Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering at Apple took the stage during the Apple iPhone event today, and announced iOS 7 will be available for iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 4; fourth- and third-generation iPad, and iPad 2; as well as the fifth-generation iPod touch and newer, on September 18th.
iOS 7 , which marks a major departure from previous versions of iOS, has a bold new design, which sports a “flattened” look, and marks the biggest change to iOS since it’s 2007 debut.
iOS 7 also introduces new features like Control Center, AirDrop for iOS, and smarter multitasking.
Control Center gives quick and easy access to the most used controls and apps. Swipe up from any screen — including the Lock screen — and you can do things like switch to Airplane mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off, or adjust the brightness of the display. You can even turn on a flashlight.
The improved Notification Center includes a new feature called Today, which gives a summary of what your day looks like. It’ll even give you a heads up on weather conditions, and if its someones birthday. You can access Notification Center from any screen, including the Lock screen by simply swiping down.
Multitasking is improved, press the Home button twice, and see a preview of the apps you have open. To quit an app, just swipe it up and out.
Updates are scheduled for power-efficient times, like when your device is connected to power and on Wi-Fi.
AirDrop for iOS lets you quickly and easily share photos, videos, contacts, or anything else from any app with a Share button. Tap Share, then select the person you want to share with. It’s all shared using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The iOS 7 update includes numerous other updates, which we’ll go into in-depth on release day.
The update will be available September 18th.
For even more details on all of Apple’s announcements, make sure to check out our roundup of everything Apple announced today at their event!
