iOS 7 vs. iOS 6: A Look At The Major Interface Changes
Love it or hate it, iOS 7 is finally here, and if you go for one of the latest iPhones or update the firmware on your existing ones, you will have to deal with its brand new, flat UI each day. While Android will be getting KitKat, iOS has gone the way of Hello Kitty, according to some. Jokes apart, the new interface changes are not as bad as some people made them out to be when the first iOS 7 beta came out. In fact, the new UI is quite refreshing in most apps, and the revamped iconography as well as the overhauled lock screen have been received by many as welcome changes. In addition, the parallax effect and dynamic wallpapers are a sight to behold, too.
However, you might not be able to gauge the full array of changes just by taking a cursory tour of iOS 7. So, here is a complete list of all the significant UI changes that have arrived with the update, complete with side-by-side comparison screenshots of the same features on iOS 6 and iOS 7.
Home Screen
Lock Screen
Most changes on the lock screen are pretty obvious, but you might not notice that it is now possible to swipe to unlock to the Home screen even if there is a fresh notification there. In addition to that, you can also launch the Notification Center and Control Center from there.
Folders
Multiple pages can now be created within folders, meaning that you can put a lot of apps inside a single folder.
Notification Center
App Switcher
Spotlight Search
Apps
Camera
Photos
Weather
You might not notice it straight away, but tapping the temperature on a city’s screen reveals additional information like humidity level, wind speed, and chances of rain.
Music
Calendar
Once you hit the back button in the stock Calendar app and exit the ‘Month’ view, it zooms out to reveal an overview of the entire year.
Alarm
Clock
Reminders
Notes
Game Center
Settings
App Store
Siri
Stocks
Calculator
Contacts
Voice memo
Newsstand
Compass
The Compass app now has two screens. The first one is not too different in functionality from the iOS 6 version, but the second screen displays a level meter that is pretty awesome, and shows the current degree of tilt in real-time both visually and as the tilt angle.
Phone
Messages
Maps
Although a majority of our readers voted against the iOS 7 redesign, there are some undeniable improvements in the update, too. I personally just adore the dynamic wallpapers and the new Weather app, though some of the icons just don’t suit my taste. Feel free to make use of the comments section to let us know what you think of the platform’s latest attempt at revamping itself.