iOS 7 review

iOS 7 review

What is iOS 7?

iOS 7 is the most serious update to iOS since Apple opened the App Store. Let that sink in for a moment, because it's important. iOS and the iPhone may have been a catalyst for a revolution in smartphone software and hardware design, but it's the App Store that's made the iPhone a success. "There's an app for that". It's a catchy line.

But as the App Store flourished and became the bedrock of the iPhone's success, iOS floundered. It began to look staid, old-fashioned and short of ideas, particularly compared to the fresh new look and experience offered by Microsoft's Windows Phone. Designs that made sense in the advent of touchscreen phones slowly began to look anachronistic.

Worse still, Apple's moves to improve and augment iOS became hopelessly disjointed. The disastrous Apple Maps was the catalyst for change and the ousting of former iOS chief Scott Forstall, but the likes of Find My Friends, Cards and the Podcasts app were unheeded warnings.

Apple bills iOS 7 as "the mobile OS from a whole new perspective". The antidote to growing unrest among even ardent Apple fans. Can it live up this billing and will it add value to the recently luanched iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C?


See iOS 7 in action in Apple's iOS 7 video showreel:

iOS 7: First Impressions

That "new perspective" line is an interesting one. It's typical Apple bravura, the kind that drives its fiercest critics into a wild rage. And it's easy to see why because, look past the new modern veneer, and the core iOS experience remains very much intact.

You have a grid of apps and app folders; you swipe left and right to reveal more apps; tap on icons to open apps; go to the App Store to download more apps… it doesn't feel like a "new perspective".



There's two ways to read this, as Apple failing to innovate or Apple playing to its strengths. Whichever narrative you prefer doesn't change the first impression that iOS 7 is a refreshing, vital, but very comfortable update. It's an old, familiar friend who has thrown off the cardigans and had a shave.

Key to this is the new visual style. There's been much pontificating on the topic of 'flat design' vs the 'skeuomorph' approach of previous versions of iOS. It's quite a boring debate really, but Apple has ripped away the worst offences of the latter-day Forstall-era. Some tiny hints remain, such as an almost paper-like texture to the Notes app background, but they're appropriate rather than hackneyed.

More to the point, everything about the visual style in iOS 7 feels modern, fresh and effortless. The familiar tropes, such as slide to unlock, remain, but with none of the baggage. Anyone who upgrades their existing iPhone or iPad will, for a short time at least, feel like it's been given a new lease of life.

Key to this is the sense of 'levels' that pervades iOS 7. This is where that 'new perspective' line begins to resonate, even if it's a bombastic way to describe a simple effect. Overlays have a subtle translucency that just hint at what's below, without it ever becoming a distraction, while the new 'parallax' wallpapers move slightly as you tilt the screen.



Also key is the way OS moves and reacts to your prompts. Apps now appear to expand from the icons, while the screen fades in and out when you lock and unlock the phone. Apple has adopted the 'cards' app switching approach of the now defunct Palm OS, where double-tapping the home button shows previews of open apps. None of this is groundbreaking stuff, of course, but the cumulative effect all helps to make iOS 7 a pleasure to use day-to-day.

The sights and sounds are improved, too. There's a new set of default backgrounds, the introduction of 'dynamic' moving wallpapers (a mixed blessing, really), and a whole new set of ringtones and alert sounds. The old ones remain, but the new ones subtly hint at the modernity of iOS 7. The old sounds are tucked away in their own section earmarked 'Classic' - a very polite way to put it.

In purely aesthetics terms, then, iOS 7 is a huge success. It looks and feels great, but there's a good deal more it needs to do convince the doubters. Read on as we delve deeper into the new features and redesigned native apps.

iOS 7: Notifications Center and Control Center

iOS 7: Notifications Center and Control Center

Of all the new things in iOS 7, Notifications Center and Control Center are the most useful. Moreover, like the visual makeover, they're the most egregious example of how iOS had fallen behind.

Let's start with Control Center, which finally gives you quick access to brightness, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other simple control toggles that ought to have been present from version one.

It's incredible that it's taken this long, but finally you can turn Bluetooth on/off in just two steps (swipe up from bottom edge and toggle) instead of the previous four (Unlock > Settings > Bluetooth > Bluetooth On/Off).

Other toggles available in the Control Center include Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb and Orientation Lock.

There are shortcuts along the bottom for a Flashlight, the Timer app, Calculator and Camera apps, while playback controls (including volume) and brightness slider round out the options. It's comprehensive, it's useful… it's about damn time!



The Notifications Center, meanwhile, is now split into three tabs: Today, All and Missed. The Today tab is the most interesting.

As the name suggests it gives you snapshot of your day, starting with the weather and followed by your next appointment, your calendar for the day, reminders, stock updates and a summary of how busy you are the next day.

It's a very neat addition. Each component can be toggled on/off and some re-ordered. We yearn for a little more customisation, such as the option to include third-party apps over the natives ones, but it's a great addition all the same.

The separation of 'All' and 'Missed' is useful, too, but we can't help feel a more useful split would be 'Recent' and 'Missed'. It's sometimes unclear why certain items appear in 'Missed' and others remain in 'All' even if the same amount of time has passed, while the All tab feels overburdened with updates. You can customise what appears here, of course, but a little more prior intelligence would go a long way.



The fact both are accessible directly front the lock screen is hugely useful, though, and the privacy minded will be relieved to know you can deactivate or limit what appears in the Notifications Center.

Of all the updates in iOS 7, they have the most profound impact on how you'll use your iPhone or iPad.

iOS 7 Apps: Mail, Calendar, Messages and Contacts

iOS 7 Apps: Mail, Calendar, Reminders and Notes

Sticking with the practical theme for a little longer, Apple has given each of the Calendar, Reminders and Notes apps much-needed makeovers. The Calendar and Notes apps were both plagued by 'fauxness', while the Reminders app always looked dank and uninviting.



And from a superficial view they're all vastly improved. Notes remains very simple, but that's fine: it has a simple task and does it well. Need more complexity? Get Evernote. Reminders, meanwhile, has a similarly bright and breezy appearance, and remains an underrated app. A serious to-do app it isn't, but its location aware reminders (not a new feature) and integration in the 'Today' view turn a once neglected app into a seriously useful tool.

The Calendar app looks vastly better, too, but its limited features is harder to forgive. It's a solid, slick and very usable app that will please the majority just fine, but it lacks the more advanced features that make third-party apps like Sunrise a must-have for most iPhone owners. It can't, for example, accept and deny Facebook invites, or connect to meeting invitees via Linkedin.

It's similar story for the Mail app. It's a superficial improvement that does the basics well, but Gmail users will want to stick with the Gmail app and it won't bring Mailbox devotees rushing back. The main improvement is  more complex search, which is welcome, and the new swiping motion to reveal the 'Trash' and 'More' options is nice, but they're refinements rather than huge leaps.

It's the first example in many that Apple has really focussed almost exclusively on the 'how' and not the 'what' of its native apps. That's fine for the majority, but anyone who demands a little more will be disappointed.

iOS 7 Apps: Phone, Messages and Contacts

Apple's focus on revamping, rather than seriously improving, its core apps is clearer still in its Phone, Messages and Contacts apps. Again, none are fatally flawed in any way and they're slick and easy to use, but in doing so it has ignored a few opportunities.

For instance, it would be nice if it were possible to mark messages as read without actually entering the message. It's time wasted to do so when the message is short enough to read in preview, but swiping from the left only allows you to delete whole conversations, not dismiss all new ones in it.

There are some nice visual flourishes, such as initials substituting for profile pics where there is none, but that's about it.

iOS 7 Apps: Camera and Photos

It's only here where things begin to get seriously interesting, as the iOS 7 Camera and iOS 7 Photos apps are more serious overhauls than their counterparts. And both are resounding successes.

The camera app simplifies what had become a rather cluttered and cumbersome app in recent times. Now, instead of fiddly, hard to hit toggles for switching modes, you just swipe left and right to flip between video, normal shooting and panorama mode.

 

There's an additional mode, too, that takes square Instagram-style shots. Predictably, this also means the introduction of photo filters. There are only nine at present, and that includes 'None' option, but you can preview all nine at once in a grid, and once selected the on-screen display gives you a live preview of what it will look like.

Filters can be applied post-shot, too, and the simple editing options (rotate, auto-enhance, red-eye removal and crop) are quick and easy to use. Indeed, speed is the operative word in the camera app. Even on a (only slightly aged) iPhone 4S, it's snappy as snappy can be.

The Photos app, meanwhile, is a huge improvement that makes finding and sharing multiple photos at once infinitely easier.



The main Photos section organises photos based on three different levels: Years, Collections and Moments. Each level is a little more granular, with Collections grouping photos loosely by time period (e.g. 20 to 26 April, 2012) and general location, while Moments drills down further to show photos grouped by specific times and specific locations. It makes finding that funny photo you took a year and half ago so much easier. It's ace.

Shared shows photos and collections you've shared (or are shared with you) using iCloud, while Albums includes the Camera Roll, My Photo Stream and separates all your videos and Panoramas into their own albums. You can create your own albums, too, while any third-party photo apps you use also appears here as their own albums.



Overall, while most of the other core apps are largely simple reskins and slight re-tools, the Photos and Camera apps are a serious improvement and are worth the upgrade alone.

iOS 7 Apps: Safari, Maps, iTunes and iTunes Radio

iOS 7: Safari

We suspect Safari on iOS 7 will convert a few Chrome defectors. That's not because it does anything outrageously different, but because it does the basics very well.


When a page is open, UI clutter disappears to give an almost unimpeded view, maximising screen space, useful on the 4-inch screen of the iPhone 5S. The reader mode also makes reading non-optimised pages vastly more enjoyable, while the bookmark and password synching is rock solid.

iOS 7 Apps: Maps

The app that Scott Forstall would rather forget is an interesting beast. Like other apps the changes are largely cosmetic, but then cosmetics were never the problem. Neither is speed, Apple's Maps app is blazingly fast, faster than Google Maps on iOS.

It's the location and search information that remains patchy. It's much, much better than it used to be, but it's hard to see it matching the search quality and feature depth of Google Maps in the near future.

iOS 7 Apps: Music and iTunes Radio

If you're in the UK there's little to see in the Music app. It's received a decent redesign with welcome emphasis on album art within lists, which makes the app feel less cramped and easier to use.


The Now Playing view is much improved, and Apple has quietly dumped the Cover Flow view in favour of an album art grid. It's all neat, tidy and very pleasant to use, but won't change how you use it much.



As for iTunes Radio, while we haven't had a go yet, the principal is an interesting one. Basically it's a Pandora imitation, creating radio stations based on your music history that encourages you to buy more music. It seems unlikely to convert anyone away from Spotify, Rdio and other subscription services, but it's a nice no extra cost addition that we hope will make it to our shores in reasonable time.

iOS 7: Siri and AirDrop

iOS 7 Features: Siri

Siri is out of beta! Siri was still in beta? We're not sure what makes something a beta or not anymore, but Siri has received a few timely and useful additions for iOS 7 that make a good deal more useful.

The main one is that you can control various settings using voice commands, such as 'Turn on Wi-fi' and so forth. It's worth experimenting with, particularly as it gives you quick access to some features not included in the Control Center, such as switching off 3G when you don't need it to save battery life.

It also has more options to show information within Siri. Wikipedia search results show a short preview within the app, as do search results from Bing. You can finally open apps using Siri, too, a long overdue and very useful addition, particularly when trying to use your phone hands-free.

All told, these additions make Siri more useful and helpful. The voice recognition is not faultless, but it is good provided there isn't too much background noise - it only really struggled when using a hands-free device in the car, where road noise is clearly too much to deal with.

iOS 7 Features: AirDrop

AirDrop is another feature we haven't been able to test fully (it's only available on iPhone 5 and upwards, the iPad mini, iPad 4 and iPod Touch 5), but it's a straightforward feature that's been in Mac OS X for a while and is present in a different form on Android where it's called Android Beam.

Basically it's an implementation of Wi-Fi Direct that creates an ad-hoc network between two compatible devices so you can share information. It doesn't require any configuration beyond the recipient enabling AirDrop.

The only problem? As pointed out in our iPhone 5S problems feature, it's not much use for sharing anything with a non-iPhone user. Fine if you believe in a pure Apple future, but we reckon there are a few people out there who will disagree.

iOS 7: Performance, Battery Life and Verdict

iOS 7: Performance and Battery Life

We'll be looking into iOS 7 performance and battery life in greater detail in separate feature and/ore future update, mainly because most of our testing came during the beta phase of iOS 7 and some proper side-by-side testing is required.

That discounts any useful battery life observations at this stage, but we can confirm the iOS 7 runs absolutely fine on the iPhone 4S and upwards. The 4S is ever so slightly slower to load apps on iOS 7 than on iOS 6, but you need the two side-by-side to notice the difference.

We're in the middle of testing the iPhone 4 at the moment, which may prove more problematic given Apple has seen fit to disable some features for performance reasons. If you've got an iPhone 4, it's definitely worth waiting before you upgrade.

Verdict

It’s a challenge to score an update to an operating system that comes free with Apple phones and tablets. In fact, how you view iOS 7 depends largely from what position you view it from.

If you're an iPhone owner thinking of switching to Android, should you? Only if you really want a bigger screen. iOS 7 is a huge improvement on previous versions, one that's worth trying before you finally decide and one that extinguishes many most of the small irritations Apple has left untouched over the years. iOS 7 does enough to restore the faith in the software, though whether the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C do enough is another matter.

Likewise, if you're an Android user considering switching to an iPhone, iOS 7 removes most of the reasons not to. You'll miss some of the deep Google integration, particularly Google Now, but you'll gain a thoroughly modern and super-slick OS and what remains the iPhone's biggest trump card, the App Store. It's not an open and shut case as there's more to the debate than just the software, but iOS 7 strengthens Apple's case considerably.

If you're a happy Apple user, iOS 7 is a revelation. Android fans will quip, with good reason, that you've been living in the dark ages for a while, but you finally have some ammunition to fire back that isn't just 'the App Store'. It's hardly a killer blow, but the debate over which is better can return to more philosophical questions and preferences rather than bemoaning the paucity of common features.

Of course, none of this will convince ardent Android users to make the switch, and nor should it. Yes, iOS 7 is a huge step forward for iOS, and it still trumps Android for simplicity and elegance, but it has nothing that Google or Microsoft urgently needs to copy, imitate or fear. It's a wonderfully competent, pure and seamless experience, but it's not a revolution.