Expected for September, Apple is reportedly training its staff for the iOs 7 launch this fall. The training begins today for AppleCare employees and are expected to be finished by the second week in September, says 9t05mac’s Mark Gurman. Though Apple has yet to announce the release date for its next-gen mobile operating system, the fact that technical support is already receiving briefings on iOS 7 is indicative of an imminent unveiling.
September 10 is the date being circled on calendars by Apple enthusiasts and users alike, though as mentioned before Cupertino has yet to weigh in with confirmation. Still, that date in particular is being pegged as Apple’s press event where alongside iOS 7 the new iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone 5C are expected to be announced as well.
If Apple opts to hold to tradition and assuming the September 10 release event is correct, we could see both iPhone variants hitting the retail shelves around September 20. Lending credence to this is notion is the fact that both Verizon and T-Mobile have implemented blackout dates starting September 20 and that Japan, which is typically included in the first of iPhone recipients alongside the U.S., is rumored to stock the device on that same date.
Gurman continues to note that while Apple traditionally requires the majority of its part-time staff to sign on full-time, “Mac Hardware/OS X technicians to be trained on iOS as wel,” likely due to the recent UI overhaul that is certain to spark more questions from users.
Those employees will soon become experts on the following, just in time for the alleged release date and launch:
Surely you’ve all heard about the UI overhaul for months, as it was also detailed at the annual WWDC, but Apple has plenty 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.
