Today, Apple announced iOS 7 with a ton of new features, a complete overhaul to the interface, and plenty more. Here are all the new features.
New User Interface
The biggest difference with iOS 7 is a brand new interface. From the lock screen to each of the apps, the entire system is overhauled. Apple has moved away from the ridiculed skeuomorphic design in favor of a simpler look. Calendar, messages, weather, mail, the notification center, and more have been overhauled with the new look.
Control Center
Control Center adds a quick-toggles bar to iOS so you can change brightness, add a flashlight, do not disturb, turn on airplane mode, and plenty more.
Multitasking
Multitasking now works for all apps. iOS tracks your app usage and decides when and how to give an app background cycles. So, if you're opening something like Facebook all the time, then Facebook is updated more often. Push notifications also trigger a background state in apps so that when you open the app it'll be updated. Switching between apps is also done with a new gesture and a swipe that shows the full app instead of just an icon.
Safari
Safari gets a new full-screen mode, as well as a new quick search feature. With a tap at the top of the screen you get instant access to a search field that looks both online and in page. The iCloud Keychain announced for Mavericks is also added into Safari. Tabs also get a new look with vertical scrolling, and the eight tab limit is removed.
AirDrop
Airdrop allows you to instantly share any file in an app that supports it. This can be done with any other iPhone user near you, or over messages, mail, or social networks. It's peer-to-peer WiFi, and works on the most recent devices.
Camera and Photos
The camera is overhauled to include video, a new square camera, panorama, widescreen camera, and also has new photo filters. The Photos app is also redone, and automatically organizes your photos into "Moments" based on where and when they were taken. Sharing is also expanded to include Mail, AirDrop, iCloud, Twitter, and Facebook. The iCloud photo sharing gets a new shared photos setting where you can create shared photo streams with friends where anyone can upload pictures and comment on pictures.
Siri
Siri now has a new voice, including both male and female voices in several languages. Siri also gets a little smarter and can now recognize commands like, "increase brightness," or "play last voicemail." Services like Wikipedia, Bing, and Twitter are integrated right into Siri.
iOS in the Car
iOS 7 adds support for various car models and their in-car displays. In supported devices, iOS will be able to display Maps, messages, and more.
The App Store
The App Store now has a few new discovery methods. You can search for apps based on age range, or by apps that popular based on your location. The App Store also now updates your apps automatically.
Music
The Music app also gets a visual overhaul. All your music from iCloud and your local library are integrated in one library. A new sideways interface is also added to flip through your albums.
iTunes Radio
iTunes Radio is integrated directly into the Music app. Like Pandora or Spotify Radio, iTunes Radio is essentially a streaming radio station that exists within the Music app. Everything you play is synced across your devices so you can easily track down songs you've heard. On top of iOS, it's built into iTunes and the AppleTV. The service is free with ads, or ad-free if you're an iTunes Match subscriber. You can find more info here.
Activation Lock
New to the Find My iPhone function is the ability to lock our thieves from your iOS device. If your phone is stolen you can set it so it can't be activated again without your iTunes password.
The iOS 7 beta is available to developers today, and will be launching publicly this fall for the iPhone 4 and above, iPad mini, and iPad 2 and above. You can check out interactive versions of all the new features on Apple's site right now.
from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com
