Apple unveils iOS 7

Live from the WWDC in San Francisco, Apple has released “the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone."

iOS 7 is completely redesigned with an entirely new user interface, but will be instantly familiar to the hundreds of millions of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users around the world according to Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi.

Addressing a jam-packed audience, Federighi said the new interface actually makes your phone appear bigger because everything is designed to take advantage of the entire screen

“iOS 7 is the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone,” he said. “To create it, we brought together a team with a broad range of expertise from design to engineering.

"With what we’ve been able to achieve together, we see iOS 7 as an exciting new beginning.”

The eagerly anticipated redesign was headed by Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of Design, who was on hand to say: “There is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency.

"True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation—it’s about bringing order to complexity.

“iOS 7 is a clear representation of these goals. It has a whole new structure that is coherent and applied across the entire system.”

Control Center

iOS 7 introduces Control Center. Now the controls you want to access quickly are all in one convenient place.

With just one swipe from the bottom of your screen, you have access to controls for Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Do Not Disturb, and the ability to adjust screen brightness, pause or play a song, jump to the next track and stream your music with AirPlay.

Control Center also gives you instant access to apps such as Clock, Camera, Calculator and the Flashlight.

Notification Center

With iOS 7, Notification Center is now available from the Lock screen so you can see all your notifications with a simple swipe, and the new Today feature in Notification Center gives you an at-a-glance view of your day with a summary of details such as weather, traffic, meetings and events.

With improved Multitasking in iOS 7, developers have the ability to enable any app to multitask in the background with a new API.

Users have 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

AirDrop is an entirely new way to quickly and easily share content with people nearby. When you’ve got something you want to share, AirDrop shows you your contacts close by. Just select who you want to share with and AirDrop does the rest.

AirDrop transfers are peer-to-peer so you can use it anywhere, without any network or set up required, and transfers are fully encrypted so your content is protected and private.

Camera

iPhones are used to take more photos around the world every day than any other camera, and with iOS 7 the new Camera app features filters so you can add real-time photo effects.

The Camera app now includes a square camera option, and you can quickly and easily switch between your four cameras—video, photo, square and panorama—with just a swipe.

Photos

iOS 7 includes a redesigned Photos app that introduces Moments, a new way to automatically organise your photos and videos based on time and location.

You can zoom out to see all your photos organised by Moments, Collections of Moments and Years. iOS 7 includes iCloud Photo Sharing, the easiest way to share just the photos you want with just the people you want.

With iCloud Photo Sharing, family and friends can contribute their own photos and videos to your shared photo streams, and the new Activity view displays updates from your shared streams all in one place.

Safari

Safari’s redesigned user interface lets you see more of your content—starting with full-screen browsing. The new smart search field helps simplify searching, and there’s a new view for your bookmarks and your Safari tabs.

With iCloud Keychain, your passwords and credit card information are securely stored and available on all your devices, so navigating password protected sites or autofilling during transactions is simple and secure.

Enhanced Parental Controls allow you to automatically block access to adult websites or only allow access to a specific set of permitted websites.

Siri

Siri sounds better than ever with new male and female voices and includes Twitter search integration, so you can ask Siri what people are saying on Twitter.

Siri also now has Wikipedia integration, providing access to the world’s most popular Internet reference site. Siri offers Bing web search within the app and the ability to change device settings and play back voicemail.

Music

The Music app has a new design and includes the new iTunes Radio, a free internet radio service featuring over 200 stations and an incredible catalog of music from the iTunes Store, combined with features only iTunes can deliver.

iTunes Radio is the best way to discover new music. When you tune into iTunes Radio on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC or Apple TV, you’ll have access to stations inspired by the music you already listen to, Featured Stations curated by Apple and genre-focused stations that are personalised just for you.

iTunes Radio evolves based on the music you play and download. The more you use iTunes Radio and iTunes, the more it knows what you like to listen to and the more personalised your experience becomes.

iTunes Radio also gives you access to exclusive “first listen” premieres from top selling artists, Siri integration plus the ability to buy anything you hear with just one tap.

Apps

iOS 7 now features Popular Apps Near Me, a new way to find apps based on your current location, and iOS 7 will automatically keep your apps up to date.

The App Store also comes with a new Kids category, allowing teachers and parents to easily discover apps for children by age.

Additional new iOS 7 features include:

• a new Find My iPhone Activation Lock feature that requires your Apple ID and password before you can turn off Find My iPhone, erase data or re-activate a device after it’s been remotely erased;

• Night Mode in Maps that responds to ambient light when you use it in the dark;

• FaceTime audio for high quality calls over a data network;

• Notification sync, so when you dismiss a notification on one device it is dismissed on all of your devices;

• Phone, FaceTime and Messages blocking to prevent specific people from being able to contact you;

• Tencent Weibo support for users in China, a Chinese-English bilingual dictionary, and improved Chinese input including handwriting recognition for multiple Chinese characters;

• the ability for businesses to more efficiently deploy and manage iPhones and iPads; and

• enhanced in-car integration, bringing an Apple designed experience into the car for the first time.

The iOS 7 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com.

iOS 7 will be available as a free software update for iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation) around October.

What do you think of the new iOS 7? Tell us your first thoughts below