Jony Ive shrunk the OS

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The camera is now easier to use. It gets out of your way and lets you take photos.

Ooh; big steps!

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I'm really not a fan of the turquoise/purple icons presented in those screenshots. There isn't really a sense of minimalist unity going on at all - it's still cluttered and fussy.  Some of the features like the more up to date 3D animations sound interesting enough but it generally just seems another way to keep making older devices slower and obsolete.  Plus third party applications are going to stay more or less the same for a while so homescreens aren't likely to become radically different, apart from the new icky turquoise/purple gradients.

And if they think I'm going to replace my monochrome Laurel and Hardy wallpaper with that trendy new snazzy shite they've another thing coming.

[onthebeach]

Aesthetic qualities are inherently subjective. One man's "glorious perfect iconography" is another man's "try-hard nonsense designed for idiots".

This may be true but not enough to call someone an idiot I'm afraid. Difference of opinion doesn't tell us that something is objective or subjective.

[katzenjammer]

http://jonyiveredesignsthings.tumblr.com/

[Still Not George]

This may be true but not enough to call someone an idiot I'm afraid. Difference of opinion doesn't tell us that something is objective or subjective.

... No, that's pretty much the definition of subjective.

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I've just realised what those particular colour gradients remind me of.  Colour-changing T-shirts from the 80s-90s.

[HappyTree]

It looks good. Not at all Metro like suggested, more like Android which is ok. Good to see wifi and Bluetooth settings immediately accessible, they are the things I'm always turning on and off most. Other stuff doesn't apply to me as I have the iPod, not iPhone.

Maybe I won't even be able to update on my iPod 3 which would be a blessing for one reason: you swipe right to left, not left to right! That's how you open and turn the pages of a book, unless ur one of those Mooselims. I smell a Jihadist conspiracy!!

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Good to see wifi and Bluetooth settings immediately accessible, they are the things I'm always turning on and off most.

If you put your "settings" in the dock thing it's not exactly difficult at present.

Personally I only really care if Personal Hotspot is or isn't in iOS 7, as I depend on it to have internet on other devices and it's exactly the kind of feature they'd sneakily drop.

[Ignatius_S]

I suspect quite a few people would have seen the mock-up for a mobile OS that Ive did back in 2005 – some similarities with iOS7...

...Personally I only really care if Personal Hotspot is or isn't in iOS 7, as I depend on it to have internet on other devices and it's exactly the kind of feature they'd sneakily drop.

One that's incredibly useful and is becoming more common - can't see it being dropped and it's still there in the developer preview. I have read that currently you can't turn the hotspot on or off via the Command Center feature.

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I know, but it means I can use my "wifi only" iPad as a 3G one by bluetoothing it to my iPhone.  I can imagine they'd like to stop this practice since it must mean fewer people paying for a 3G iPad which would tie them into a contract and make someone somewhere lots of that nice money stuff.

[MojoJojo]

They'd be mad to drop it - even landfill android handsets have that now.

[Ignatius_S]

I know, but it means I can use my "wifi only" iPad as a 3G one by bluetoothing it to my iPhone.  I can imagine they'd like to stop this practice since it must mean fewer people paying for a 3G iPad which would tie them into a contract and make someone somewhere lots of that nice money stuff.

For Apple, the financial benefit would be the healthy mark-up for the 3 or 4G element – a little like the one for the storage. However, long-term I don't think it would in Apple's interests to remove a feature that's so popular.

Regardless of the personal hotspot, corporate buyers will go for the 3/4G version if that kind of connectivity is required. Others who would opt for the personal hotspot instead may go 'heck with it' and stump up the extra cash or may continue as they are without upgrading and/or switch to another platform. I suspect that it's  the networks are the ones that want punters with 3/4G models – two contracts instead of two.

[Ignatius_S]

They'd be mad to drop it - even landfill android handsets have that now.

Quite - it's a feature that's becoming increasingly common.

[wheatgod]

iOS7 looks fuckin lush

[HappyTree]

If you put your "settings" in the dock thing it's not exactly difficult at present.

I did! Nothing is difficult, it's just easier to have it more immediately there.

[Steve Lampkins]

Maybe I won't even be able to update on my iPod 3

Er, I don't think you even have iOS6 then... I have an iPod Touch 5th gen, and it's the only Touch which will get iOS7.

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This is quite a useful page for telling you which devices are getting iOS 7 and to what extent.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/06/11/ios-7-features-skipping-iphone-ipad/

[HappyTree]

Well michty me! You mean I've been complaining about something I can't get anyway? Pointless moaning is the best kind :-D I did wonder why iTunes hadn't suggested I update for ages.

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I've found this, and wonder whether it would be a stupid thing to risk:

http://www.iosday.com/install-ios-7-without-developer-account-or-udid/


The files for all the beta versions are here, including the latest one (3):

http://www.iosday.com/ios-7-beta-download/


I'm aware that being a beta it would be buggy, but I'm more concerned that this might amount to a jailbreak or something from which my iPad might never be "legit" again.  Does anybody here know enough about this kind of thing to suggest whether idle curiosity does or doesn't merit the risk?

[biggytitbo]

You could just wait until it comes out you impatient titty.

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You could just wait until it comes out you impatient titty.

I'm fully aware of that, ta.  I know idle curiosity is an alien concept to you, but I can assure you "having the option of waiting" doesn't get rid of it.

Anyway I've come to my senses now and am no longer fussed about trying it ahead of time.  Just interested more generally about what those links mean in terms of the risks I mentioned.

[Replies From View]

Less than a week to go, then.  This is due out on 10th September.

[wheatgod]

No it aint! You willy!

[biggytitbo]

I bet Replies bursts tomorrow, I don't know how he's held out so long.

[Replies From View]

No it aint! You willy!

Ha, it was the announcement only.  You can see how excited I am by how much I'm paying attention.

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I bet Replies bursts tomorrow, I don't know how he's held out so long.

Idle curiosity is such a strong sensation.

[QDRPHNC]

Ive's talents as an industrial designer are beyond reproach, but from what I've seen of the new iOS (and speaking as a graphic designer of 15 years), it just looks bad.

It's as if Ive said, "I want a mostly flat design with some depth to it," then gave it to a junior designer and left it at that. My opinions might change after it's actually on my phone and I've played around with it, but damn, some of those icons look incredibly rough. Compare the new iTunes icon to the old one, for instance. The placement of the musical note inside the circle, the size of the circle itself, the old one is just so much better.

If they wanted to do "flat" (hate that term), they should have taken it all the way and hardened the corners on the icons, stripped out the gradients, etc.

[Ignatius_S]

...My opinions might change after it's actually on my phone and I've played around with it...

Well, in terms of appearance, from what I gather, there hasn't been any major changes to the public betas so there doesn't seem to be any big surprises. Can't say that I've been thinking 'wow!' at all of it, but my gut feeling has been to wait and see how it actually functions and how it looks in use.

No idea how you're interested in reviews but this one - http://pxlnv.com/blog/ios7-review/ - is rather lengthy and I tend to like the guy as he puts a lot of thought into them (although I wouldn't say we always agree!) and he's been using it for a few months now. In any case, would be interested to hear more about what you think when you've played around with it.

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Compare the new iTunes icon to the old one, for instance. The placement of the musical note inside the circle, the size of the circle itself, the old one is just so much better.

If they wanted to do "flat" (hate that term), they should have taken it all the way and hardened the corners on the icons, stripped out the gradients, etc.

I was never a fan of the curve they've always used to make each icon look like a bubble, though.  Seems to me they could have gone with all the new animations, the "swipe right to go back" theme, and the thing of translucent layers, without going towards an early 90s garishness for the icon designs.  They could have got rid of the "bubble" and smartened them up, but instead they've made it all a bit kiddy.  I can only assume it's meant to grow on consumers and they'll say they "get it" and "love it" once it has.  That's the way these things go.

[Artemis]

About an hour to go, then. Ever since my iPhone got nicked I've been unable to justify the expense of a new one. Now I have a shit Samsung phone for calls/texts and the lovely iPod 5G for everything else. The only thing I'm missing is 3G on the go and an all in one device. If I had a spare 400 quid I might have considered it.

Personally I think a roots[nb]I know this isn't really a proper roots change but it does feel substantial[/nb] and branches update to ios has been needed for a while. I prefer what I've seen in terms of icons but the prof of the pudding is in the downloading and experimenting though.