iOS 7 release date, news and rumours

 

With Apple's WWDC 2013 developer conference taking place over the coming days, we're about to learn more details on the forthcoming iOS 7 update for the the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

The last major iOS 6 update for Apple's mobile devices was mostly hit, but there was a big Maps-shaped miss.

Lots of people were rightly angry about Apple ditching Google data, but beyond that mis-step there were things to like: a more useful Siri (App launching plus the recognition that a world exists outside of the USA), shared Photo Streams, handy Phone app controls such as 'send to voicemail', and major improvements to Mail, Safari, accessibility and the Camera app.

iOS 7 release date

it looks like the new operating system might be running a little behind schedule. John Gruber believes that iOS 7 is "running behind", with engineers being pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it.

We're expecting a September or October release date for iOS 7 in line with previous releases. We'll almost certainly see a reveal at WWDC. Apple has promised to give devs "an in-depth look at what's next in iOS and OS X", Mobile web traffickers such as Onswipe have already reported seeing iOS 7 pop up in their logs.

Find out what our TechRadar experts want to see from iOS 7 in the video below:

iOS 7 design

A greater synergy between hardware and software design is something Apple is looking to achieve as it moves towards iOS 7. That's according to the Wall Street Journal in late March 2013, which also suggests that Jonathan Ive is pushing for a starker and simpler design for iOS 7 - that reminds us a little of what Microsoft has done to the desktop in Windows 8.

In late May it seemed that iOS 7 had found its way out into the wild, as sources have given loads of details on the 'flat redesign'. The first major change indicated by the sources was a distinct lack of skeuomorphic style, as the fake textures and effects you're so used to seeing will be swapped out with a more basic design sense.

It seems that everything starts with a new Lock screen, where the glossy image and clock have been replaced by a stark black screen with supposed improved gesture controls. Even the security code pad has been altered, and instead of the familiar overlay, a new interface with round, black keys with white text has emerged.

It will be almost immediately apparent just how different everything looks as base apps like Calendar, Camera, Game Center and Safari will be pared down quite a bit from their current incarnations.

Longtime iPhone users may be in for a bit of a surprise, as the leak suggests iOS 7 will replace the vibrant look and feel of the phone with a more minimalist, monochromatic approach.

What else do we want to see in iOS 7?

The rest of this article explores a dozen of the features we're clamouring to see in iOS 7. (And by 'clamouring', we of course mean 'asking really nicely'. C'mon, Mr Cook - pretty please?)

1. Hide Apple apps

Pretty much everyone we know with an Apple device has a folder entitled 'Apple'. This isn't filled with must-have apps from the geniuses at Cupertino, but all the junk Apple installs that you can't get rid off. To be fair, what each individual considers junk is different, and these apps—Compass, Stocks, Voice Memos, Passbook, and so on—have their fans; but is it too much to ask for a switch in Settings that will hide those we don't use?

2. Better app management

Change for change's sake is rarely a good thing. Recognition is key to satisfying experiences with technology. That's why we're not yelling at Apple to change how iOS home screens work. What we would like to see is improvements to app management: more screens; by default saving app data on delete; and an alphabetical list of installed apps, perhaps accessible from Spotlight.

3. Change app defaults

We're pretty certain this request would be met with wide-eyes from Apple CEO Tim Cook, swiftly followed by a full twenty minutes of belly laughing, but we want the ability to use non-default apps for important things like email and calendaring. Apple's own apps would remain the defaults, but you should also be able to pick your own in Settings.

4. Provide a guest account

It's extremely unlikely that Apple's ever going to enable multiple user accounts on iOS devices—they are, after all, designed as extremely personal computers. What is perhaps more realistic is some kind of guest account you could switch to when handing your device over to someone for a short while; something similar already exists on the Mac in OS X.

5. Change Siri's voice

OS X is blessed with dozens of high-quality voices that witter away to you in various dulcet tones. By contrast, Siri is Siri. In the US, you get a slightly robotic woman; in the UK, Siri's that bloke who did The Weakest Link for a decade. It'd be great if you could choose the voice your device uses to speak. (Possible exception: Yoda voice.)

6. Provide App Store demos

Apps and games might be cheap, but that doesn't figure cheapskates into the equation. Too often, people are unwilling to risk 69p on the latest release, forcing devs into irritating freemium models or making them clutter up the App Store with 'lite' versions of their output. Apple should just allow demos: 24 hours from first launch and then you buy or the app won't run. Boom.

7. Power up 'Do Not Disturb'

Fed up of getting woken up in the middle of the night by the marketing efforts of [redacted, but quite possibly a well-known mobile network] or Game Center fanfares? Do Not Disturb is a great feature that enables you to time when your phone will quit bugging you. But you can define only a single schedule, and we want to see alternative options for weekends.

8. Make locking location-aware

Locking is a great thing on iOS devices, making it at least a little harder for some scallywag to get at your data if they pinch your shiny Apple joy. But it could be more intelligent, locking on a location-aware basis, and not when you're, say, happily sitting at home on the sofa.

9. Improve the lock screen

There's something to be said for Apple's minimalism regarding the iOS lock screen, and it's mostly that it's too minimal. We're not sure we want to see Android-style widgets sprayed everywhere, but a little more functionality wouldn't go amiss. For example, artwork from a currently playing song is displayed on the lock screen, but there are no controls for pausing or skipping to the next track, until you double-press Home, which isn't hugely discoverable. And beyond notifications, nothing else shows up there at all.

10 Cut all iTunes ties

In recent years, Apple's made great leaps away from iTunes, and you can technically get away with never using the monstrous jukebox. However, there's still no way to easily get your existing music collection nor your photographs on to your device, and there should be. (Alas, with Apple wanting to push iTunes Match and the iTunes Store, there almost certainly never will be for the first of those.)

11. Make more icons dynamic

We're hesitant at arguing Apple's home screen icons should be more like Windows 8 tiles, but there's something to be said for dynamic updates when such things work well. With iOS, you get update badges and a live calendar. It'd be nice at the least if Apple made its own Clock and Weather icons dynamic.

12. Enable cross-platform installs

On a device, you now often see iOS-style banners on websites that when tapped take you right to the equivalent App Store app. But if you're browsing elsewhere, you have to email yourself a reminder and then install later. How good would it be if you were surfing on your PC, saw a great app and could install it across your devices without going near them, nor even to iTunes?