In what has become an annual tradition Apple is using its Worldwide Developers Conference to unveil their newest update to the operating system that runs their popular iPhone, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
While making the keynote speech at WWDC Apple CEO Tim Cook called the update "the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone."
In a video Jony Ive, Apple's design genius, introduced some of the new features for iOS7 including a quick settings area, a swipe to unlock screen and flatter looking icons, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
"We see iOS 7 as defining a new direction. And in many ways, a new beginning," Ive said according to Chris O'Brien, tweeting for the Los Angeles Times.
Software engineer Craig Federighi said that the new iOS 7 "is like getting an entirely new phone, but one that already know how to use, one that is so much more beautiful and functional than ever before," according to the San Jose Mercury News.
One of the most celebrated new features is that iOS 7 will have multitasking for all apps. One of the most widely used features of the phone, iPhoto, is going to be updated with new ways to share and organize pictures as well as adding filters to give the photos a different look much like Instagram, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Another new feature is an attempt to eliminate the secondary market on stolen iPhones called Activation Lock. The feature is essentially a killswitch on the phone that will lock the phone when a thief attempts to wipe the memory from it, according to VentureBeat.
Federighi took a shot at the Samsung Galaxy while announcing a file-sharing feature called AirDrop.
"(AirDrop is) the easiest way to share with people right around you," Federighi said according to Chris O'Brien of the Los Angeles Times. "No need to wander around the room bumping your phone."
Another major change coming with iOS 7 involves Siri, Apple's voice recognition feature. Siri no longer has to be a woman, it will come with the option of a male voice.
Apple also unveiled "iOS in the car" which will work with certain vehicles to allow iOS features to be displayed on the dashboard including Calls, Siri, Maps and iMessage, according to ABC News.
As is expected with every major upgrade or release by Apple, Twitter has exploded with vastly differing opinions.
I will say this, you can tell iOS 7 is a good update because it makes the current version look like crap.
— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) June 10, 2013
iOS 7: The biggest design-step backward since the introduction of the iPhone … #wwdc #ios7 — Tobias Reich (@electerious) June 10, 2013
The full release of iOS 7 will be this fall.
