8 reasons why iOS 7 is the freshest fruit from Apple yet

Of all the announcements made at this year’s WWDC, the launch of the hotly anticipated and much-needed refresh of iOS was definitely the most important part of the event. It’s no joke that Apple’s mobile operating system was in dire need of an upgrade, especially with all the Android fan boys constantly boasting about how superior their systems were when Apple folk complained about the various shortcomings and lackluster performance of current versions. So while we wait for the autumn release date, let’s check out at eight of the new features we can look forward to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzUH9PJA1Ro

The keynote in full

Control Center
For a long time now, Android has held favor over Apple in terms of devices. Yes, jailbroken devices and those that mastered the use of Launch Pad had access to these shortcuts but with iOS 7, Apple has done it properly. What I like most about this new feature is the amount of effort Sir Jonny Ive and his team put into making it NOT look like a widget screen. Well played sir, well-played.

Notification Center
More of an upgrade to an existing feature than a new release altogether, the fact that I can now access the notification centre from the unlock screen means, for me at least, increased productivity when doing my quick check of what came through while my iPhone was in my pocket. No more unlocking to reply to a message and then getting distracted by other things while you’re trying to steer your car around a mountain pass. It’s the little things that count.

Multitasking
Next to AirDrop, this must be my favorite of the new features – no more relying on that damn home button! Seriously though, the only thing in life that I spend more time getting frustrated with is trying to plug a USB in the right way up. No more double-click, hold to wiggle, tap to close… and now you can see what you were actually doing in that app before closing it. Thanks Jonny, much appreciated.

Camera
With all the innovations relating to mobile cameras being bandied about by the likes of Blackberry and others, I’m glad that Apple have redone its camera app properly. Sure, they don’t allow you to scroll “back in time” to choose the perfect moment, but the smoother transition between different modes and built-in filters makes me very happy indeed.

Photos
While I’m happy with the new camera interface, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the new photos app. I’m really not a big fan of how iPhoto groups your photos around dates and specific events, but I do think it’ll be interesting to have photos grouped according to geographic location, so let’s see how this one pans out. It’ll definitely be great for big nights out when you need to remember where you left your keys.

AirDrop
My favorite thing about the entire damn event! I’m a big fan of AirDrop on Mac so I really cannot wait to start using it on iPhone. My only question will be if Apple limits the transfer of copyrighted content like songs or eBooks, not that I promote piracy or the sharing of good music with your friends. But it’ll definitely be interesting to see how Apple plays this one.

Safari
I was never a big fan of Safari (I don’t even use it on Mac) and always went back to Chrome, not only for performance, but for aesthetics too. Watching the promo vid for the new Safari really gives me hope though, and I especially love the cover flow style design on the tab selection screen. Very slick.

iTunes Radio
I’ll be honest and say that I had no idea what to expect with iTunes Radio. Apart from reading a few articles about how Apple was planning to monetize the service and how advertisers could get involved, I was completely in the dark. Now that I know what is going on, I am ecstatic and cannot wait to get my hands on it. It looks great, let’s just hope it’s available in all regions, unlike Pandora and Spotify.

Add to the list that the entire UI has been completely redesigned with a new color palette and a grid approach (much like how Twitter designed their new logo) and I think we can expect a seriously competitive product when it drops in Autumn.It seems that Ive’s influence has definitely pulled through and I believe that his creative direction will restore the faith in the Apple ecosystem. He has definitely impressed me.