APPLE is one of the most secretive companies in the world, yet it produces a notable number of consumer ‘tech’ gadgets that people use every day. For better or worse, products like the Macintosh, iPhone and iPad are iconic pieces of hardware that people have integrated into the concept of their identity. Last Monday, at its annual World-Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple Inc formally announced its latest mobile operating system, the iOS 7, and while it looks and feels familiar, its fresh design is enough to inject much-needed life into the mobile platform. Apple may not have new mobile hardware in the works for a few months, but, rest assured, the iOS 7 has enough to drive upgrades for its installed base with the oldest phones.
It has a new look that is much cleaner, and gives a long-overdue facelift to its mobile operating system. Is it enough to drive another iPhone upgrade cycle? Let’s see if you’re in for a treat… And a surprise!

But, before I go deeper into the new iOS, allow me to give you a roundup on the WWDC ‘13 held in San Francisco, USA.

•    Apple reveals iOS 7
•    MacBook Air promising ‘all-day’ battery life
•    Apple plots new Mac Pro
•    It’s revenue, not market share, that’s attracting people to iOS
•    Apple polishes OS X 10.9 Mavericks
•    The new MacBook Air with Haswell on the way
•    Apple delineates its ecosystem: The Mac’s new advantage vs. Windows
•    New iOS 7 gimmicks may be more reliable than Samsung’s Galaxy gimmicks

Some features such as Air Drop, a peer-to-peer file-sharing network, will work on the latest iPad, iPad mini and iPhone 5. Overall, iOS 7 will work on the iPhone 4 and later models. The catch is that some key features may work best with the latest hardware. Apple’s line is to update its iPhone ecosystem, yet spur upgrades to some degree.  

In other words, iOS 7 makes its predecessor look tired fairly quickly, and if there’s a feature a person lacks, he may feel obsolete. Apple’s approach is to give you a sudden nudge to upgrade hardware.
Now Apple’s iOS update includes a few movable parts. For starters, Apple appears to have cut Google out of Siri to some degree. iTunes Radio will likely do well. Safari is updated, and most apps look brand new and refreshed. The bottom line for Apple’s WWDC keynote is that it did what it had to do: Set the stage for new devices in the fall.
Control Centre: Swipe up from the bottom of the device, and you can change settings, brightness, apps and radio functionality, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Multitasking: Support has been added for all apps while still preserving and maintaining good battery life. Applications that are constantly in use over time will develop a pattern which enables background updating and “intelligence scheduling” when you need them. Apps also adapt to network conditions, and will update in the background before they’re opened.

Safari: New, full-screen interface, with a “smart search” field with a drop-down field. It includes iCloud Keychain, enabling cloud-based password synchronization, and a brand new page navigation interface.

AirDrop: Any apps that currently support sharing, your friends and colleagues will be able to receive files in near proximity. Support for multiple friend selection allows mass sharing within short distances. All transmissions are encrypted.

Camera: New user interface design with live photo filters, à la Instagram. Photos are also organized in a far more efficient manner, such as when and where photos were taken. Photos are now organized into “moments.”

Siri: A brand new voice that can be changed on the fly, with a cleaner, simpler user interface in line with the overall design aesthetic of iOS 7. It can also control more of the device, such as playing the last voicemail or switching on radios, like Bluetooth. New services have been added, including Wikipedia, Twitter, and Bing search results.

iOS in the Car: The iPhone software is now assimilatedwith the display in your car, with “eyes free” features. Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Volvo, Jaguar and others are integrating iOS in the Car in 2014.
 
App Store: New age-range groupingsare added to the application store, also the “Popular near Me” location-based feature that selects the best apps depending on where you are. Background updating has also been included, allowing apps to be upgraded and fixed without manual intervention.

Music: New artist imagery, and deeper iCloud integration. Movies and TV shows are also included in your library.

iTunes Radio: Rumoured to be called iRadio, the new streaming service will launch as an ad-supported service in the U.S., with other countries coming later.

Activation lock: When an iOS 7-powered device is lost or stolen and tries to disable Find My iPhone, the smartphone will lock and can only be unlocked with the correct Apple ID credentials. This will alleviate some concerns by policymakerswho have in recent weeks complained that the smartphone industry is not doing enough to prevent smartphone-related crimes.
iOS 7 will be released in fall, when a new iPhone is expected to be announced.

THE GOLDEN iPHONE

Pictures have recently surfaced of parts that suggest we could see a gold-trimmed iPhone in the near future. The iPhone has long been consignedto black, white, and silver in terms of colour options, but other product lines (like the iPod touch) have seen a wide variety of colour options introduced.
If these parts are legit, this could be the start of a line of all-new iPhone colours.

Earlier this year, Apple added a 128GB version of the iPad to its line-up, and this has led many to believe that the launch of a 128GB version of the iPhone is inevitable.Realistically, it’s quite likely, but there isn’t a big rush to offer it immediately. Now that music, movies, and photos all live in the Cloud, local storage just isn’t as important. So, could this new iOS be dominating the mobile world? No one knows! Yet!