The new Apple operating system, iOS 7, was recently released in late September. For days, iOS 7 was all people were talking about. From the classroom to Twitter, iOS 7 was the primary discussion for most Apple users. The new operating system is “the best thing to happen to iOS since the iPhone,” according to Apple, but in reality, it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Some people love it, some people hate it. Is it better or worse than iOS 6? According to Freshman Chance Jerry, iOS 7 is great, and he feels that the update was a big improvement from the previous operating system. “It looks and feels cooler than before,” Jerry said.
However, not everyone feels that the new operating system is so great. “There is nothing special about [iOS 7]. They just changed how it looks, not how it works,” Senior Luke Hutchison said. Hutchison feels that it isn’t any more useful, only aesthetically different. “I mean, I like how it looks, but it’s no better than before,” Hutchison said.
Freshman Joey Pail is also in agreement with Hutchison. “iOS 7 is nice, but I miss the way [iOS 6] looked. There are some features from it that I wish were on iOS 7,” Pail said. However, Pail mentions “iOS 7 is kind of growing on me the more I use it.”
As always, there are going to be differing opinions. Although I do not personally own an iPhone, I think the hype over it is unnecessary. The differences between iOS 6 and 7 are mainly visual. There are minor changes to the way things work and the addition of a few useful features. One thing I always hear is “The clock icon keeps real time!” Don’t believe me? Take a peek. But honestly, who really cares? The time is already located at the top of the screen, so it is redundant. This is one of the many useless features of the “innovative” iOS 7.
Visually, the standard apps have taken a more minimalist sort of look. The Safari icon has gone from a fancy compass to a blue circle with a line. Sure, there are plenty of nice things about iOS 7. Apple boasts its ability to multitask (something most Android devices were already capable of), which is a useful addition to the iPhone. It also has a new, updated notification center, which is slightly better than the old one. The changes are fairly minor, such as the “Today” feature which gives you information about the day. In reality though, the notification center on iOS 6 basically did the same thing.
Apple also advertises updates to the camera app. This is great and all, but running iOS 7 on your iPhone 4 won’t make your (awful 5 megapixel) camera any better. It simply adds a variety of features, most of which can be done on Instagram.
Don’t get me wrong, iPhones are great. They may be slightly overpriced, but they are still decent phones. It’s not that iOS 7 is bad, it just isn’t fantastic. The major visual changes are a nice way to switch it up, especially considering it is one of the few major visual changes from any previous iOS updates.