\r\nApple has introduced a\r\ncleaner, fresher design within its new iOS 7 release. Menu transparency is\r\nfavored, while blocky or obstructive elements are largely eliminated, in an\r\neffort to encourage simplicity and improve ease of operation.
\r\niOS 7’s new Passcode screen\r\nis less bulky and provides access to larger keys to simplify device and\r\napplication access.
\r\nThe new Control Center\r\nprovides quick access to commonly used settings, including iTunes music, a\r\nflashlight utility, Airplane mode, and more. The Control Center also receives\r\nits own settings applet within the updated Settings menu, which enables\r\ncustomization.
\r\nThe refreshed iOS 7 interface\r\nboasts redesigned app icons and a more seamless overlook appearance\r\ncompared to earlier iOS versions. While this is a still image, Apple has taken\r\npains to add visual appeal by including dynamic wallpapers in which elements\r\nmove, a design element that will surely prove to be a common future standard.
\r\nThe refreshed Maps app\r\nincludes a 3D view and critical features like turn-by-turn directions are\r\nstill included. The app estimates travel times for users too.
\r\nThe iOS 7 Settings menu\r\nbenefits from the same new streamlined user interface. Here you can see the\r\nredesigned Settings menu, which now includes options for the new Control Center\r\nfeature.
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Users can disable the Control Center from the Lock Screen using the Control Center’s Settings options. Users can also\r\ntoggle Control Center’s accessibility from within apps.
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\r\nNotification Center\r\nsettings allow you to enable and disable a wide variety of elements, including\r\nCalendar Daily View, Stocks, and Reminders.
\r\niPads also benefit from iOS 7, which fuels the popular tablet devices. This iPad Mini screenshot\r\ndisplays the additional information the tablet’s larger display can present\r\nusers for the same Notification Center optional settings.
\r\nFollowing 2013’s\r\nrevelations of government monitoring, privacy and security issues have never\r\nreceived more attention. iOS 7’s Privacy Settings won’t guarantee that proprietary\r\ninformation or sensitive videos and photographs will remain private, but users can\r\nat least configure numerous settings to help protect such information from\r\nunauthorized access.
\r\nApple’s new Weather app is\r\nsimple. It changes the wallpaper to match the time of day and weather conditions and\r\nmakes preparing for the commute, offsite meetings, and even business trips and\r\nconferences easy. The beauty of the app is the amount of information it\r\ndelivers at a single glance.
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Apple’s iOS 7 Calendar interface is much cleaner and simplifies\r\nnavigation between days and months.
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Calendar displays are more\r\neasily read and navigated, including this this monthly view in iOS 7.
\r\nDo Not Disturb settings,\r\naccessed from the Settings menu, enable users to customize whether incoming call\r\nalerts are received, permit calls from Favorites even when the device is\r\nset to silenced mode, and allow a call to come through when a second call is\r\nreceived from the same party within three minutes, among other options.
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Email account configuration and settings are largely\r\nunchanged in iOS 7. From the Mail, Contacts, Calendars options within Settings,\r\nusers can add new accounts and change configuration settings for active\r\naccounts, including how much of an email preview appears.
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\r\nMaps even possesses\r\ncustomizable settings. Users can adjust the volume for turn-by-turn directions\r\nand adjust the distance measurement from miles.
\r\niOS 7 users can change\r\ntheir search engine preference within the Safari options. Users can also specify if they want links to open in new pages and whether\r\npop-up blocking should be enabled.
\r\nPages, Apple’s word\r\nprocessing alternative to Microsoft Word, possesses its own settings.\r\nUsers can confirm their Pages version and enable iCloud access, among other\r\noptions, using Pages’ settings.
\r\nNumbers, Apple’s\r\nspreadsheet alternative to Microsoft Excel, also has optional settings.
\r\nApple has included an array\r\nof attractive dynamic and still wallpapers. The dynamic wallpapers provide subtle movement that increases the device’s appeal and helps add personality to the handset or tablet. iOS 7 users will also enjoy the new\r\nstill-motion wallpaper images, like the starry sky view that\r\nappears to ever-so-slightly change position when the device is rotated.
\r\nHere’s a look at the\r\ndocuments view of Pages when run in iOS 7 on an iPad Mini.
\r\nHere’s a look at Pages’\r\ntutorial run on iOS 7 on an iPad Mini.
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Numbers includes an excellent tutorial that helps get users\r\nup to speed quickly using the spreadsheet application on iOS 7-powered iPhones\r\nand iPads.
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\r\nNewsstand, an excellent\r\nmethod of keeping up with news, industry information and personal interests,\r\nreceives the same iOS 7 makeover. Individual titles are easily accessible and\r\nappear positioned on shelves within an interface possessing the same minimal,\r\nunobstructed design as the rest of iOS 7.
\r\nSafari receives a much\r\ncleaner look on iOS 7. If no previous web page is available, Safari defaults to\r\npresenting a graphical view of the application’s bookmarks.
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A simple swipe from the top of the screen down reveals this\r\nNotification Center view. In addition to presenting calendar and email\r\nalerts, the Notification Center can present weather, Amber Alerts, Twitter updates, sports\r\nscores, news headlines, a confirmation that applications were updated, and more.
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\r\niOS updates the Camera app,\r\ntoo. A new Square option is included for shooting photos. New filters are\r\navailable, meaning many users may no longer require third-party software to\r\ntweak and otherwise add simple effects to photographs.
\r\nThe Camera app’s\r\ntraditional widescreen photo orientation remains available within iOS 7, as shown here.
Erik Eckel is a managing partner at Louisville Geek and president of Eckel Media Corp. He previously served as Executive Editor at TechRepublic. He received Microsoft Engineer accreditation from Sullivan University and earned his Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Louisville. He's earned Network+, Windows NT 4.0 MCP+I and MCSE, and Windows 2000 Professional MCP accreditations.
