I see that there may still be some some people out there a little apprehensive about downloading and installing the latest redesigned operating system for Apple’s mobile devices. Maybe I can help a little.
Here’s my quick opinion on iOS 7 for those who have not upgraded yet.
Improvements
The photos, contacts, spotlight search, music, calendars, reminders, and Siri are much improved. There are nice improvements in how users access important information. I especially like the improvements to Safari. It’s far better in every way now.
Multitasking now uses a nice card view of all open apps. Double-click the home button and see a preview/history of all apps that have been launched.
Swipe an app off the screen towards the top to “close” it.
The new layout of the Calendar works real well, as I use both it and reminders a lot.
The notification center is much improved, and works excellent with the calendar. Swipe down from the top and immediately see messages about the weather, meetings, and drive times.
For example, it may say "Your first meeting is at 9 AM with 'such and such' at 'such and such location'". In the morning it may tell you that, "It would take you about 22 minutes to drive to work". Later in the day it might say "Right now there is unusually heavy traffic and it will take about 33 minutes to get home." It's pretty awesome.
Shared Photostreams
The new shared photostreams and the "Activity Stream" within Photos is almost like a cool, private, mini-social network for you and your friends. Sharing an entire photostream is so much easier and more efficient that sending multiple text messages to those people who want you to “send me a copy of that photo!”.
CREATE A SHARED PHOTOSTREAM:
To create a shared photostream, simply go into photos and tap the Shared tab at the bottom:
- Tap the + in the upper-left corner to create a new photostream
- Give the photostream a name (i.e. ‘Birthday party’, ‘Sunday Game’, etc…)
- Select the contacts you want to share it with, and then…
- …tap Create
The photostream has been created!
Go into the new photostream and tap the + icon to add photos:
Your photo collection will come up and photos can be selected individually for sharing!
Select the photos you want to share, and just tap “Done”. Now your friends will see all the pictures you shared in their photos!
Other Features
Automatic app updates are also great, and the new control center (shown below) is something we should have had years ago.
Is it stable? What about my battery??
During the early stages of upgrading to iOS7 keep in mind that pretty much ALL existing apps will need to be updated to the "iOS 7 compatible version". Because updates happen automatically and in the background users may experience battery drain while all your apps update. I had 76+ apps update in one day!
There is also a lot more stuff going on in iOS 7 than in previous versions so don't be surprised if your battery starts draining a little quicker. These software updates are really intended to work best with the new hardware (quicker processor, better battery, etc...). It’s nice that Apple makes it available to older devices, but ultimately they want you to purchase the latest and greatest in order to get the best experience.
There are several things you can switch off to improve battery life, but I tend to think of that like the idea of saving gas by not driving the car. Sure, turning features off saves battery life, but it also cripples features of the phone designed to make it as useful as it is. Of course, if you have no desire for these features, then turning them off is pure benefit. If that’s the case though, you could probably just get a cheaper, less functional device anyway…
Yes, you should update!
If for no other reason, the security framework improvements alone make it worth updating. Throw in the new APIs that developers and apps will be using, and soon your iOS 6 compatible apps may stop working. If they don’t stop working, they may start chewing through your battery as they try desperately to do what the outdated code is telling them to do.
While some might think it will take some “getting used to” the fact is, it’s the same iOS you already know. Most of the difference from a user standpoint are just with visuals and icons. Remember: Just because the buttons and icons you’re used to look a bit different doesn’t mean they don’t do the same things they used to do.
Your iPhone, or iPad will still function the same as it did before, so don’t be afraid to no longer know how to use it. After about a week or less you should be back to feeling 100% comfortable and you’ll probably have mastered a lot of the new features.
So get to updating, if you haven’t already, and feel free to ask me any questions you might run into. I’ll do my best to reply to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment