TMCnet News
Apple's latest iPhone operating system 'almost unrecognisable' ; US FIRM LAUNCHES NEW IOS7 AND MAC PRODUCTS AT CONFERENCE [Western Mail (Wales)](Western Mail (Wales) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) APPLE'S new iOS7 operating system has been hailed by technology experts as the company's ' biggest software overhaul since the first iPhone was released. Analysts said it was "almost unrecognisable" but added that that could make it "polarising". Others said it looked to similar to Google's ' rival Android system. iOS7 will be available as a free f update in the Autumn. Apple will also launch a free music service that could threaten the likes of Spotify. y iTunes T Radio was announced just a month after Google introduced its Play Music All Access, a streaming subscription service for Android devices. "Most of the changes since [the first iPhone] have been like tinkering at the edges, whereas this is a revamp of the whole thing, especially visually," y said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at IT research firm Ovum. "Some people will love that their phone feels new and different, while others will be disoriented by the newness. It's' very attractive, but it's ' also different - it doesn't look very ApA ple- y. -" Ernest Doku, a telecoms expert at website uSwitch.com, said: "With W many elements of Apple's' ix-year old operating system showing their age - and a stiff competition from the visually- arresting charms of Android and Windows Phone 8, the crow's ' feet had started to become visible on its range of hugely-popular devices. "With W iOS7, Apple was eager to show this wasn't just a fresh coat of paint or a few nips and tucks. [Apple chief designer] Jony Ive and his team have really brought the design ethos that have made Apple products so iconic on the outside and seem to have revamped the innards just as drastically too." The software removes the "textured" design of Apple's t' rademark icons in favour of simple, block colours. Stuart Miles, founder of technology and gadget site Pocket-lint, said Apple appeared almost more confident than ever before as it announced the new system. "I think they came across as being a calm and confident Apple, setting themselves up for the next 10 years," he said. "There were lots of features borrowed, refined and improved with iOS7 that are sure to make everybody love it again. "It's ' a very colourful, playful operating system, from what I have seen so far, r which may not appeal to everybody - it is perhaps more fun than geared towards business use - but I think that's ' what people want. "They want the fresh take on something they are familiar with and Apple has certainly given them that." The new system was unveiled at a conference in San Francisco. During its keynote speech, Apple the firm also revealed a major overhaul of its Mac software. The next version of its Mac software will be called Mac OS Mavericks. It will feature improved ways to organise information in tabs on screen using tags and the ability to use a living room TV as a second screen for a laptop or iMac. Maps for Mac has vector graphics, 3D view and interactive Flyover. r Users will be able to plan a trip from their Mac and send the details to their iPhone. A new version of Apple's ' Safari was also announced, designed to "outperform other browsers in energy efficiency, m y emory efficiency and JavaScript performance". And a new tubular model of its MacBook Air was unveiled, with a nine-hour battery life and a price tag that starts at Pounds 849. APPLE TO OFFER MUSIC STREAMING APPLE will launch a free music service. iTunes T Radio was announced just a month after Google introduced the Play Music All Accessstreaming subscription service for Android devices. iRadio will be available free of charge if users are willing to listen to ads. A second option "iTunes T Match - will be launched for Pounds 21.99 a year without ads. iTunes T Radio will feature more than 200 stations and offer f access to thousands of new songs every we- and exclusive music from new artists before it is played elsewhere. Eddy Cue, Apple's ' senior vice president of internet software and services, said: "iTunes T Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalised radio stations which have been created just for you. It's' the music you love most and the music you're going to love, and you can yeasily ybuy it from th"iTunes T Store with just one click." Apple's ' Siri feature will be embedded int"iTunes T Radio so users can pose questions relating to the tracks they listen to or request the name of an artist. The radio feature will be accessible via iOS7's ' music app. Stuart Miles, founder of technology and gadget site Pocket-lint, said it could pose a challenge to services such as Pandora or Spotify. y "It seems very much a 'me too' exercise for Apple," he said. "They are doing it because that's the way things are going but it doesn't ' seem to add a huge amount beyond Spotify or Pandora. That said, if they are offering f it with the operating system, people are likely to use It'stead of the other options." But Jan Dawson,of research firm Ovum, said: "This is the kind of thing lots of users will try out, but few people will p y probably stick with." (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |