The release date of the final iOS 7 beta 7 is expected this afternoon with a gold master version expected on September 5, a full five days ahead of the supposed September 10 release date. The release of iOS 7 beta 6 was a surprise to all tech junkies, let alone the Apple faithful, as it came last Thursday when the Cupertino electronics giant had been issuing its latest updates systematically on Mondays, possibly foreshadowing the gold master shipment on September 5 which also happens to be on a Thursday. However todays suspected 7th beta version falls directly in line with past releases.
The 13.5MB download last week came with minor tweaks and bug fixes for iTunes in the cloud. Every other week barring any setbacks, Apple had been dispatching iOS 7 beta updates which means there isn’t a whole lot we can’t deduce about the mobile operating system. Really the only thing left to uncover as the actual release date as the September 10 forum many expect for iOS 7, the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, and possibly iPad and iPad mini tablets hasn’t received any confirmation from Cupertino.
The gold master version, though, isn’t anything that we humble users would see. It’s reserved for Apple employees and partners acting almost like a dress rehearsal before its release a purported five days later. Still, we’ll be keeping our ears to the ground for any last minute leaked specs, photos, or validated release date.
As for the consumer-ready iOS 7 version, there’s plenty for Apple users to look forward too. Surely they’ve all heard about the UI overhaul for months, as it was also detailed at the annual WWDC, but Apple has more in store for its ever-loyal user base.
The entire UI of iOS 7 shifts on an axis when physically shifted by the user in order to give the best possible viewing angle. Even better is that this feature extends beyond the home screen and occurs with all apps.
The comprehensive redesign also includes the new unlock screen with rounded numerals, multiple pages for each app, cleaner typography all around, full screen edge-to-edge photos, ability to swipe between messages or apps, the notifications center available directly from lock screen, and “today view” which shows all that’s on tap for the day from all information saved in iCloud and in your calendar.
Safari for iOS 7 appears to be multifunctional as well, allowing for more than the previous 8-tabs open at once, easily navigabale swiping cues, and improved bookmarking for easy access.
Finally with iOS 7, Apple will have an answer to the naysayers who thought its mobile operating system was dead in the water without NFC capability. AirDrop shows users which friends are in close proximity and makes items easy to share anything–photos, articles, documents, social media, etc.–with multiple friends at once. No need to worry about security either as AirDrop will use securely encrypted peer-to-peer Wi-Fi.
The camera feature will offer a slew of new filters for amateur photographers to salivate over, while the photo app helps to easily manage and share pics, organize photos in albums, and pull out interesting and patterned images that might be of interest to the user.
