The groundbreaking iOS update – the iOS 7 – unveiled by Apple at the WWDC on June 10th marks a new enlivening beginning for the company’s mobile market. However, the stock market was indifferent to the launch, as evident from statistics that showed Apple’s stocks sliding down by approximately $3.
Developed under the supervision of Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of design, the new iOS 7 introduces a plethora of visual changes and additional features. The looks are entirely different from earlier iterations, with totally redesigned icons, a new color scheme and translucent transition effects. The new design intends to utilize the entire screen, so the interface appears much bigger.
The new platform provides enhanced Multitasking, allowing users to switch between multiple apps in a more intuitive manner. It keeps track of the most used apps, so as to maintain up-to-date content in the background. Some of the new features include Night Mode, FaceTime audio, Find My iPhone Activation Lock, and Notifications sync. With better in-car integration, the iOS 7 will bring a new Apple-designed experience into vehicles.
Developers can access the new iOS 7 right away at the developer.apple.com website. The update will be available free for iPhone 4 and iPad 2 onwards, plus the iPad mini and iPod touch shortly. The apps inside iOS 7 will update automatically, so users just have to connect Wi-Fi to set off the updates, rather than wait for notifications.
The iOS 7 is the “biggest change” to Apple’s mobile operating system since the introduction of iPhone as Apple CEO Tim Cook put it. From Apple’s perspective, the iOS is the most used mobile platform for shopping and about 90 percent of iPhone owners have the latest software. That said, the iOS 7 is indeed a new beginning for the company.