The big thing from Apple this autumn is not the new iPhone, nor is it the rumoured retina-screen iPad mini. For the first time since the launch of the original iPhone it is the software we will all be excited about. iOS7, with its Jony Ive-inspired modern minimalism, will astonish and please Apple’s customers worldwide. iOS7 is a big deal and will seduce users with a fresh, new image (bye bye tooled leather) and useful features such as the control panel which allows instant changes to wifi, bluetooth and other settings without wading through the Settings menus. It is one thing I am really looking forward to. After all, Android has had it for years, as have owners of jailbroken iPhones.
The impact of iOS7 will be instantaneous among hundreds of millions of users. This is no jam sandwich, trickled out to a few new users at the whim of their hardware supplier. The tremendous advantage of Apple is that it controls both hardware and software and can make updates available to all users immediately. All but the owners of the earliest phones and tablets❶ will be able to take advantage of the new features immediately and at no cost.
We are in for a treat next month. Sure, the new 5S will be over 30% faster with its new A7 processor and will come in gold as well as sombre black and brilliant white. But it is iOS7 that everyone will be talking about.
❶ From iPhone 4 onwards and all iPads except the original