Introducing iOS 7

• On 10th june of 2013, In Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the latest iteration of its mobile operating system iOS7.
• iOS 7 features a major design overhaul that removes many of the traditional elements found in previous versions of iOS, instead favoring a clean and clear "flat" look. Demo screens of all of the apps can be found on Apple's iOS 7 website.
• Tim Cook (CEO at Apple Inc) had mentioned iOS7 as a biggest change to iOS since introduction of the iPhone. Jony Ive (Senior Vice President of Design at Apple Inc) had words on iOS7 : "It has a whole new structure that is coherent and that is applied across the entire system, We've considered the tiniest details like refining the typography to much larger ones like redesigning all the icons."

Design

   

• The iOS 7 User interface has been completely redesigned. Throughout the system, a sharpened focus on functionality and on the user's content informs every aspect of design. Translucency, refined visual touches—and fluid, realistic motion—impart clarity, depth, and vitality to the user experience are main qualities to keep in mind as on working on design of any app for iOS 7. 
• The new design is significantly different from older with all new multitasking screens and a totally redesigned user interface. The icons are "flat" with bright new colors. Apps like Game Center have been entirely overhauled, with the removal of the felt and wood elements in favor of a design that relies heavily on black and white with colored accents. 
• iOS 7 incorporates new motion tracking capabilities. As the device is moved in the hand, it actually tracks motion and the screen moves, which carries over across the system. 
• A new dynamic weather app introduced which incorporates some live weather elements. For example, if it is cloudy around you, the app will show cloudy behaviour and It uses an all new font. Like the Weather app, the Calendar also features a extreme new design. 
• Messages has seen a major overhaul, with a blue and white interface. Swiping on the screen in messages allows users to go from individual messages to a messages overview. Mail box has the same no-frills interface, focusing on text and photos. It supports full screen photos. 

Notification Center

• Notification Center looks entirely different as well, with new daily overviews that let users know about new mail, missed calls, to-dos, and more. Notification Center can be accessed from any screen, including the Lock Screen, with a downwards swipe.

Control Center 

• Control Center offers new preference controls. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (including the lockscreen) to find quick access to preferences. It has switches that allow users to access Wi-Fi, turn on Airplane Mode, toggle Do Not Disturb, adjust brightness, and control music, among other things. 

Multitasking

• iOS 7 offers up a smarter way to multitask. When users tap the home button twice, it will display preview screens of apps that are open. Unlike before, the screens are previews of actual apps rather than just a small app icon. 
• iOS 7 incorporates a learning algorithm that takes note of when users utilize certain apps and keeps those up to date with new content before they are launched. So, for example, if someone wakes up and checks Mail box, iOS 7 will learn that behavior and have MailBox updates ready to go in the background before the app is opened. The new mobile OS also uses intelligently scheduled updates and will update during power efficient times. 

 

Safari

 

• Safari gets a number of improvements in iOS 7, including a new full screen look and a smart search field which allows one tap access to favorites, and it also has a new tabbed interface along with parental controls and iCloud keychain integration. 
• The new Safari eliminates the eight browser tab limit and tabs can now be closed with a quick sideways swipe. Safari incorporates the new iCloud Keychain functionality, remembering account names, passwords, and credit card numbers, as well as generating unique, hard-to-guess passwords. 

AirDrop

• AirDrop is included with iOS 7, making it easier for users to share photos, videos, contacts, and other content with other iPhone owners. This is system wide and can be used with any app that supports the API.
• Simply tapping the new "Share" will allow users to connect via WiFi or Bluetooth. Recipients can choose to save what is sent, and saved items will be saved in appropriate locations. For example, a shared contact ends up in the Contacts app, while a shared photo ends up in the Photos app. It will be available on Apple's newest devices, including the iPhone 5 and the fourth generation iPad, as well as the iPad mini. 

Camera, Video

• iOS 7 introduces a redesigned camera app that includes photo filters, and incorporates a new "square" capture mode. There are now a total of four camera modes, including Video, Panorama, Still, and Square.
• The Photos app has been redesigned as well, offering an improved photo organization system. iOS knows when and where photos were taken and this information is used to organize photos into folders called "Moments." 
• It allows  to capture video at 60fps, so you can replay dramatic scenes in slow motion. also can get closer look by directly controlling the zoom level of the camera. 
• Creating video effects and transitions by combining multiple video tracks using the custom video compositing APIs and Scanning and recognising barcodes with the camera are also included.

Siri

• Siri has been given a "gorgeous" new interface along with new voice options that include a male voice and voices for the French and German languages, with support for additional languages to come in the future. 
• Siri has also gotten smarter, so it can now perform tasks like turning on Bluetooth or increasing device brightness, as well as playing voicemails and controlling iTunes Radio.

iOS in the Car

• iOS 7 is designed to provide enhanced integration with in-dash systems, displaying iOS on in-car monitors to make calls, get messages, and more. Vehicles that are equipped with iOS in the Car can connect to the iPhone 5 and interact with it using the car's built-in display. 

Games

• iOS 7 introducing powerful new Sprite Kit framework to develop high-performance 2D games, which combines everything you need to animate sprites, simulate physics and create beautiful particle systems all in one easy-to-use set of APIs. 

• Hand the controls over to your users by adding support for upcoming MFi (Made-for-iPhone/iPod/iPad) game controllers to your game. And the re-designed Game Center adds more modes for turn-based games and more leaderboards, as well as allowing you to authenticate players, and securely transmit game scores and achievements.

Inter-App Audio

• Now your apps can make beautiful music together. With Inter-App Audio, apps can register their audio streams to share with other apps. 
• For example, a series of apps could publish audio streams of instrument tracks while another uses the combination of these streams to compose a song. Inter-App Audio also provides for MIDI control of audio rendering, remotely launching other registered Inter-App Audio apps and more.

Maps

• iOS 7 introduces directions APIs, enabling you to guide users to their destinations from within your app. 
• Allow your users to rotate and move around the map in 3D using updated views and controls. And you have even more control of overlays, making it possible to place them at different layers or replace portions of the map altogether.

App Store 

• The App Store has been entirely redesigned with the same black and white look featured in many of the apps in iOS 7.
• It is now easier to find apps than ever before. "Apps Near Me" allows users to find the apps that are in use nearby, and there are also new discovery tools for parents and children. 
• The App Store will now update apps automatically, doing away with manual updates. Music, too, has been updated with support for iTunes Radio, Apple's new streaming music service. iTunes Radio is free, ad-supported (ad-free for iTunes Match subscribers), and available on iOS, Apple TV, and the Mac. 

Activation Lock 

• Activation Lock is designed to be a theft deterrent. It adds a new feature that requires an Apple ID and password to access and turn off Find My iPhone or to wipe a device. 
• That means if a device is stolen and a thief tries to wipe it, the phone will not be able to be reactivated without its accompanying iCloud login. Even after a device is erased, Find my iPhone will continue to display a custom message. 

APIs 

• The SDK includes more than 1500 new APIs, including AirDrop support, MFi Game Controllers, UI Dynamics, New Multitasking APIs, SpriteKit, Barcode Scanning, and more.

Device Support & Release date for iOS 7 beta

• iOS 7 beta supports iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (5th gen) , iPad 2, iPad with Retina display, and iPad mini.
• iOS 7 is available for developers from its release date which is 10th of june 2013, on the iPhone, with iPad support coming at a later date. 
• iOS 7 will be available for consumers this autumn.

Let's end up with some quick comparison and pros & cons of iOS 7 

change in look (left side is iOS 7!)

pros:

• Complete UI overhaul with adaptive colors and system-wide Back swipe gesture
• New system icons and folders, animated icons available
• Control Center with toggles, multimedia controls and shortcuts
• Updated Notification Center with three tabs
• Updated Safari browser with unified search filed
• iTunes radio 
• AirDrop file sharing
• Camera filters with live preview and new square mode
• New Photos app with better photo organization, picture editing
• Weather app with live weather animations
• Updated Maps with Night mode and Turn-by-Turn walking directions
• New Siri interface, new supported commands, new voices
• FaceTime audio
• Activation lock
• Automatic app update
• Chinese-English, Italian, Korean and Dutch dictionaries
• iOS in the Car coming in 2014 in selected cars
• New introduced Game framework "Sprite kit" targeted for iOS 7 and above & Apple's future product Apple TV 

 cons:

• Very iTunes dependent for uploading files and multimedia
• No widgets
• AirDrop can only be used by iPhone 5, iPad 4th generation, iPad Mini and iPod Touch 5th generation and iCloud account for this feature is must
• Camera mode - "panorama" does not support iPad. Camera Filters only support iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5
• iOS 7 beta has been experienced bit slower than its ancestor
• No lockscreen shortcuts (besides those in the Control Center)
• Limited codecs support
• iTunes radio only works in the US