iOS 7

Icon comparison: iOS 6 vs iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2013

Apple's new look and feel in iOS 7 is certainly polarizing, that much is clear. While approximately half of those who took part in our informal iOS 7 makeover poll said they loved the new design, nearly a third think the new interface will take some time getting used to. While the vast majority seem to support the facelift, a lot of people have taken issue with the new iOS 7 icons.

Complaints range from the icons being too colourful and out of place to being completely different from each other to resembling a terrible Photoshop job by a 14-yer-old. We'll let you be the judge: here's a side-by-side comparison of iOS 6 vs iOS 7 icons...

Outspoken Apple analyst calls iOS 7 changes most important in iPhone history

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 11, 2013

Love it or hate it, Apple's newly-unveiled iOS 7 will breathe new life into the aging iPhone, argued one analyst late Monday. Unlike hardware changes which have a short lifetime in terms of public curiosity, phone software updates are mesmerizing.

In a note to investors, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster writes that the changes within iOS 7 will spark renewed interest in the iPhone, which some felt was being overshadowed by its Android rivals, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4...

iOS 7: first boot

Jeff Benjamin ∙ June 11, 2013

iOS 7 is a fairly significant change from its predecessors looks wise, but many of the functional elements of the OS are still the same. For instance, the initial setup wizard looks different, but the basic premise and much of the options and settings are much the same as they were on previous iterations of iOS. Check inside, as I walk you through the initial first boot setup process on video.

Watch this now: Apple design philosophy

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2013

Yesterday, we highlighted Apple's mission-statement ad that deals with its famous signature, 'Designed by Apple in California'.

Today, the company has made WWDC commercials available on its YouTube page, among them a minute and 30 seconds long clip.

The video is titled 'Designed by Apple - Intention' and Apple used it to open the WWDC keynote. In it, the company explains how it goes about designing its products so it's definitely worth a watch from start to finish...

New in iOS 7: call blocking

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2013

Now that registered iOS developers have had a chance to install the first beta of iOS 7, lots of tidbits not covered during the keynote are trickling in now. Cody already told you about 24 iOS 7 features Apple didn't talk about and Jeff explained how the new Clock app displays current time on its icon.

Another way overdue but nonetheless very welcomed feature is the ability to block phone calls from a specific person...

New in iOS 7: Clock app icon now displays real time

Cody Lee ∙ June 11, 2013

As we continue to dig through all of the new features and UI changes in iOS 7, we've come across a minor, yet interesting, detail. It looks like the Clock app icon now displays the correct time, and has an animated second hand.

At least, in all of Apple's screen shots it shows the correct time. Notice in the image above how the time on the Clock icon matches up with the time in the status bar. But I can't for the life of me get it to work on my iPhone 4S...

Apple makes Bing Siri’s default search engine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

"The enemy of my enemy, is my friend." That proverb seems fitting for the new Bing partnership Apple announced today, which sees Microsoft's lackluster search engine tapped as the default search engine for the snarky digital assistant Siri.

The entire audience went silent during the keynote this morning, as Apple's SVP of Internet software and services Eddy Cue announced that new in iOS 7, Siri will be able to respond to queries with integrated Bing web search results...

Poll: do you like iOS 7 face-lift?

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2013

With the first iOS 7 beta now available to Apple's registered developers, Twitter is on fire with both praises and complaints from those who have downloaded and installed the software to their devices. At first blush, a lot of people seem to dislike the redesigned home screen icons - and I bet some folks will actually miss skeuomorphism in iOS 7.

Those who do love the new iOS 7 look tend to be equally passionate about the subject. We knew changes in iOS 7 would be polarizing and I'm still bipolar about it.

That being said, today we're asking you to participate in our little non-scientific poll and vote on the subject of iOS 7 redesign. Please disregard iOS 7 features, this poll is strictly focused on finding out whether or not iOS 7 is aesthetically pleasing to your eye...

Watch the iOS 7 intro video here

Cody Lee ∙ June 10, 2013

About halfway through Apple's keynote today, Craig Federighi brought Tim Cook back up onstage for one of the biggest reveals in the company's history. It was the moment everyone had been waiting for: the preview of Apple's biggest iOS refresh to date, iOS 7.

Rather than jump right into listing new features and improvements, Apple chose to introduce the new software with a hardware-like introduction video featuring Jony Ive talking against a white background. And in case you missed it, Apple just posted it online...

iOS 7 to allow FaceTime audio calls

Sébastien Page ∙ June 10, 2013

Ask and you shall receive.

This is what I thought when I found out that iOS 7 will have a new feature which will let you perform audio calls via FaceTime. It was only two weeks ago that I publicly asked for this new feature and it's is now a reality. Did Apple hear me? Probably not, but it's good to know this is coming to an iOS device near you soon.

Dubbed as FaceTime audio, it's not hard to imagine this feature being a direct competitor to Skype...

Apple announces iTunes Radio, coming this Fall

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2013

Ending months of speculation, Apple here at WWDC talked about its Pandora-like service, dubbed by the press iRadio. The company is actually calling it iTunes Radio and pitches it as a free Internet radio service that features over 200 stations and “an incredible catalog of music” from the iTunes Store. Built right into a redesigned Music app in iOS 7, iTunes Radio streams music for free, in exchange for ads.

The new service also gives you access to “first listen” premieres from top selling artists and other exclusives. Tim Cook called it "the best way to discover new music." Here's your fine print...