Apple has decided to drop most of its older generation phones like the iPhone 3GS and iOS 7 and only supports iPhones 4 and above. Although there have been numerous complaints about the performance of iOS 7 or iPhone 4s, there seems to be no problems with iPhone 4S and above. The first thing iOS 7 users will notice is the new feel to the iOS 7, unlike any other iOS. Apple has decided to get rid of its old flux-glass icons and have reverted to more basic, color-prioritized flat icons. The applications have lost most of textures and now provide a basic streamlined design. No more of the notepad feel to the Notes app and no more of the rich black leather or the brown wood textures. This flat user-interface feel more like a mobile app and makes it easier for the user to concentrate on the more important buttons and content of an app. The latest version of the iOS has been known for its Android and Windows 7 Phone-type features, like the Android-styled control center or the Windows Phone animations. There are plenty of features on the iOS 7 that you won’t find on any of its competitors.
Turning on your phone will introduce you to a more Android Ice Scream Sandwich-type of lock screen that seems to have done away with the thick bars and the realistic slider. Now you are greeted by a simple text and two bars on the top and bottom that encourage you to pull down the notification center or the control center, again a feature previously seen on Android devices. But no matter how different you expect the iOS 7 to be, the general feel and usability of the iOS remains the same. It’s the same page-by-page application icons, and the much loved widget feature of the Android system still seems to be absent although multitasking has been improved greatly with the Web OS-style app switcher. The recent applications that have been running around show up next to each other and dismissing them is as simple as swiping them up or down.
Another visual upgrade on the iOS 7 is the more prominent User Interface (UI) animations that had been much simpler and transparent than the ones on iOS 7. Unlocking the phone prompts a swooping effect of the application icons. Opening up a folder icon or the application switcher prompts a zoom-in and zoom-out effect and even the screen’s off and on animations have been beautified with a slight fadeout and fade-in. The notification icon on the top of the phone also seems to have undergone some serious redesign. The signal bar seems to be the most prominent with dots instead of bars that puts the whole mobile design into question because of the fact that bars have turned into a universal language for network. Can Apple change it to dots is yet to be seen.
The iOS 7 also brings a lot of new features, like the Control Center that provides quick access to frequently used settings. It’s in stark contrast to its predecessors when every setting had to be changed from the setting app. Or the new tabbed notification center that makes it easier to browse notifications by type, or the new translucent feel to all of these features. There are colors everywhere now, even in places where it becomes more of a nuisance rather than an addition to design. The new design to the iOS design also calls for new application design. Most of the applications on the AppStore are built for iOS 6 and that slight hiccup on switching from a more modern design to the old would call for a light inconvenience. Most of the proprietary software that comes designed by Apple possesses the streamlined feel of the OS but many third-party applications still need a facelift.
The performance of the new OS seems smooth and quick on the newer A5 and A6 processors but on older phones like the iPhone 4, which sports an A4, the OS can seem quite slow and sludgy. The OS also creates new opportunities for sluggishness with more prominent animations that can be easily noticed if it stutters. Another problem that the iOS 7 brings is the quick depletion of the battery life. The iOS 7 seems to be notorious for hogging the CPU and cutting down on battery life.
But all in all, the iOS 7 seems to bring a lot of new features and clean new UI design to the table. No doubt that it poses a big threat for its competitors but the new iOS also seems to spark up some love and hate relationship with its users. Some users seem to love the new flat look of the iOS 7 whereas others seem to prefer the more professional look of the iOS 6. The iOS has definitely changed, but for the better or the worse is yet to be seen.
Tech queries
Prajesh SJB Rana answers
I need to listen to music first thing in the morning and before I go to bed at night. As of now, I connect a small portable speaker to my phone and the sound quality isn’t that good. I want to buy a good iPod dock. Which one should I invest in?
Amit Poudel, 24, Sinamangal
Dear Amit,
There are a lot of awesome iPod docks out there but the main problem would be that most of them aren’t available in Nepal. If you plan on ordering them from outside Nepal, there are a lot of great options like the Altec-Lansing MIX or the JBL One Beat Xtreme. These are the more expensive ones that’ll cost you around US$350 - 400.
In Kathmandu, happily, the Evo Store at Durbar Marg has some really nice docks. But when you’re there, look for a good brand, like Bose, JBL, or Altec-Lansing. In sound, brands do matter, and you can check them for quality before you spend your money on them.
A quick stroll through Putali Sadak should also do the trick.
But keep in mind that the newer versions of Apple products come with a Lightning connector that varies from the older 30pin connectors, and this may turn into a problem when looking for a dock. But if you just want a good sound and can wave off the charging capabilities of a dock, then investing in a Rs. 6,000 sub-woofer wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Two-speaker sub-woofers have good sound-quality these days, and the only advantage a dock has over a sub-woofer would be the charging capability that charges your iPod while playing songs.
But if you want to get a dock, I would suggest a JBL because of its good rich bass and loud sound.
I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy S-3 and while I love
everything about it, I’m constantly running low on battery power. I have to charge it once a day, and sometimes even twice a day. I don’t use it much except to make calls and listen to music. What should I do?
Niti Shah, 27, Kumaripati
Dear Niti,
Running out of battery is one of the biggest drawbacks of any smartphone. Battery is drained usually when you have a lot of applications installed or running. For example, the Facebook app that so many of us love drains quite a bit of battery because it’s always running in the background trying to fetch notifications as soon as they arrive. This can be quite a problem when you’re constantly running out of battery.
So I would suggest an app called Clean Master. This application helps you in many ways, from cleaning all the junk from your phone to killing all the applications running in the background. This feature of Clean Master is what will help you the most because since it kills all background processes, the load on your phone’s CPU will be considerably less which would mean less draining of battery juice.
Another application that would help you would be the Easy Battery Saver. This application helps you keep your battery in good shape by charging your phone in three different stages. These stages would mean that your battery will stay charged better which would automatically mean good battery life.
But even after all these applications that extend your battery life, and if your battery still doesn’t give you good performance, you may have to opt for a new battery. If you decide on buying a new battery, take note of the capacity of your battery and try to find one that offers larger capacity.
The writer is The Week’s much loved tech guru. Email us your tech queries at theweek@myrepublica.com and we’ll have him answer
them for you.
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