Apple releases iOS 7

119 Comments

Apple today released iOS 7.

With more than 200 new features, iOS 7 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch includes:

• New design
◦ Redesigned interface updates the entire system and every built-in app
◦ Subtle motion and animation; layers and translucency provide depth
◦ Elegant new color palette and refined typography
◦ Updated system sounds and ringtones

• Control Center
◦ Quick access to commonly used controls and apps with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen
◦ Turn on & off Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb; adjust screen brightness; access media controls; turn on AirPlay and AirDrop
◦ Quickly access flashlight, timer, calculator, camera and music controls

• Notification Center improvements
◦ New Today view gives you an overview of your day, including weather, calendar, and stocks
◦ Notifications dismissed on one device dismisses across all your devices

• Multitasking improvements
◦ Preview screens of open apps when you switch between them
◦ Permits any app to keep content up-to-date in the background

• Camera improvements
◦ Swipe through different camera modes – video, still photo, square aspect, and panorama
◦ Real-time photo filters with iPhone 4S or later, and iPod touch (5th generation)

• Photos improvements
◦ Automatically organizes your photos and videos based on time and location into Moments
◦ iCloud Photo Sharing supports multiple contributors and videos, plus a new Activity view
◦ Add photo filter effects
◦ Flickr and Vimeo support

• AirDrop
◦ Quickly and easily share content with people nearby
◦ Securely encrypted transfers with no network or setup required
◦ Supported on iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account

• Safari improvements
◦ New iPhone tab view that lets you easily switch between open web pages
◦ Unified smart search field for both search terms and web addresses
◦ Shared Links shows web pages shared by people you follow on Twitter

• iTunes Radio
◦ Streaming radio service
◦ Pick from over 250 featured and genre-focused stations
◦ Start your own station from your favorite artist or song

• Siri improvements
◦ New, more natural sounding male and female voices for US English, French and German
◦ Integrated Wikipedia, Twitter search, and Bing web search results
◦ Change settings including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and brightness
◦ Supported on iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation)

• App Store improvements
◦ See apps relevant to your current location with Popular Near Me
◦ Discover age-appropriate apps in the Kids category
◦ Keep your apps up to date automatically

• Find My iPhone Activation Lock
◦ Turning off Find My iPhone, erasing your device, reactivation, and signing out of iCloud requires your Apple ID password
◦ A custom message can be displayed on your device even after a remote erase

• iTunes Store improvements
◦ Preview and buy songs you’ve heard on iTunes Radio while inside the iTunes Store
◦ Add to, and shop from, your iTunes Wish List
◦ Scan code with camera to redeem iTunes Gift Cards

• Music improvements
◦ Play music purchases from iCloud
◦ Rotate your iPhone or iPod touch to browse your music with the Album Wall

• Videos improvements
◦ Play movie and TV show purchases from iCloud
◦ View similar movies and TV shows from Related

• Maps improvements
◦ Turn-by-turn walking directions
◦ Automatic night mode
◦ Bookmarks shared across devices via iCloud

• Mail improvements
◦ New Smart Mailboxes, including Unread, Attachments, All Drafts and To or CC
◦ Improved search
◦ View PDF annotations

• FaceTime audio calling

• Block unwanted Phone, Messages and FaceTime callers

• Support for sending long MMS messages

• Pull down on any Home Screen to reveal Spotlight search

• Scan to acquire Passbook passes

• New ringtones, alarms, alerts and system sounds

• Definitions of a selected word for additional languages: Italian, Korean, and Dutch

• Inclinometer in the Compass app

• Wi-Fi HotSpot 2.0 support

• Accessibility features
◦ Individuals with limited physical motor skills can now control their device using Switch Control
◦ Customize closed caption style
◦ Handwriting input support in VoiceOver
◦ Math input support using Nemeth Braille in VoiceOver
◦ Select from multiple premium voices for speak selection and VoiceOver
◦ Support for Made for iPhone Hearing Aids and stereo audio for iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation)

• Enterprise features
◦ Manage which apps and accounts are used to open documents and attachments
◦ Per App VPN
◦ App Store license management
◦ Enterprise single sign-on
◦ Remote configuration of managed apps
◦ Automatic data protection for third-party apps
◦ Exchange Notes syncing
◦ Install custom fonts
◦ New management queries and restrictions

• Education features
◦ Mobile device management for Apple TV
◦ Request AirPlay Mirroring from a student device to Apple TV
◦ Pre-configure AirPlay destinations and AirPrint printers
◦ Streamlined MDM enrollment
◦ Ability to restrict changes to accounts
◦ Web content filtering
◦ Authorized apps can initiate single app mode
◦ Configure accessibility settings for single app mode

• Features for China
◦ Tencent Weibo integration
◦ Chinese-English bilingual dictionary
◦ Improved handwriting input with improved accuracy, stroke order independence and support for simultaneous multiple character input

• Bug fixes

Some features may not be available for all countries or all areas.

To update your iOS device, check the “General > Software Update” section in your iOS device’s Settings for over-the-air updating or plug into a computer with iTunes installed.

MacDailyNews Take: Happy updating (but expect some delays due to the initial rush)!

119 Comments

    2. Best part about it…

      I can finally hide Newsstand in a folder.

      The finger magnifier is offset now when I try to edit text. That’s not good.

      Mr. Cook, please address the aforementioned bug, if you please.

      Thank you.

      Reply

        1. Can you buy yourself a $99 Airport Express and take to & from work everyday. And set it up under your desk at work (and maybe don’t tell others? Or better yet, tell them you “discovered” a secret wifi, and and name it something generic sounding or mysterious!)

  15. is downloading right now.
    at the start it estimated 28 minutes, went down to 25 minutes after about 2 minutes and now the time remaining keeps getting up – seems like the pipes start to clog already.

    Funny tidbit: “start download” always resulted in an error as long as the phone was plugged in (a work PC laptop sans itunes) – as soon as i unplugged it download started.

    Reply

  18. Boys and girls, I counsel patience.

    I have received a torrent of iOS app updates in the past few days, and more will surely come. And right behind those will be inevitable emergency bug fixes to your apps. I would not be surprised if Apple pushes out iOS 7.0.1 quickly to address reported bugs, even though it was extensively beta tested.

    That’s why, as tempted as you may be, it’s best to WAIT. Keep your pants on and hold off on downloading and installing iOS7 for at least a few days. A week would be even better. Let the other canaries fly into the coal mine.

    It’s not to say that iOS won’t work correctly right out of the box, or that your apps won’t blow up. But why take the chance? Being first does not assure happiness.

    Oh, and please, back up your iPhone data and apps before proceeding. Please. I hate it when you whine on here, trying to blame Apple for what you failed to do.

    Don’t say I didn’t warn you. iOS7 will come your way soon enough. In the mean time, go outside and get a life. Please.

    Thanks. Best of luck. And have a nice day.

    Reply

    1. I suggest paying particular attention to Brian if you have an iPhone 4. I read Anand Shimpi’s review of the iPhone 5s and he complained that iPhone 4 ran slowly on iOS 7 (he used iOS 7 on iPhone 4 to compare performance). No way am I going to put iOS 7 on my iPhone 4 until I get word that performance is good (it’s barely acceptable right now with iOS 6), perhaps with a future enhancement.

      Reply

  22. Been trying since 7 pm Paris time. Nearly impossible to get iTunes update, can’t get iOS 7 over wi-fi update! These servers are workin’ OT already. OK, got 40.1MB of 141MB of iTunes. Ooops. error in download, gotta start over.

    Reply

  23. Yeah, servers pretty much swamped. I suspect people who use openDNS and googleDNS will have problems also. My download estimate times dropped from 47 minutes to 5 minutes by switching to TimeWarner DNS. Still the blue bar is sitting there, no progress, then after a few minutes, Software Update Failed.

    Ah well. Such is life.

    Reply

  26. When I go to Settings/General/Software Update on the iPhone, dialog pops up saying “An error occurred while checking for a software update.” So, they’re clearly throttling the servers to attempt to control massive downloads in progress.

    That’s OK for me. I wasn’t really going to download directly over WiFi anyway, just wanted to see if that route would identify the update’s availability.

    Reply

    1. You may be disappointed with the iPhone 4’s performance, according to some reviews I read last night. It just doesn’t have the horsepower to run everything smoothly. So, while it’s certainly compatible, the CPU/RAM hardware is just marginal.

      Reply

    1. I recommend that you don’t update if you’re running an older iPhone (4S and earlier). iOS7 does tax the processor more with animations (which i find annoying), and battery life is less on iOS7 than on iOS6.

      My opinion is that iOS7 is also not particularly attractive, ESPECIALLY if you don’t have a Retina display. The “Helvetica Neue” font sucks for readability and the removal of textures and borders only degrades the natural intuition that previous iOS buttons had. I could understand simplification of graphics if it led to better rendering or performance, but it doesn’t.

      So, don’t feel the least bit left out if your device doesn’t support iOS7. You aren’t missing that much functionality, and you’re benefiting from a familiar, and more battery-friendly version of iOS.

      Reply

  30. Won’t download for me, despite repeated attempts. Gives me an error when downloading. Once I get through Agreeing to the Terms & Conditions, it starts sometimes, then craps out with 5 minutes left. Then, it won’t even start again, even if I hard re-set the phone.

    Reply

  39. Mine blew out at 8 mins remaining then, would not let me get out of the error message. I did a hard reset of the phone then it allowed me to start the download again. itunes still not allowing updates.

    If it fails this time, will forget about ios 7 for a while.

    Steve, would be pissed.

    Reply

  40. 49 minutes and it still hasn’t completed!! I gotta make a call!!
    It is half way through the “reboot” with the white apple logo on a black screen on my 4s-32gb!!

    Ok, I know it is an operating system reload, be patient……..

    Reply

  41. Started DL at noon central time. Operating iOS 7 on iPhone 5, about 45 minutes later.

    Too frickin’ cool!!

    Apple has just raised the bar and given me a (virtually) new phone. It’s like Christmas in September boys and girls!

    Reply

  43. iTunes 11.1 has finally allowed me to start downloading on my computer with the iPhone attached. It is estimating 23 minutes for the download and seems to be moving fairly consistently. If it dies, then I’ll wait until tonight.

    Reply

  46. Not sure if this will help anyone. Someone, at work, suggested that I unplug my phone and update iOS 7.

    When my phone was on a charger (not connected to my Mac) it had a 6 hour download time, over 20/Mbps wifi, unplugged my phone, immediately went down to 16 minutes.

    Same with my iPad 2, which is complete. My iPhone is about a third finished with the install.

    I have an iPhone 4s, and plan on getting a gold iPhone 5s.

    Reply

  53. Downloaded in the UK, it took about 35 mins to complete.

    Now waiting on MDN to get there act together to update their app to use the full iPhone 5, 5c & 5s screen. It’d only been a year guys no hurry….

    Maybe they’ll do it in time for IOS 8

    Reply

  56. Downloaded in the UK, took about 35 minutes after 5 or 6 failed attempts.

    Now waiting on MDN to get their act together & finally sort out the MDN App to use the full iPhone 5, 5C & 5S screen, it’s only been a year since the iPhone 5 came out. No rush guys…

    Maybe they’ll update it in time for IOS8…

    Reply

  57. “if the phone is plugged in, unplug it (provided you have enough battery)”

    Not sure where you are talking about it being plugged in. I was trying through iTunes (old school) – never worked. I have my phone plugged into the power block, not computer and after I deleted the 8.9Gb of music I had to make sure I had the space, it is downloading fine – with it plugged in.

    Reply

  58. Dev site still shows 11a465, 1.32 gb. any comments on whether to back up, restore, and just use public build from iTunes 11.1? If it is possible without bricking, can someone let me know please? my 5 is registered as my testing device on dev website.

    Reply

  61. Software update downloaded and did so over VZW LTE… Software can’t verify…. Apple says server overload is the reason….

    Tim Cook is a disaster! Who wouldn’t have planned for the load?

    Now we know where Steve Ballmer went to work… In iOS update planning!

    Jobs would’ve NEVER put up w this mess!

    Reply

    1. Relax. This happens all the time with major updates. Even under St. Stephen, first day download hiccups could — and did — occur.

      You can’t build enough server farms to handle 100 million early adopters like us. Besides, patience IS a virtue. By tonight, all these delays will be history.

      Reply

  68. OK. So my iPhone 4s and iPad Mini now have iOS 7 and I’ve been playing with them for about two hours.

    I.AM.SERIOUSLY.IMPRESSED!!!

    I watched the blogs and kept up with the design and features of iOS7 as developers told us stuff but there is nothing like having it installed. I scoffed when I first read people saying it felt like they had a new phone. I feel like I have a new phone.

    Jony Ive is a genius. This is a totally new iOS. I want Mavericks to look and work like this. My only complaint is that iWork for iOS still has the crappy old design. It really feels out of place, but I am sure it will soon get the Ive treatment.

    This is a serious advance and shows Apple can still innovate better than anyone.

    Reply

  69. Well…it downloaded, verified did all that it was supposed to.

    This is going to take some ADJUSTMENT… in general it does look more modern..a bit more like Android (from what I’ve seen) with ALL the text..virtually EVERYTHING ….THINNER..including all fonts..the net effect of this, outside of an idealized environment is that it’s a few to a lot of percentage points harder to see, and use. Some of this is just getting used to it certainly but it’s a bit more “designer” than it is really focused on the end user. Honestly a bit annoying…But and this is REALLY pissing me off…why use the same gesture “swipe down from the top” to access two different functions? Which one will you get? The calendar..because you need to see that JUST as often as you might want to search for something…right? It makes no sense. One of the things about the Apple core design is predictability..you WILL get THIS result from THIS action…by combining the two functions into a single action they’ve made this unpredictable and largely unusable. Truly surprising. Tried it many times…never can tell which one will show up…Major fail

    Reply

  71. iOS 7 running on my iPhone 4S. Everything works flawlessly. Every app, (after 55 app updates that came flooding in this morning) all work 100%.

    The new iOS is palpably faster, more responsive even on my older phone. It’s SNAPPY!

    I fretted over those colors, but once I got it in front of me, I like the scheme. Text is easier to read turning on large text and bold face. It has a new bounce to its walk. And I like the new male voice of Siri and he’s far more accurate. Nowhere near the number of times that woman replied, “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand that.” I had stopped using Siri because Siri had been so inaccurate, giving me countless error replies, or giving me nothing but, “Shall I search the web for you?”

    Reply

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