(seven!)*<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I have a beta of iOS 7 running on my old iPhone 4. \u00a0I did not want it on my production phone, because I’m not an idiot and I don’t use beta operating systems on mission-critical equipment. \u00a0I also recognize that putting a beta OS on a three year old smartphone is asking for terrible performance, so any concerns about speed, responsiveness, etc. will have to wait until a shipping version hits my carry phone.<\/p>\n
Also a reminder: the 4 has a T-Mobile prepaid SIM and no data service. \u00a0This is basically an iPod Touch from 2010 with the additional phone functionality of a MOTOFONE F3 glued on. \u00a0Some functions may not be present at all or highly limited.<\/p>\n
With that:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
* The look of the thing, much-debated, strikes me for now as change for the sake of change. \u00a0This isn’t an overhaul of the design, this is a re-skinning for the sake of appeasing people who were bored of the old UI. The underlying functionality is the same – everything is where it was, this is literally just new chrome – and I don’t know if it’s just the newness, but it feels challenging in a way that recalls the move from Mac OS 9 to OS X. \u00a0And given what a radical change that was, it’s a bigger conceptual leap than should be necessary from iOS 6 to 7.<\/p>\n
* When you zoom in the Maps app, you get a tiny scale bar in the upper-right corner. \u00a0I don’t think I’ve seen a scale reference on any smartphone map ever. \u00a0This is extremely cool and useful.<\/p>\n
* Filters are a colossal waste of time, but it’s one of those things, like streaming radio, that are apparently the price of entry these days. \u00a0Could be worse; at least they’re not all cutesy animal names like Flickr’s filters.<\/p>\n
* The touchpad to enter your passcode shows the background picture through the buttons when pressed. \u00a0Or through the hairline thinness of the buttons themselves.<\/p>\n
* The new window-card app switcher is more or less a straight lift from WebOS, right down to the flick-up-to-dismiss. RIP WebOS, proof that it was really the best challenger out there to the iPhone had it only had smarter partners.<\/p>\n
* Speaking of straight lift, Yahoo would be well within their rights to be FRISBEE pissed at the new Weather app. \u00a0I mean, it’s the same goddamn app. \u00a0It’s Samsung-caliber duplication.<\/p>\n
* The prospect of Google Now-ish functions in the notification center is something I like, but when it’s bright and sunny out and the thing says “Partly cloudy conditions with low visibility” something needs work. \u00a0It hasn’t been sufficiently overcast all day.<\/p>\n
* Although many will say it’s a rip-off, the new Control Center is something that the OS has needed since\u2026well, arguably since day one. \u00a0One-touch access to the camera (remember when double-clicking the home button was the camera shortcut?) or the calculator (how often do I need that at the gas station?) or the timer (okay, if I cooked anything that needed a timer this would be good), plus iTunes controls, one-touch for AirPlay (basically the stuff at the far end of the old app switcher). \u00a0Best of all, one-touch for brightness, airplane mode, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. \u00a0Yes, it’s kind of crowded-looking, but I’m not sure how to clean it up; I’m just grateful to have it at all.<\/p>\n
* I also like the new Calendar approach: opens to the day, from which you can back out to the month, and from there to the year – but I don’t dig having not even a dot on the date in month view to show something<\/em> there. \u00a0The List view is also missing, which is something I’ve gotten a lot of utility from in the past.<\/p>\n * Handy that the clock shows how many hours ahead or behind the other world cities beyond your time zone are.<\/p>\n * The white translucent (or just plain white) backgrounds to everything really drive home the point: the white iPhone is the de facto “default” now.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I know and accept that this is the first public cut at re-inventing iOS. \u00a0Yes, it’s too clever by half IMHO, but it’s also the first cut. \u00a0One hopes that by October, when I expect a new iPhone, the UI will be polished and refined from months of contact with developers attempting real-world use. \u00a0As always, you have to trust the process.<\/p>\n Of which, etc.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n * Shout out to Friends<\/em> =)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (seven!)* \u00a0 So I have a beta of iOS 7 running on my old iPhone 4. \u00a0I did not want it on my production phone, because I’m not an idiot and I don’t use beta operating systems on mission-critical equipment. \u00a0I also recognize that putting a beta OS on a three year old smartphone is … <\/p>\n