Apple iOS 7

MSRP
$0.00

• PROS
  Heightened security. Fresh design. Wonderful improvements to Control Center, Notification Center, and multitasking bar. Can download over Wi-Fi. Free.
• CONSMissing photo management and organization capabilities.
• BOTTOM LINE
  iOS 7 marks a major turn for Apple's mobile operating system, both visually and in all it has to offer. Users will embrace the long list of new features with open arms, and the design is a breath of fresh air. There's still room for improvement, to be sure, but iOS has truly blossomed in this release.

BY JILL DUFFY

Launching iOS 7 (free) for the first time feels like stepping into some far-away land. It reminds me of the moment Dorothy first finds herself in Oz. She feels uncomfortable in this foreign world. Yet it's mysterious and fantastical. There's a moment of hesitation, of maybe wanting to go back home where everything will be safe and predictable, before she finds her footing. The draw is too great to turn back. Apple's iOS 7 shimmers and glides. The so-called flat design looks cold initially, but soon seems cutting edge. Dive into the settings, and you'll uncover wonderful improvements in security. A new "share sheet" comes off as much more intuitive than the buttons we've come to know so well. Everything's different, but this is a time for closing your eyes, making the leap, and embracing change.

VIEW ALL 7 PHOTOS IN GALLERY

Yes, several of the changes mimic Android. Why deny iPhone and iPad owners of features that set the bar? I don't mind seeing best practices implemented wherever they make sense, and in iOS 7, they do. This is one mobile operating system that has blossomed into adulthood, and everyone with a compatible device should be excited to install it and explore it.

iOS 7: The Basics iOS 7 is available to install on compatible Apple devices, which covers iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, and fifth-generation iPod touch. For a model-by-model list, see thecomplete list of devices that will run iOS 7. iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s will come with iOS 7 already installed on them.

Not all iPhones will get every single new feature, because some older phones aren't capable of them. For example, iPhone 4 does not include Siri, and thus won't see any of the improvements made to Siri. The most exciting changes, however, are universally applicable across all devices, and I honestly don't think iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and iPhone 5 owners are missing out on anything massive.

Apple released the final code for iOS 7 on September 18, and it's free to download to any compatible device. There are a few ways to download it, and you'll want to backup your device before you do! We have a complete set of instructions in the article "How to Download iOS 7." If you're ready to roll now, just go to Settings > General > Software Update to install the new OS.

Design iOS 7 looks stunningly different. The  stark differences between iOS 6 and iOS 7 are most apparent when you look at before and after images back-to-back. You'll notice a lack of 3D. Icons sit in a flat layer that seems to hover just above the screen's background—and changing the wallpaper to suit the new design is a must in my book. (Experiment: Set that old water droplet wallpaper behind the new app icons, and watch the horror of the two worlds colliding.) 

The design of iOS 6, and really all versions of iOS prior to version 7, had icons that looked like buttons. As some design experts have pointed out, there's even an imaginary outside source of light that shines down on the app icons. It evokes the feeling of physicality, played up more by skeuomorphism. Buttons look like they are what they represent, rather than just images on a screen. In iOS 7 that external source of light casting shadows and so forth is gone. The new look evokes computers and a true digital experience that has little to do with real-world physicality.

The Calendar app icon is the perhaps the best example. Its background is solid white with no shading or shadows. Other icons, such as those for Settings, App Store, and iTunes Store, have some color change from top to bottom, but it's subtle and not meant to look like light is coming from outside. Rather, the color gradation seems to be coming from the apps themselves, almost like they are softly glowing.

Interaction and ControlsI love the new control center in iOS 7. iOS 6 didn't have much of a control center to speak of, but if you double-tapped the home button while the phone was locked, you could access a few buttons for your music or media: play/pause, skip forward or backward, and AirPlay. In iOS 7, a fully formed control center is just an up-swipe away at any time, whether the phone is locked or not. Here you'll find quick access to the media buttons, as well as a screen brightness slider; Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, flight mode, "do not disturb," and rotation lock on/off switches; a shortcut to the timer, world clock, alarm, and stopwatch; and a shortcut to the camera.

I'm not convinced that leaving the Bluetooth button accessible while the device is locked is a good thing, but the overall utility of having a true control center in the first place is definitely a huge step forward.

App folders look totally different when you open them and arrange icons in them. Tap one, and it spreads across the screen, much larger than before, to reveal multiple pages of apps within any folder. No more 12-app limit. I wanted to see if there was a limit, but when I got to 45 apps in one folder, I quit trying. These new folders are expansive.

One of the most Android-esque features is iOS 7's revamped multitasking bar, which now shows a preview of all your open apps, rather than just the icons for them. Swipe the multitasking bar left and right, and flows gracefully, rather than showing the next set of apps that fits on the screen and then coming to a halt as it did in iOS 6.

A new notification center in iOS 7 shows your daily summary: appointments and reminders for the current day, as well as a summary of what's happening tomorrow. That's only the first tab, though. The next two, called All and Missed, show custom notifications from whatever apps you want to include.