Review: iOS7

Operating systems. They’re fairly integral now to our everyday lifestyles! Fiona brings us her opinions of the recent iOS7 from Apple…

Simple, suave, sophisticated. If you’ve got those three s’s right, you’ve got me sold. Anything too showy, too bold, or too colourful and I begin to feel that familiar tinge of “happiness nausea” I get when I spy the not-so-dulcet sounds of Glee on the box (no offence, fans).

It is for this reason that when I saw the first leaked images of Apple’s iOS7 upgrade that my heart instantly sank. Gone was the familiar business-style look I had coveted so dearly when making the decision to make the Android-Apple conversion, only to be replaced by something that wouldn’t look out of place aimed at the children’s toy market.

Perhaps I was being a tad cynical. Besides, I can always change the background, I reasoned. And so, with a more open mind, I made the jump and clicked “Install Now”, wondering why Apple had capitalised the “Now” – but hey ho.

Image Credit: Janitors

First impressions

Despite Apple’s claim that iOS7 constitutes a complete “overhaul” and brings a “fresh perspective”, it has to be said that aside from the loss of a few gradients and drop shadows, the familiar iOS experience remains intact. Grid menu – check, swipe left and right – check, but what’s this? Swipe up for “Control Centre”? Yes, Apple has finally corrected the minor bane of having to enter “settings” for WiFi, Bluetooth (if anyone still uses that), and Airplane Mode. This is most definitely a welcome addition, and it’s good to see that Apple’s software developers have finally cottoned on to the utility of this standard Android feature. Yet more useful, however, is the addition of a Flashlight button – finally we don’t have to rely on an app! – and the new additions of Airplay and Airdrop.

Airdrop

 Technological dinosaurs will be reminded of the feature on the ultimate flop known as the Microsoft Zune. In short, Airdrop allows users to share content via WiFi. This is indeed helpful as it removes the faff of using email attachments or Bluetooth, though hardly seems worthy of acclaim by way of innovation. More disappointing however, is the fact that this feature is only available on the iPhone 5 and upwards. Though these iPhones do include a better WiFi card, it is hard to reason why this feature cannot be included on the 4 and 4S given that access to WiFi is the only real pre-requisite for its enabling.

Camera & Photos

It has to be said: the new camera is incredibly slick. Fiddly setting toggles are no longer an issue, as it takes but a swipe to change mode from video, to photo, to panorama, and to square – the square option being Apple’s answer to Instagram. Predictably, this also means filters. Though lacking the choice that Instagram provides, the option to place a filter on the photo before it is taken is a handy one.

After having taken the photo, you will be able to relocate it in the new album system of Collections (a trip abroad, for example), Moments (photos organised by location or time), and Years (you can probably work that one out). This is a breath of fresh air in terms of photo retrieval. No longer is it necessary to spend hours tracing that photo of a housemate disgracing themselves at Cheesey’s last year from the chaotic archives of the old Camera Roll. Just simply find “Arena” under the Moments tab, and there it will be, ready for diffusion into the Facebook world.

Siri

Our ever faithful friend, always there with a poem, joke, or consolatory comment when we’re lonely, bored, or – most probably – drunk, Siri has also seen a change. Luckily, this has been for the better. The audio waves are an elegant touch, and it is a relief not to be taken to an external Safari page only to be told that there are no search results.

Safari

 Most web browsers had already adopted Chrome’s multifunctional address and search bar, so it is a wonder that Apple took so long to create its own. Nevertheless, this, the new self-hiding buttons and bars, and the aesthetically revamped tabs section serve to make the browsing experience all the more pleasant.

Image Credit: Janitors

Design

I am sure that I am not the only one who is glad to see the back of the previous “skeuomorphic” design (i.e. apps resembling what they represent). Though I had a certain sentimental attachment to the look of “Notes”, which has luckily maintained a slight grainy feel, Calendar and worst offender “Games” with its casino-esque vibe were frankly cringe-inducing. Nonetheless, cringe-inducing has been replaced with nausea-inducing thanks to the parallax backgrounds, which move as you do. In fact, many users have reported a feeling similar to sea sickness after continual usage. Not ideal.

It’s the little things

Whilst I may be cynical of Apple’s attempted branding of essentially banal features as innovative or technologically ground-breaking, there are various little things that do raise a small smile. The preview of open apps is a dream. Actually seeing that half-written email you had open is a reminder to finish it, rather than to unthinkingly close the app in an attempt to conserve battery. The way in which it is now possible to physically bounce up the camera from the lock screen instils within me a childlike excitement, whilst the transparency of the layered apps is, in my opinion, quite beautiful.

Overall, the predominant theme of the new iOS is echoes: echoes of Zune, of Instagram, of and of course, Android. It’s kind of like that one friend who goes through a teenage identity crisis and wants to be everything and everyone at once. It’s just not being true to itself. It just doesn’t feel “Apple”.

So whilst I can safely say that I am appreciative of the helpful yet subtle new additions to iOS7, I would be lying to say that I am genuinely impressed by the new features over which Apple has made such fanfare. Android users will probably express a certain smugness when confronted with Apple aficionados applauding new features with which they had already been long-time acquainted. As a result, they will likely remain firmly Team Android, while Apple users will be happy enough with the new innovations to remain loyal to Steve Jobs’ creation.

 

Fiona Potigny

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What is… Phonebloks?

Image credits: Phonebloks

In a new fortnightly piece, Exeposé Features seeks to inform you about people and things about which you might never have heard, or those which are familiar but that you’ve never had time to explore.

This week, Online Features Editor Imogen Watson brings Phonebloks to the forefront of your technological minds.

Exeter is a university rife with smartphones.

I myself am very fond of my iPhone and, although I hate to admit it, when it is out of action it takes me a little while to adapt to life without it.

But out of action it does indeed go from time to time, and standing on the side of a dual carriageway (thank you Google Maps for such a successful walking route) in the middle of Normandy surrounded by ominous grey clouds and with a forty-five minute walk ahead are not the ideal circumstances for it to happen. Smartphones are temperamental objects, and are especially not designed for accidental water bottle leakages.

And when a phone is broken either seemingly or actually beyond repair, or if it is just too much effort, what do so many of us do? We throw it away.

As Phonebloks says, “Every year millions of mobile phones are thrown away because they are broken or obsolete. In most of these cases it is just one part that needs repairing or upgrading and all the other parts work fine. However, the entire phone will be thrown out because of one reason: mobile phones are not designed for repairs or upgrades.”

Although numerous companies exist for recycling old handsets and even sending unwanted ones to developing countries, a poll done for Orange in 2011 found that £2.7 billion’s worth of phones in the UK alone go un-recycled, and instead are either hoarded or binned. The British government estimates that we generate approximately 177 million tonnes of waste a year, and not only is technological waste – or e-waste – a problem here but also increasingly so in developing nations, where our old but working recycled mobile phones often get sent. It is truly a global problem.

Image credits: Phonebloks

The disposable way in which we and companies treat our technology is the kind of problem which Dave Hakkens (with a little help from friends Matt and Gawin) is looking to solve with Phonebloks. The idea is that, as the name suggests, phones are made up of individual components – the bloks – which are held together and connected by a central board so that it all, crucially, works. When a component breaks, instead of getting rid of the whole phone like so many of us would now, you can simply replace the broken blok. In doing so, you would be able to keep your old chargers and cases.

Before I was informed that iOS7 is not actually all it is cracked up to be, I spent a good hour deleting apps and photos from my phone to make room for it. So imagine, for example, you are the kind of person who adores photography. You use your actual camera to take your photos, and not your phone, but you need the storage to perhaps transport photos, and to listen to music to and from your photography opportunities. Posh camera phoneblok? Unnecessary. Bigger storage phoneblok? Perfect. You might, however, prefer using the Internet on your phone and save everything in the Cloud, but find 3G and Wi-Fi drain the battery. You can guess what I am going to say: abandon the storage blok and get a better battery.

Image credits: Phonebloks

The examples are endless, and the customisation appears to be, too. The idea behind sales is that companies of all sizes and third parties alike would be able to invent and sell their own bloks whilst users review them, in what Dave Hakkens describes as “like an app store for hardware”. By choosing the bloks you want, you can also choose to support the companies or individuals you want to support; but if assembling your own phone is not your idea of fun, you would theoretically be able to buy a ready-made phone.

Whilst it has yet to be taken on board by any business people, Phonebloks has managed to reach nearly 328 million people alone via social media at the time of writing. If companies manage to take it forward, it could be a step towards a real greener technology and an awful lot less waste, not just in physical landfills, but also in our attitudes too.

Imogen Watson, Online Features Editor

For more information, please see www.phonebloks.com

Temple Run returns

As if running away from those screeching monkeys and sliding under skulls and vaulting walls wasn’t scary enough in the original Temple Run, Guy Dangerous’ quest to keep his hands on that ruddy idol has got a whole lot harder with the release of Temple Run 2. For those who are unfamiliar with the game set up, the aim of the game is to run as far as possible along the temple walls by swiping left or right to turn, up and down to jump and duck, and tilting to collect those all important coins. Coins mean upgrades. Upgrades mean running further. Running further means getting more coins and more upgrades. Addictive, right? Seems pretty simple from the outset, but factor in randomly generated obstacles to navigate and the potential to be eaten alive by your pursuer (only if you’re slow or stupid enough to trip) and you’ve got gaming gold.

Pictures by Shutter_Hand Mobile

Temple Run 2 swaps monkeys for a scary skull gorilla, and boring wooden planks and walls for forests, rivers, bridges and mines. There’s a lot more to look at and a lot more to avoid – the fact that the game now changes dimension because the path isn’t a straight line makes the experience a lot more fun. Factor in the addition of sliding down zip wires and trying your luck ducking in a runaway mining cart (that actually forces you to tilt… Which I always tried to avoid because I’m rubbish) and you’ve got even more reason to keep hitting “Run Again.” That’s partly what’s so successful about this game. While the time it takes you to sprint your way towards 10 000 metres is in itself short, the compulsion you feel to try and run further each time means you’re guaranteed to play for a lot longer than those five runs you promised yourself as a break during your work. Ooops.

It’s not all plain sailing. The app ironically runs slowly on my iPhone 4 (maybe I’m the one in need of a system update or a general upgrade?!), meaning that a lot of the time it’s easy to die simply because the game hasn’t been quick enough to register my swiping and tilting. But hey, that just makes hit “Run Again” to try and get further… And plus, there’s always time for free future updates right? The volume of additional features and improvements added to the original Temple Run made it a pleasure to keep playing up until the drumming became unbearable. Hopefully Imangi will do the same again. If not, turn the volume off.

Kitty Howie, Online Lifestyle Editor