Bobbing for new Apple products?

How about them apples? From phones to laptops, the company’s products have become almost indispensable in our day-to-day life.
Photo by Katie Despeaux

By Megan McCurdy
News Editor

It seems that everyone and their mother has an iPhone or a Mac or some iSomething nowadays. Apple products have definitely revolutionized the world of computers and consumer electronics, and the company’s recent release of a completely new mobile operating system has turned some heads.

The announcement for the new iPhone, iPad, and iPod software, which is Apple’s first major redesign in a decade, came earlier this year at the June Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Officially released on Sept. 18, the newest OS, the seventh version, retained much of the same and familiar layout as its predecessor, but features a completely new color palette and much more open feel (the weather, camera, and maps apps are fantastic in this regard). While many have claimed the makeover has left their iPhone feeling more like an Android, I am definitely very pleased with the changes.

When I first saw images of what iOS7 would look like, I was immediately drawn to the brighter colors, simplified flattened icons, the sense of transparency and layering, as well as the parallax effect of the backgrounds (which as I recently learned can be turned off if it’s too distracting).

I was also rather excited for the Control Center, which includes a built-in flashlight app; shortcuts to the camera and clock; the ability to toggle Wi-fi, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb; and the ability to control all of my music and the screen’s brightness—all in one place. And I don’t even have to unlock my phone to access it.

Now that I have had a little over a month to explore and experience the new upgrades, I’ve found that not only is the new software much more attractive and cohesive in its theme, but also quicker, smoother, and more intuitive in use.

The minimalistic and unobtrusive interface has done away with unnecessary bars and buttons, leaving users with what’s really important– their content. i-Users can interact with their content in a much more dynamic way, as seen most noticeably through the cinematic animations (see: weather app and zoom to open and close apps) and the functional layering that established hierarchy and order.

While I am pleased overall with the new look and functionality of the new iOS, there are some drawbacks.

After the rather long download and installation time, it took a few days to get everything on my phone running smoothly. It took a while to upgrade all third party apps, and even then, some of them, especially Instagram, seemed to be glitchy and would shut down in mid-use. I was also hoping for a major upgrade to some of the built-in apps such as mail but it seems to be the same with nothing noticeably different. Also, the autocorrect feature has been a bit odd to say the least. I would list the many mistakes in sent texts, but that would be an article in and of itself.

Now that most of the popular apps (Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Snapchat, etc.) have upgraded to work with iOS7, I have no real complaints about or problems with the new software, and after a month with the new design, I’m still in love with the new look and have almost forgotten what iOS6 looks like.

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