iOS7: Need to know
LAST week, the world was abuzz with the unveiling of Apple’s iPhone 5S and 5C.
If you’ve been sitting in a queue for one since Monday, you’ll know that the new models – out tomorrow – come preloaded with Apple’s newest mobile operating system iOS7.
If you’ve been sitting on your sofa with a cup of tea the whole time, you should know that you can download iOS7 now for free. Here’s what to expect.
■ Cleaner, flatter, whiter
The new icons are designed to make the phone look bigger and less cluttered. They are no longer mounted on a grey drop shadow, but sit flat against your wallpaper on a white background. The effect is a crisper, sharper-looking interface.
■ Lock-screen life
Users can now access a torch and make alterations to wi-fi, bluetooth, brightness, and volume through the lock screen without entering their password. And if you can’t remember your password, Apple will now store it in iCloud so you can retrieve it. The much-improved control centre has also escaped the labyrinthine settings menu and is now accessible via the lock screen.
■ Siri’s the man
The voice command tool now does your bidding using softer tones and you can choose whether you want your pocket slave to be a man or a woman. He/she now understands US English, French, and German. You can also tell Siri to search on Bing, Wikipedia and Twitter.
■ Back button blues
The back button on the left bevel is a long overdue addition to Apple’s operating system. Long gone are the days where you’d make a mistake and have to pound the home button in a blind panic to navigate back to where you were.
■ Stateside FM
iTunes Radio, a free internet radio service featuring over 200 stations, is currently only available in the US but is sure to cross the Atlantic in time for the next upgrade.