ios 7
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Apple updates Siri to help those considering suicide to get help
GigaOM noticed that Apple quietly released an update to Siri that offers to put a user in contact with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, should he or she mention suicide. Should the person decline the offer, Siri then brings up area suicide prevention centers in a second attempt to provide resources. As GigaOM notes, Google has had this search since 2010. Apple noted in its customer privacy statement on Tuesday that among the most common requests from law enforcement are ones from police hoping to prevent suicide. There's a lot of useful and even more silly ways to take advantage of Siri, but having a proactive response to a serious issue is a wonderful thing to have in the program.
Prototype Logitech MFi game controller pics surface on web
During last week's WWDC 2013 keynote address, support for MFi -- Made For iPhone / iPad / iPod -- game controllers at the iOS SDK level was quickly noted on one slide. Since that time, TUAW has discussed why this is so important to not only game developers, but Apple as a whole since a combination of an iOS device, a MFi controller and an Apple TV could easily make dedicated gaming consoles a thing of the past. Now 9to5Mac and several other websites are showing an image of a prototype MFi game controller from accessory manufacturer Logitech. The rather blurry image showed a Logitech controller on top of a glass surface. Fortunately, 9to5Mac commenter "clstr0ud" had a much clearer image taken from a slide from the WWDC "Platforms State of the Union" session. As noted on that image (seen above), developers had an opportunity to test out these prototypes during lab sessions. The fuzzier anonymous photo shows that the controller is designed to work with a newer, Lightning adapter-equipped iPhone or iPod touch. No date has been set for release of the device, nor is there any assurance that this is Logitech's final design for the controller.
iOS 7 Clock app icon shows the current time... to the second
As more and more developers are getting their hands on the iOS 7 beta, we're starting to hear about some rather interesting little touches. The latest? The iOS 7 Clock app icon shows the current time, complete with moving second hand. This is according to an unnamed developer who sent in the above image and who is probably breaking the developer NDA... The clock is synchronized to the device's time, so that the red second hand reaches 12 just when the time indicator in the status bar changes to the next minute. Previous versions of the Clock app simply showed the clock stuck at 10:15 -- now the icon is dynamic. Perhaps we'll begin to see more dynamic icons coming from Apple and third-party developers in the future. There's also been some discussion over at iDownloadBlog.com about a page on the Apple website that shows somewhat different icons for some apps than what are seen in the current beta. Whether those are indicative of past or future designs is unknown. As one of our bloggers so succinctly put it, "BREAKING: Beta software contains icons that may be a work in progress (developing)."
iOS 7 video zoom feature demo
Have you ever wanted to throw your iPhone or iPad to the ground in frustration while capturing video because the built-in app couldn't zoom in on a detail? One of the features announced for iOS 7 during Monday's keynote was a video zoom control. TUAW received a short video from an unnamed developer that shows the feature in action. Third-party apps have had video zooming for some time now, but some of them require post-processing of the video and none are built into the lock screen for instant video capture. The video capture function appears to zoom in to about 2x or 3x, and the video is saved immediately to your device photo library for sharing and viewing.
Susan Kare likes iOS 7's icons
Susan Kare may not be a household name, but her work has likely graced your computer at some point in time. Though she is best known for her icon design work on the original Apple Macintosh computer, she has also designed icons for other well-known companies like PayPal, Facebook and Microsoft. As a pioneer in the field of computer iconography, it's not surprising that Kare would have her own opinion about the UI changes in iOS 7. When asked by NetworkWorld what she thought about this new look and feel, Kare was upbeat and said: Generally a good direction -- am a fan of simple, meaningful symbols that fill a space, such as Music and Weather. It's better -- more iconic, less illustrative. Her response is far better than some of her contemporaries, who have been critical of iOS' new look calling it "immature" as well as "ugly, poorly balanced and of an unattractive color palate." Whether you like the new look or not, it's safe to say that this is a topic that will continue to generate controversy as iOS moves through its beta stage and onto its final release.
PSA: If you're not a developer, don't install developer betas on your iPhone
We warned you two years ago in the months before iOS 5 went live. Some of you didn't listen. Actually, if the TUAW inbox over the past few days is any indication, a lot of you didn't listen. It seems a review is overdue. Answer these two questions really quickly: Are you a developer? Are you running the iOS 7 beta? If you answered no to the first question and yes to the second, then this post is meant for you.You are doing it wrong, and on behalf of everyone everywhere, please stop. We've been receiving tons of messages every day from people reporting bugs and other odd behavior in the iOS 7 beta. Pundits and other persons of questionable intelligence are excoriating Apple for the iOS 7 beta's performance issues and tendency to be crash-prone. Just stop. Stop. Non-developers shouldn't be toying with iOS betas. Apple's beta software is really, really beta. I've installed and run beta versions of iOS every year since 2009, and let me tell you, it's an eye-opener to spend roughly three months each year having your iOS devices crashing left and right, with many third-party apps completely broken -- including some you've come to depend upon. If you're used to the usually rock-solid performance of IOS and OS X, running a developer beta on your device is a sobering peek into the world of Apple software before it's deemed ready for prime time. What Apple calls "beta" is what most other developers would call "alpha" -- software never intended for use by the general public, released only to small numbers of (hopefully) knowledgable people for testing purposes. If you want to look for an Apple example of "beta" software as almost everyone else defines it (including Google), look at the public release of just about any brand-new version of OS X. The 10.x.0 release of OS X is almost always riddled with bugs, inconsistencies, etc., and Apple usually pushes out a 10.x.1 update within a few weeks to address those. More cautious/paranoid Mac users often avoid upgrading to the next version of OS X until the .1 release for that very reason. The iOS x.0 public release software is usually pretty stable, but that's only because it's been preceded by months of testing on millions of units. iOS betas themselves, especially the first few releases, are often about as stable as a drunken unicyclist. Sometimes this goes beyond app crashes and general instability -- sometimes, iOS betas can be so bug-riddled that the basic, core functionality of the device simply doesn't work worth a damn until the next release comes out. Developers know and understand these perils of beta software. Non-developers usually don't, so support forums get flooded with messages from irritated-to-irate users wondering why their formerly rock-solid device is suddenly crashing every time they try to load more than three tabs in Safari, or why the Music app crashes and burns every five minutes. Then there's the people who flood the App Store with negative ratings for apps that are "broken" in an iOS beta. App Store reviews aren't the place to file bug reports, and developers can't be expected to know beforehand whether beta software -- which no one leaving App Store reviews should be running in the first place -- will break their apps. Your negative reviews on the App Store are hurting the very developers whose help you're demanding. Stop it. Now an admission: I'm not an iOS developer, but I'm running the iOS 7 beta on my iPhone. Even though I'm not actively involved in writing apps, however, I still paid the $99 fee and installed the beta because I have an excuse -- it's my job to know what Apple's up to, even if the NDA prevents me from telling the rest of you about it until the official launch. That said, I also go out of my way to educate myself about the potential pitfalls of running beta software on my equipment. After running betas of iOS 3, 4, 5, and 6, I knew full well what to expect in iOS 7. When my iPhone spontaneously reboots every five minutes after enabling a panoramic wallpaper, or when some of my favorite apps just flat out do not work after installing the beta, I shrug it off and hope the bugs are addressed in the next beta version. I don't pester third-party app developers, I don't inundate Apple's support forums whining about how my iPhone is suddenly about as stable as the average Windows machine, and I definitely don't write a brain-dead article about how Apple has lost its edge in software development because its beta software is buggy. I know you non-devs are curious about trying out the new features in iOS 7, especially since it's such a radical design change from iOS 6. I sympathize. I also know at least some of you are motivated by the "first kid on my block to have it" mentality. But you know the old saying about curiosity killing the cat? Running iOS beta releases on your hardware won't kill your cat, but it'll make it seem like the thing is running all over your house with a string of cans tied to its tail -- for three months. If your livelihood doesn't depend on running the iOS 7 beta, then for your own sake and ours, just let it be. If you don't know how to restore your iPhone or iPad's firmware without looking it up on Google first, just don't do it at all. If you're not prepared for a subpar experience involving bugs, crashes, app incompatibilities, weird UI behaviors, unfinished or even half-baked features, and truly terrible battery life, then give iOS 7 a miss until the public launch, when Apple will (hopefully) have all the bugs squashed. If you don't understand the concept that iOS betas have an expiration date, and you must keep pace with the current betas if you want your hardware to continue functioning, then don't run iOS 7. In short, if you're not prepared for your Apple hardware to behave in a very un-Apple way for months at a stretch, then in the name of all that is holy, leave the betas alone. NB: This post is a slightly reworked version of an earlier post from 2011. Given the general uproar over the iOS 7 developer beta, it seemed like a re-post was in order.
Wired on Jony Ive, iOS 7 and the future of design
John Maeda took issue with Jony Ive's recently unveiled design scheme for iOS 7 in a Wired post this morning, and it's apparent that the writer -- a well-known academic in the design world -- isn't happy with the new, flatter iOS or the direction in which Apple seems to be pointing the world of user interface design. As Maeda points out up front, much of the buzz around the design changes in iOS 7 has been positive, noting that "skeuomorphism teaches by analogy" and that "it's time to remove the 'training wheels'" since most people now understand how a smartphone is supposed to work. Maeda, however, thinks that "design should boldly go where no user or interface has gone before," and that in the world of "infinitely available and infinitely malleable" pixels, designers "should focus on setting them free." Ive and crew, in Maeda's opinion, are "hindering innovation" by sticking "to the dangerously reductionist, technology-usability centric view of design that surfaced in the discussions about flat design versus skeuomorphism." With all due respect to Maeda, who is a graphic designer, computer scientist, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, artist, former associate director of research at MIT Media Lab and "one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century according to Esquire" (which apparently forgot that there are still 87 years left in the century), the Wired guest editorial does nothing to say what direction UI designers should be heading in. Sure, Maeda suggests that Apple and other companies should be moving in the direction of Oblong (co-founded in 2006 by the "chief computer visionary behind the film Minority Report") or Berg (makers of the playful, yet ridiculously expensive Little Printer), but offers nothing concrete in terms of where he thinks the device UI design movement should head next. Using those two particular companies as positive examples of the design seems awkward -- the "waving your arms around like an idiot" UI of Minority Report makes no sense in a mobile world, and Berg's latest product is priced out of mass-market reality. Maeda doesn't seem to acknowledge the fact that iOS 7 isn't the final generation of Apple's vision for device interfaces; it's just another step on the long road towards a UI that will be constantly evolving with technology and what the public expects and desires. Certainly the Apple designers have a vision for the future and are working towards that, but is it really going to do any tech company any good to introduce a user interface that is ahead of its time? I'm sure that Maeda's article is one of the first that we'll see in a long parade by design experts. When one of the experts finally comes up with concrete ideas for a next-generation UI that balances ease of use, user acceptance and device power requirements, then it will be time to start paying attention. In the meantime, posts by the design community either praising or defiling Apple's latest work are, in the words of Shakespeare's Macbeth, tales "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
TUAW TV Live: Much ado about WWDC 2013
Welcome back to another hour of mirth and merriment with me and my co-host Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd! Today we have one topic in particular to discuss -- WWDC 2013 -- and a lot of subtopics dealing with the minutiae that have been leaking out from developers. There are some fascinating things to see in both iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we'll talk about what we've heard from our "feet on the street" in San Francisco. To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the video or visit http://tuaw.com/tuawtvlive to see the latest show.
Daily Update for June 12, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Jon Rubinstein: OS X and iOS 7 borrow features from webOS
You might remember Jon Rubinstein as the Apple executive turned Palm CEO who helped spearhead development of the short-lived Palm Pre, a device which many initially thought might put Apple on the defensive. The way things played out, however, couldn't have been more different. Since the Pre first launched in 2009, Apple has gone on to sell millions upon millions of iPhones while the Palm Pre, not to mention Palm, are now all but non-existent. Nonetheless, some of the UI features introduced by the Palm Pre and the webOS that powered it have lived on and are now being incorporated into Apple's own software. Notifications and multitasking are two examples that come to mind. Naturally, this wasn't lost on Rubinstein who, in an interview with FierceWireless, couldn't help but insinuate that Palm's webOS was ahead of its time. FierceWireless: It seems like iOS 7 is taking lots of multitasking cues from webOS. How do you think that platform, webOS, influenced other mobile platforms? Rubinstein: It's not just mobile platforms. If you look at the notifications on Mac OS X, it looks just like webOS, too. We did a lot of things that were very, very innovative. Obviously, multitasking, notifications, Synergy, how we handled the multiple cards. There's a long list of stuff we did that has been adopted by Microsoft, Apple and Android. Our over-the-air updates and mechanism has been updated by everybody. Our whole Synergy concept is now becoming much more common. I don't think anyone has implemented it as well as we did yet, but clearly they're all heading down that direction. The entire interview is worth checking out as it touches on a number of subjects, including why the Palm Pre was exclusive to Sprint upon launch and why Rubinstein feels that selling out to HP was a waste.
iOS 7's game controller support could be a real game-changer
Of all of the features of iOS 7 that have been talked about since Monday's WWDC 2013 keynote, probably none has more potential impact than the item circled in blue on the image above -- MFi game controller support in the iOS 7 SDK. Jeff Blagdon at The Verge took a closer look at what this means for Apple fans, and possibly for the gaming world as a whole. MFi means "Made For iPhone/iPod/iPad," and refers to officially licensed add-ons that meet specifications set forth by Apple. The company is now adding support for controllers to the SDK, making it easy for third-party game controller manufacturers to create hardware that Apple can "bless." Developers benefit, since they know that their games will work with any of the approved game controllers. But Blagdon brings up a much bigger point in his post. Since Apple added AirPlay mirroring to iOS devices with iOS 5, anyone with a US$99 Apple TV can easily blast mobile gameplay to their HDTV. Blagdon says "with API-level support for third-party game controllers, who is going to stop Apple from waltzing into the home console market?" Apple already controls the handheld gaming market, and Blagdon notes that the new 16 GB iPod touch and Apple TV cost just US$328 -- less than the $399 Sony PS4 announced yesterday or the $499 Microsoft Xbox One. Apple could easily begin to make the dedicated home gaming console obsolete.
Apple iOS 7 supports WiFi Hotspot 2.0
In keeping with tradition, this year's WWDC keynote presented a massive amount of new information about the future of Apple's products. So much information is shared at WWDC that to catch it all, you've got to pay close attention to each and every slide available. One of this year's quietest announcements was the inclusion of Hotspot 2.0 support for the upcoming iOS 7. It's okay if you missed it; no one commented on it, the news was simply included in a slide during the presentation. So why does Hotspot 2.0 matter to you? In short, it could help save heavy-data users in metropolitan areas a lot of money. Hotspot 2.0 is a form of public-access WiFi that automatically connects your phone to a WiFi network when you enter its range. The project is an extension of the nonprofit WiFi Alliance's Certified Passpoint system. Connections made via this system have WPA2 security protection, meaning your information is safe from other users. Hotspot 2.0 connections are made without users having to search for a network, figure out a login and other modern WiFi hassles. Users who find themselves in public areas with a weak signal would still have access to online services thanks to these hotspots. As the implementation becomes more widespread users will find the added benefit of what the Wi-Fi Alliance called "WiFi Roaming," moving about and connecting to different supported networks as you move from location to location. Its success will depend on how widespread Hotspot 2.0 access points can become, but as a heavy-data user myself, one whose mobile carrier is constantly trying to limit data use, a future where we're more reliant on open, secure WiFi is a beautiful dream. We'll let you know more about Apple's service details as they become available. Samsung's Galaxy S 4 currently has Hotspot 2.0 access, but you've got time before it's going to be useful. It will still be a year or two before the necessary tech is widespread enough to be of any real use.
iTunes Radio and 'ads' on the iOS 7 lock screen
Developers are starting to play with the iOS 7 beta, with iTunes Radio being a popular destination both for trying the new feature and for listening to music while coding. Neil Hughes at Apple Insider notes that for the first time, you may see an "ad" on your lock screen when listening to iTunes Radio. While you're listening to your favorite channel, it's possible to lock your iPhone display and the music keeps streaming. Upon waking the device, the album art from the tune currently playing is displayed on the lock screen. For those who aren't currently subscribers to iTunes Match, a link appears on that album art giving the user the opportunity to "Download on iTunes," basically a link to buy the song on iTunes. iTunes Match subscribers only see the album art on the lock screen, but can purchase the streaming tune by launching the Music app. A buy button displaying the price of the song appears in the upper-right corner of the screen displaying the tune currently playing (see image at right). Of course, this is an early beta of iOS 7, so the actual implementation of the "Download on iTunes" link on the lock screen may change before the OS becomes public this fall.
Android head Sundar Pichai is excited to try out iOS 7
Apple yesterday introduced iOS 7, the biggest change to iOS since the original iPhone launched back in 2007. The differences between iOS 7 and previous iterations of iOS are readily apparent and striking. Naturally, Apple's new flat-themed mobile OS has generated a lot of debate. While some think Apple is headed in the right direction, others think the OS lacks that unique Apple flair. Interestingly enough, one person who can't wait to try out iOS 7 is Sundar Pichai, the head of Android development over at Google. If you recall, Pichai was chosen to succeed Andy Rubin this past March. Excited to try out iOS7 beta, guess I need to register as a developer first:) - sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) June 11, 2013 The controversy surrounding iOS 7 aside, it is somewhat refreshing to hear someone in Pichai's position express what appears to be genuine excitement over a competing company's product. Can you imagine Phil Schiller, for example, ever tweeting that he's excited to use the latest version of Android? Of course, it's more probable that Schiller might tweet out that as an iPhone user, he's effectively been using pre-release versions of Android for years now.
Location of Apple's spaceship campus featured in new Maps app icon
Apple enjoys putting little details into its operating systems and apps that delight and amuse the person who takes the time to appreciate the work that went into it. One item noticed yesterday by the folks at 9to5Mac is that the new Maps icon in iOS 7 no longer shows 1 Infinite Loop, instead opting to provide directions around the future location of Apple Campus 2 -- the location where the "spaceship" headquarters will be completed in 2016. The previous Maps icon was often seen as a bit of a joke, showing an abrupt left turn off of the bridge on De Anza Boulevard into the oncoming southbound traffic on I-280. Fortunately the icon designer took the time to prevent life-threatening accidents... (image courtesy of 9to5Mac)
Designers react to iOS 7
Yesterday's announcement of iOS 7 brought a number of responses -- many negative, some positive -- about the new look and feel of the mobile operating system. Om Malik of GigaOM decided to gauge reaction to the changes that are coming this fall by asking his Twitter friends. The negative side of the responses seemed to come mostly from designers: @jbrewer -- "You gotta wonder if they took their phones outside and looked at all that thin-lined icon + transparency stuff in the sunlight" @samin -- "An interesting observation: designers who have actually done any mobile OS design work really seem to dislike iOS 7." @mg -- "Am I alone in thinking the iOS 7 home screen icons look ugly, poorly balanced, and of an unattractive color palate (sic)?" Tom Coates of Product Club and formerly of both BBC and Yahoo's Brickhouse was the most vocal: At least in part because it looks so much like wireframes with placeholders for things. Bit like a webpage with Times New Roman....It's cramped in places, childish and garish in others, icons blend in with the background. And some of the design fetishes it has are as egregious if not worse than ios6 - frosted glass, fake depth, sliders with shadows. There are many good things about it too. Don't get me wrong. App switcher is nice, etc. Interaction wise it looks and feels solid. There were those designers who like the new look, and here is a sampling of their responses: @yocline -- "The good news: the new UX is a big improvement and the UI skin can be iterated and polished over time" @mike_FTW -- "I love it" and later: It's a breath of fresh air. Where was Apple going with the current crap? This opens up all manner of possibilities. I'm excited because it's new. And fresh. The Forstall crap went to its logical conclusion. Any design system that can no longer be extended is death. The new stuff is a fresh start. Eventually it'll die too. But right now I'm excited about how it can grow and be extended. It's not perfect. But, as a designer, that excites me. As a consumer? I dunno. There's more in the GigaOM post, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more responses from developers as they get the beta OS loaded on their devices.
iTunes Radio to feature dedicated Twitter #music station
As was mentioned in the WWDC 2013 keynote, the forthcoming iTunes Radio will feature a dedicated Twitter #music station. The Twitter #music station will allow users to listen to trending songs that are shared on Twitter with an option to buy the songs via the iTunes Music Store. But as The Verge points out, iOS already has a dedicated Twitter #music app that is struggling to gain popularity. The agreement between Apple and Twitter to include a dedicated Twitter #music station obviously works out well for both companies. Apple gets access to social feeds from one of the most popular social networks ever, including increased revenue streams from users who buy tracks from the Twitter #music stream. But Twitter may be the biggest beneficiary in the agreement as inclusion of a dedicated Twitter #music station gives the company's fledgling music service an increased awareness to hundreds of millions of users.
Lawmakers are cautiously optimistic about iOS 7's 'Activation Lock' feature
In response to an increase in iPhone thefts nationwide, and particularly in large US cities, a number of lawmakers have proposed that smartphone manufacturers include a "kill switch" on mobile phones so that stolen devices can be de-activated from afar. On Monday, Apple unveiled a new iOS 7 feature dubbed "Activation Lock" which may help in that regard. As Apple explained during its keynote yesterday, devices with Activation Lock enabled will preclude a thief from turning off the "Find my iPhone" feature without first entering in the device owner's Apple ID and password. Adding an extra layer of deterrence, even if a thief wipes a device clean, he/she will not be able to reactivate the device without the original owner's credentials. While Apple is confident that the feature will help lower the incidence of iPhone thefts, lawmakers who have been pushing for a kill switch appear to be cautiously optimistic. According to SeattlePi, the top prosecutors in San Francisco and New York are withholding judgement on this particular iOS 7 feature until they get a chance to see it used in action. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have been asking the leading wireless device makers to create a "kill switch" that would render stolen phones useless. The prosecutors said they aren't judging Apple's new activation lock feature until they can fully determine its effectiveness. ... "We are appreciative of the gesture made by Apple to address smartphone theft. We reserve judgment on the activation lock feature until we can understand its actual functionality," the prosecutors said in a joint written statement. Highlighting the prevalence of iPhone thefts in particular, and smartphone thefts in general, SeattlePi cites an FCC report which relays that one in three robberies nationwide involve a stolen mobile phone. Even more jarring, nearly 50 percent of robberies in San Francisco in 2012 involved stolen mobile devices, this according to San Francisco DA Gascon. With iOS 7 not dropping until later this fall, we'll have to wait and see if Activation Lock actually helps curb iPhone thefts. In the meantime, both Gascon and Schneiderman this Thursday will be meeting with representatives from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung to discuss the implementation of kill switches capable of rendering stolen devices unusable.
iOS 7 phases out the iPhone 3GS and the original iPad; some features will be iPhone 5 only
Apple on Monday took the wraps off of iOS 7, its highly anticipated next-gen mobile OS for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Apple said that iOS 7 will be available as a free download this fall and will run on the following devices: iPhone 4 and above iPad 2 and above iPad mini iPod touch, fifth generation So with iOS 7, Apple is phasing out the iPhone 3GS. The original iPad was phased out with iOS 6 (thanks, Ben!) I'd be surprised, though, if there are a significant percentage of iOS users using the aforementioned device. All in all, Apple does do a decent job of keeping iOS users running years-old hardware in the mix. Aside from which devices will run iOS 7, it's equally important to consider which features from iOS 7 will run on which device. To that end, here's how some of the device-specific iOS 7 features break down. Panorama -- The photo feature Apple introduced last year will be available on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and fifth-gen iPod touch. iPad users are out of luck here. Square/Video formats and swipe to capture -- These features will be available on the iPhone 4 and above, the third-generation iPad and above, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. Filters in Camera - This Instagram-inspired feature will only be available for the iPhone 5 and the fifth-generation iPod touch. Filters in Photos - This will be available on the iPhone 4 and above, the third-generation iPad and above, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. AirDrop - AirDrop in iOS 7 will only work on the iPhone 5, the fourth-generation iPad, the iPad mini and the iPod touch. Siri - Siri in iOS 7 has new voices, a new interface and a whole lot more functionality. Users trying to take advantage of the latest and greatest from Siri can run it on the iPhone 4S and above, the iPad with Retina display, the iPad mini and the fifth-generation iPod touch. iTunes Radio - Apple's long-rumored music streaming and recommendation service will run on any iOS 7-compatible device.
Music app gets a new design in iOS 7
Apple updated the big things as well as the little things in iOS 7. One of the smaller features is a fresh new look that'll grace the Music app. Cover flow is phased out and replaced with a new album art-driven UI. You'll be able to tap on an artist and view all their songs from your library, whether they are saved to your device or stored in the cloud. The Music app also features a new iTunes Radio feature that's similar to Pandora. You can read more about iTunes Radio in our WWDC coverage and browse the changes in iOS 7 on Apple's website.
