 7 on the latest iPhone 5S is going to be screaming fast.
iOS 7 will be available on iPhone 4 and above, as well as the iPad 2, iPad Mini and iPod Touch (Fifth Generation). 
"The interface is purposely unobtrusive. Anything that doesn’t add value has been stripped away. So the focus is on what matters most: your content. Layers and translucency create depth and provide a sense of context and place,' said Apple.
"Animation and motion make everything more engaging. And the result is a better, smarter, more delightful experience overall. iOS 7 is just another way iPhone 5s is the culmination of forward thinking."

A Dilemma for App Developers?

Big changes are afoot inside Apple's iOS platform. But will the advent of iOS 7, with its new flat design and colourful imagery, cause issues for developers?
KYM reached out for comment on the issue and today we bring you an expert insight from David Pinches, CMO at ShinobiControls, on the potential ramifications of iOS 7’s redesign. 
Much has been said and written about iOS7 already with its new look UI being the standout point of contention.  Polls and surveys have been run across the real and virtual world with personal opinions sometimes deeply divided, although it would appear that consensus is moving in favour of the “new kid on the block” 
Basically it comes down to this, should the app look and feel like iOS6, iOS7 or both?  If you design your app for iOS6, it will likely look gaudy and out of place on iOS7's new minimalist, content-first design. 
If you design for iOS7, anyone who is still on iOS6 will likely find it under-designed or lacking in chrome compared to the rest of the OS. Either way your app is going to feel out of place to some users. 
Of course, this very much depends on what level of adoption we see for iOS7 in the coming weeks and months, but even if the iOS7 adoption keeps up with iOS6, it will likely be a year or more before you can safely drop iOS6 and even iOS5 from your supported OS version list.
What then to do?  Well, if you're not willing to sell either of your user bases short, you have two choices.  Firstly, you can come up with a new look and feel which doesn't look out of place on either platform.  I suspect this is possible, but it's certainly not easy and it's likely to be fairly complicated to do.  
The second option you have, of course, is to embed two distinct looks in the app, one for iOS6's 'skeuomorphic' world and one for iOS7's flat, clean world.  That will give your users the best experience of your app, regardless of the platform they're running.  It also means you can transition your app as your user base shifts towards iOS7 with its continued adoption and when iOS6 use falls below a level where you feel the need to support it, you simply remove that look from your app.  That said, it could be a rather large amount of work.
In some cases you may not be able to freely select an option?  If you are in the Enterprise Apps space, particularly one which runs specific mobile policies and standards, you may be constrained by these and have to design to one or the other, or indeed something specific to that organisation.
This is further complicated if the enterprise runs a bring your own device (BYOD) policy and, once again, you will be catapulted back into option choices.  No one ever said this was easy! 

Download iOS 7 ahead of official release date

iOS 7 GM is here and in the hands of Apple’s legion of dedicated developers. But if you’re the impatient type and don’t mind encountering a few bugs here and there, you can download the iOS 7 GM now to your iPhone or iPad. 
First you need to download the iOS GM itself, which you can do via the links below: 
Now, follow these steps – courtesy of Download iOS 7 – to get iOS 7 GM running on your iPhone or iPad:
1. Ensure the latest iOS 6 firmware for your device is downloaded. iPhone 5 users should download iOS 6.1.4, while iPhone 4/4S, iPad and iPod Touch 5 users should download iOS 6.1.3.
2. Download iOS 7 Gold Master IPSW for your device (from the links given above). 
3. Connect the device to computer via USB cable.
4. Launch iTunes on computer (download latest version of iTunes from here).
5. Tap the Shift key on your keyboard (use Option key for Macs) and click Update at the same time on iTunes. 
6. Choose the correct IPSW file for your device: iOS 6.1.3 or 6.1.4 ipsw
7. Let iTunes restore your device to the chosen firmware and set it up as a new device, but not from the back up.
8. On the Home Screen, find Check for Updates 
9. Do not click, just highlight it and hold down Shift or Option key. Then hit Update again. 
10. Select the iOS 7 GM IPSW and iTunes will update your device to the new firmware.
Apple’s big annual launch event is taking place in San Francisco in a matter of hours and although it’s not clear how many devices will make an appearance, a couple of things are certain – we’ll see the reveal of the iPhone 5S flagship and it’ll be carrying the latest iOS 7 software.
Of course we’ve already seen iOS 7 back when Apple took the wraps off it at WWDC 2013 in June, but that was a pre-release build and there was still plenty of room for spit and polish ahead of launch.
The main thing is that massive UI overhaul orchestrated by Apple’s vice president of design, Jony Ive. The interface is now ‘flatter’, although there was some negative reaction to the choice of luminous colours for app icons and other UT elements – it will be interesting to see whether Apple has toned it down a bit for the final build after a series of six beta versions.
Other changes include the addition of a multitasking carousel, quick settings menu and an expanded notifications bar. We’re also keenly awaiting more news on Apple’s plans for the iTunes Radio music streaming service and what we can expect outside of the US.
This will be by far the biggest re-invention of iOS since Apple’s orginal iPhone rose to prominence and it’s significant because all of the company’s subsequent hardware announcements, including the iPhone 5C, iPhone 6, iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, will of course be tied into the same softwa36re platform going forward.

iOS 7 GM release to immediately follow iPhone 5S launch

iOS 7 GM will be released to registered Apple developers immediately after tonight’s iPhone 5S launch, according to reports.
It’s unclear how long regular punters will have to wait, but looking back at previous launches tells us it won’t be too long. “GM” stands for Gold Master and is the last beta version of the platform ahead of general release. 
‘Developers and Apple partners are testing the iOS 7 beta 6 right now, and the last iOS 7 beta release should come to these registered users soon after the special event on September 10th,’ reports GottaBeMobile. The Guardian reports, it's likely the new version of iOS 7 will be available for download in around two weeks' time - shortly before the new iPhones go on sale.
In the meantime, users are eagerly anticipating the update.
Apple released the iOS 5 GM and the iOS 6 GM immediately after the launch of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, respectively. We expect the company to follow suit this evening, so expect the first previews of iOS 7 to begin appearing online as early as tomorrow. Ahead of that – take a look at our first look at iOS 7 from back in June. 

iOS 7 new features

The new operating system is choc-full of shiny features including AirDrop, an updating Notification Centre and a ‘do not track’ option for the Safari browser. This looks similar to Google’s incognito feature in their chrome browser and is designed to stop websites, advertisers and other services from tracking online behaviour.
It will also allow you to search for popular apps within your area using the “popular near me” recommendations in the App Store. Basic functions have also changed - instead of swiping from left or right to go from one email to the next, users will swipe upwards and downwards.
We’ll also see a camera app with more Instagram-like features and some gorgeous filters. Plus, you’ll be able to shoot photos in a square format - so no more cropping pictures. Not forgetting instant app updates and a control centre which can allow you to access the most commonly used features with one quick move.
Evan Spiridellis, of e-commerce company JibJab told USA today that while it might feel new, people will like the change:  "After a few days of flipping around, people are going to love it."
His brother Gregg, also of JibJab added: "It feels like you have a new phone. It's that freshness of getting something new, even though you didn't have to pay for it."
We’ve been collating everything related to iOS 7 inside this hub since its launch at WWDC 2013. Below is pretty much everything you need to know about iOS 7 ahead of its September 10 release date, including guest op-ed pieces, an overview of all the new features, and a review of iOS 7 beta 1. 

iOS 7 sneak peak

With seven days to go until the release of IOS 7, a video has emerged showing a user browsing the net using the latest version of Apple’s operating system on Asian site youku.com.
In the 48-second clip, the user is shown using the operating system in what is thought to be an iPhone 5c, although many of the phone’s featurers are obscured in the short clip. The video comes as excitement mounts about Apple’s new operating system and its features. Beta versions of ios 7 include popular features previously reserved for hackers, such as allowing users to block unwanted calls and update apps automatically, readwrite.com reports.
iOS 7 will start rolling out to devices on September 10, according to an email sent to developers.
Developer Owen Williams received an email from Apple saying the update would be arriving on consumer's iPad, iPhones and iPods on September 10, as previously rumoured.

iOS 7 Design 

Despite various Apple presenters highlighting the fragmentation and inferiority of Android, the new OS does share some similarities in terms of aesthetics with both the Google platform and that of its other (not so big) rival, Windows Phone. That means that gone are the leather and felt-like panels and a slicker, less 'busy' design is evident across the entire interface.
Elsewhere you'll find a new font in place on the lockscreen and a very HTC-inspired weather/time widget. Jony Ive commented in his video voice-over that the iOS redesign brings 'true simplicity' to proceedings and having seen the new 'cleaner' icons we can say that the new platform does embody this.
The whole 'flatness' thing that has been talked about so much in the build up is present and correct, but that's not to say that the OS is without any kind of pizzazz - transitions and effects are minmalist but stunning as a 3D effect prevails and images move through different planes.
Ive says that the new iOS 'adds news depths and layers' as well as 'the parallax' effect and the onscreen demo certainly illustrated this - the mail app and its offering of full-screen images being a particluar example of this added depth both in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

iOS 7 Functionality 

Speaking of functionality, another Android-esque feature comes in the form of the new Notifications Centre which is now accessible from the lockscreen for the first time. In here you'll find all the standard communcations in a slightly refreshed interface. 
The big changes, however, come within Safari as there's now a unified search field as well as the introduction of Tabs. The latter means that an unlimited number of tabs can be opened and they'll be synced across all your iDevices, showcasing their resplendent design elements while they're at it. There's also the introduction of gesture controls, which allows one-tap access to all your serach fields. Parental controls and iCloud Keychain integration have also been bundled-in.
Google search suggestions and shared links from Twitter followers will also be served and Safari now facilitates continuous scrolling from article to article without coming back to the list within Tabs.

iOS 7 Mulitasking

Multitasking has also been subject to an overhaul and the whole shebang has now been made sleeker with a double-tap being all that is required to access all that is open and a few deft swipes deployed to navigate to what you're looking for. Again, very Android, but again, appropraited in a way that only Apple can.
When it comes to apps, they'll now also now automatically update in the background putting an end to the annoyance of seeing a small red circle with double figures in it each time you open the app drawer.
Whether this can be turned off in settings wasn't explicitly stated and we'd imagine that if the facility to opt-out isn't proffered, many could be perturbed by what could be viewed as yet more control-freakery from Apple.

iOS 7 Notifications

We've already covered the new Notifications Centre but the streamlining doesn't stop there as Notification Sync means that users no longer have close down notifications across all their iDevices.

iOS 7 Siri

This should have perhaps been included under our Design section, but no matter because Apple's digital voice assistant has a new interface, as well as a new selection of voices to chose from including both male and female tones in English, French and German. The familiar British voice (that belongs to the chap off The Weakest Link, no doubt) wasn't demoed but we'd say there's a good chance that he'll make a return.
Web search, by way of Microsoft's Bing, as well as Twitter integration, have also been incorporated into Siri but the main development comes in the form of Siri's in-car integration, which sees the iOS interface being displayed on car's own native screens and mutiple functions spanning directions, music playback, iMessage dictation and mapping, all controlled 'Eyes Free'.

iOS 7 Sharing

iOS7 has also seen sharing functionality pulled up by the bootstraps and Airdrop now allows the seamless sharing of digital content from within any app with a 'sharesheet' - one tap access is again on hand and multiple taps allow for sharing with friends from lists without the need to tap to friends' devices physically. Perhaps most impressively though, this fuctionality is said to have system-wide support across all iOS 7 compatible hardware.

iOS 7 iTunes Radio

It's the one that everybody had been waiting for. Although perhaps not as epoch defining as the massed ranks of Apple zealots would have had you believe in the run up to launch, iTunes Radio (and not iRadio as many had tipped it to be called) forms what iTunes chief Eddie Cue described as 'the best music player we've ever done'.
Hmm. We'll be the judge of that over time, but for now the chutzpah has iTunes Radio as offering a free (but ad-supported to everyone other than iMatch users) streaming radio services that will come baked into iOS 7 and will feature 100 pre-set stations defined by genre. Users are also free to create and share their own stations as well as follow music that's trending on Twitter.
The nature of the product puts it in direct competition with the likes of Pandora and its 70 million active monthly listeners, although iTunes Radio will only be available in the US, as opposed to the US, Australia and New Zealand. A full roll-out is expected for other territories soon after launch, however.

And the rest...

We've done justice to the 'biggies' Tim Cook and co laid out on the big shiny WWDC 2013 table this evening (there was no actual table), but in the speedy and fractured fashion in which these things seem to develop, some snippets invariably fall through the cracks. So here they are in one-line form for all your information gathering needs:
FaceTime Audio - now available across all iOS devcies using Wi-Fi to enable crystal clear VoIPcalls. Networks are going to love that.
Do Not Disturb -  can be toggled from the all-new Control Centre, accessed by a swipe up from bottom regardless of what app you're in - transparent interface is in keeping with whatever app happens to provide the background scene. Consistent.
Appstore - apps are now collected according to age-specific categories, should you select them, plus option and geoloaction-fused function groups which shot you what apps are popular in the vicinity you're in.
Photos app - unorganised stream is a thing of the past and iOS7 uses information to organise photos into moments by using geotagging info and labelling. This ensures that 'natural organisation' occurs depending on the event/timeframe etc. This intuitive app uses extra info and draws on data intelligently to create 'collections'.
iCloud photosharing - from here you can select the photostreams you can share to, but now other people can share photos to that photostream too. Share Tab allows you to see the comments of others and now video can also be shared. Inclusive.

iOS 7: You might also like...

iOS 7 beta release dates

The iOS 7 'real' consumer update is rumoured to be rolling out from September 10, which is said to be the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C announcement too.
Released on August 16, the iOS 7 beta 6 fixed a number of bugs and only included a few changes.
  • iTunes Cloud purchasing bug fixed
  • Game Center new features added
  • Map Kit new features added
  • Airdrop tweaked
  • Over-the-air (OTA) update
iOS beta 5 launched August 5, just a week after the beta 4 rolled out and the highlit features are:
  • Updated lock screen gets rid of the swipe to pull down graphic
  • iPhone 4 users are now able to download apps from the App Store
  • Turn off Control Center from within apps
  • New settings icons
  • Voice memos now enabled in iCloud
iOS 7 beta 4 landed on July 30 and included a lot more features than previous beta updates, including:
  • Notifications Center allows you to swipe through notifications from today, all or missed
  • Call Screen now has clearer buttons for call answer/call end/send a message/set reminder
  • Lock screen now features an arrow to unlock with Control Center and Notifications Center at the top and bottom of the screen
  • Camera App has been updated with HDR moving to the edge of the screen and the
  • Upload notifications let you track your uploads when adding content to applications such as Twitter, Facebook or Flickr
  • Siri has a wider knowledge base, allowing you to ask more complicated questions
  • AirPlay Speakers can be added via the AirPlay settings menu rather
  • Search cancel button makes it a lot easier to delete a search
  • Shuffle all in Music app allows you to shuffle your whole music collection
The major features of iOS 7 beta 3 include updates to:
  • New font. Apple changed the font from Helvetica Neue Light to Regular
  • Folders are more transparent
  • Calendar app now displays dots for denoting when a day has an appointment
  • New app download icon is replaced with a circular timer
  • Safari's .com button has been removed and replaced with a full stop. Web extensions can be added by pressing and holding the full stop icon.
  • Status bar is now larger to display the connection strength, battery level, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi icons clearer
  • Lock screen now displays the time if you're playing music
  • Music app has been redesigned slightly
  • Control Center's clock has been tweaked
  • iPad and iPad Mini support added
  • Siri has been updated to make it faster, with both male and female voice options
  • Voice Memos app has returned
  • New welcome screen when you first turn the device on that asks for an iCloud account to be set up
  • Find my iPhone update allows the device to remotely locate, lock, erase, and prevent re-activation
  • Control Center redesigned
  • Notifications Center double notifications bug fixed
  • Reminders app redesign with new clock icon
  • iCloud backups have returned
  • Message send button turns green or blue when text is typed. Swipe to the left to show the timestamp and profile pictures added to group texts
  • Music app bug fixes
  • Weather app has been updated to display different cities via a new icon at the bottom of the screen
  • Camera app on iPad now includes HDR mode
  • Home screen has been completely revamped with cleaner icons and brighter colours
  • Spotlight Search can be accessed by pulling down anywhere on the home screen
  • Parralax effect makes the homescreen look 3D
  • Control Center added, allowing you to easily turn connections on and off, adjust brightness etc
  • Notifications Center updated and split into today, all, missed sections
  • Multitasking added with 'cards' showing for each currently open app
  • Lockscreen updated with a much simpler interface. You can swipe anywhere on the screen to unlock and Control Center/Notifications Center can be accessed from here too
  • Safari revamped with unified search/address bar. Tabs have been added in a carousel-like format
  • Compass adds in spirit level
  • Mail app updated with new look
  • Flickr and Vimeo added to built-in services
  • Camera app updated with new look and filters, just like Instagram
  • Stocks app updated to look a lot fresher
  • iTunes and the App Store now features wishlists allowing you to save an app to purchase later. both have been updated with a more streamlined look
  • Reminders app updated with new look and ability to add groups of reminders
  • Dialer and iMessage both get a new look with rounded buttons on the dialer and more streamlined look for the Messages app
  • Calendar whiter in appearance and adds inbox for incoming invitations
  • Maps has been updated with low texture levels and a new redesigned directions page
  • Clock looks more like the rest of iOS with the addition of a timer too
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