iOS 7 for the Long Haul...

I just read this article from a writer at PhoneDog (read it here) about how he's not going back to iOS 6 because iOS 7 feels very familiar but has that much needed facelift. Last July 10th, I decided to go to Beta 3 in the hopes that it would be more usable than previous betas. After using it for days, I wanted to stick with using it. Despite the usual bugs you would find in a beta, Beta 3 proved to be usable for day-to-day use. Most of the apps I use don't crash as often anymore.

Almost a month later and now using Beta 4, they've made some welcome changes like having the subtle arrow that acts as a guide for the user to "Slide to Unlock". The arrows on the lock screen were traded for pill-shaded handles. The animations are faster than ever as we get closer to the final release. I think there will be two more betas before the Golden Master will be released to developers and the final version to all users. Until then, I'm sticking to iOS 7 Beta. Like the writer, I don't wanna go back.

The iOS 7 2-Week Beta Cycle

iOS 7 may be the most significant and most important thing Apple's going for right now. There may be a mixed bag when it comes to the design overhaul, but it may be what iOS needs right now.

That said, even Apple makes mistakes and there may be parts of the user interface that doesn't work well with users. This is why Beta software comes out early for Developers so that they can check out the new OS and make their apps jive with the new UI. When Beta 1 came out the same time iOS 7 was announced on June 10, it was just for the iPhone. 2 weeks later, the iPad got a taste of it in Beta 2. This morning (July 8th in the US), Beta 3 came out this time with more bug fixes and UI tweaks. What does this tell us?

I think Apple's 2-week cycle for Beta releases is good since it can help the developers in tweaking the apps well in preparation for the final release and at the same time, lets Apple improve the OS through immediate feedback from them. If they keep up the pace of the releases, here's the roadmap for iOS 7 Beta Releases:

• Beta 4 - July 22
• Beta 5 - August 5
• Beta 6 - August 19
• Beta 7 (if possible) - September 2

After Beta 6 or 7, they're gonna release a Golden Master to all developers. A week after that, the final version will be out for all users. Having the 2-week Beta cycle will be good since there will be a lot of opportunities to squash a lot of bugs well ahead of the final release. I really hope that Apple will hit the nail on the head with this one, and compelling hardware to come along with it.

A Week with iOS 7.

Coincidentally, Apple released iOS 7 Beta 2 hours after I posted this. I laughed at myself too hard because of this. I did a week with iOS 7 Beta 1, so I hope no one complains about it. Thanks.

I always thought that Apple wasn't really very open when it comes to radical changes. Maybe in the past, they would but only because they were clearly the underdog at the time. Now in 2013, Apple is one of the most successful technology companies in the world. And with Android now dominating the smartphone market, they are now starting to become the underdogs in this space as well. With all that in mind, Apple has announced iOS 7, which is a radical refresh of the "world's most advanced mobile operating system".

Being the geek and Apple fan that I am, I decided to take iOS 7 for a spin for a week. I gotta say that while I generally love the new user interface, there are still quirks (which are NOT bugs) which irked me a bit. I actually installed it before going on this 1 week test drive and had a temporary setback to downgrade before re-updating for the purpose of giving my thoughts on it.

Before going RAGE MODE on me, I would like you to know that I KNOW that it's BETA software so all the bugs I experienced during this test drive did not influence any of my thoughts. I'll do a proper review of iOS 7 once it's out in the Fall. My thoughts are only going to be divided into three parts, here we go.

BEST PART:

CONTROL CENTER

This for me is one of the biggest fundamental changes to iOS, and I'm glad they're finally doing this. I know, I know, you're gonna say "this was in a jailbreak tweak" or "Apple copied from Android". So yeah, they may have copied or this was present in jailbreaks for a long time, but normal people who use iOS devices (unless they see their friends with Android phones) don't really know this but felt the pain of going through the Settings app just to turn off the Wi-Fi. With iOS 7, Control Center is here to save the day! Wi-Fi can be turned on or off by just swiping from the bottom of the screen. You can turn on Airplane Mode, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, and Orientation lock from here. You can adjust brightness, music controls, and access the flashlight, timer, calculator, and camera from here as well. The good thing about this is that it can be accessed from any screen! A quirk though is that when you type on the keyboard and you do the slide motion to switch from the letters to symbols, Control Center manages to pop up. Hopefully they can fix this quirk by Fall time.



WORST PART:

DESIGN AND GESTURE INCONSISTENCIES

Yes, even though I'm a fan, I can still criticize Apple for stuff I think is stupid. Gestures have inconsistencies in iOS 7. Even though I can swipe from the left in Messages, I can't do that from the Now Playing screen to another screen in the Music app. If they don't really fix this part, there may be a bit of confusion. The design of the top bar is bigger in the lock screen than in the home screen. I have to agree that there are parts in the new OS that may confuse longtime users. A little tutorial should help ease the confusion a bit.

While the typography and translucency look good, they shouldn't do it when the video player appears because it looks like the text and progress bar cannot be seen clearly. Helvetica Neue Ultra Light is good, but they should use it in places where they can make the font bigger. Then, have a bigger weight on those hard-to-read places so that it can be more readable.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

Overall though, I really liked using iOS 7 even though it was in its first Beta. The new user interface should make current owners of iOS devices feel like they're getting a new phone entirely. I wasn't able to test the other features like AirDrop since it requires having the newest devices (even though I ran it on an iPhone 5, I had no one else with newer devices to test it). The Camera took pictures fast and switching through modes was quick thanks to the swipe gestures. They put the grid in the Settings though, so that's a bit inconvenient.

Apple still has time to clean up the interface and add new bells and whistles enough for current users and first-time buyers to once again be attracted to iOS. Hopefully the next-generation iPhone and iPad could help.