iOS 7 Arrives: What You Need to Know Before Upgrading
With Apple releasing iOS 7 today, millions of iDevice owners will be making the upgrade to Apple’s most advanced mobile operating system to date.
As a result, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users can expect some major changes.
For starters, the system’s general look and feel will be unlike anything iDevice owners have previously experienced.
Delivering an immensely clean, flatter new look for iOS, Apple CEO Tim Cook said upon the formal unveiling of the iOS refresh: “You are absolutely going to love iOS 7.”
Perhaps most noticeable upon first glance in iOS 7 is the motion tracking element. As a user moves the device, for example, the operating system now tracks your motion and allows users to see behind the icons.
“It carries over the entire system, this liveliness,” the company says of iOS 7.
Messages, Calendar, and the phone application itself are all impacted by the redesign. There’s improved browsing, multitasking, control center, better photo organization, built-in photo filters, shared photo streams, tabs, AirDrop, bookmarks, new Safari, and more.
Apple is also delivering the new iTunes Radio platform with iOS 7. similar to Pandora, the streaming music platform will let users create (and even share) unique playlists in accordance with their personal music preferences.
If you want to check out the weather, you can now tap and swipe through locations, each giving you a beautiful representation of the weather in specific spots. That comes packed with motion thunder, lightning, and even snow graphics.
iOS 7 will monitor usage habits so that it can run your favorite apps automatically upon launch.
So who’s eligible for the upgrade? Unfortunately, not all devices support iOS 7.
Naturally, the iPhone 5s, 5c and 5 are compatible. But the iPhone 4S does NOT offer support for filters in the Camera app or the AirDrop file-sharing feature. Similarly, those with the iPhone 4 are excluded from enjoying multiple new features. As for models older than the iPhone 4, iOS 7 simply won’t work.
With regard to iPads, the 4th-gen iPad will support iOS 7 in full. Same with the iPad mini. The 3rd-generation iPad, however, delivers no support for AirDrop, filters in the camera app and panoramic photos. The iPad 2 supports even fewer iOS 7 features.
Lastly, only the most up-to-date iPod touch – models introduced after October 2012 – will support iOS 7.
As of this writing, iOS 7 is now available for download.
