MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Apple Inc. (AAPL) Monday unveiled iOS 7, the much-awaited revamp of its mobile operating system which the tech giant touts as one of the most significant updates. Apple also announced iTunes Radio, its free Internet radio service.
The revamped iOS has done away with the skeumorphic designs and has adopted a new flat, cleaner and simpler look with fresh logos and more colors.
'iOS 7 is the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone,' said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. Apple revealed the iOS 7 at its Worldwide Developer Conference, which kicked off today at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco.
Apple has added many new features to iOS 7, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos. Users will be able to download the software for free this fall, and it will be compatible with iPhone 4 and later models, iPad 2 and newer models and iPad mini and iPod touch 5th generation.
iTunes Radio will also be launched in the fall with iOS 7, and will play from over 200 stations. iTunes Radio will be a free online radio service for its customers and will be supported by ads. Customers who are willing to pay extra will get the radio - ad free.
iOS users will now be able to access the most needed controls quickly from the Control Center. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen, will enable users to change to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Do Not Disturb modes, and to adjust screen brightness, control music playback. Control Center also gives instant access to apps such as Clock, Camera, Calculator and the Flashlight.
With the additional changes in iOS7, users can now access Notification Center from the lock screen, can share videos and photo files wireless, using AirDrop, and a redesigned Photos app automatically organize photos and videos based on time and location.
'There is a profound and enduring beauty in simplicity, in clarity, in efficiency. True simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absence of clutter and ornamentation-it's about bringing order to complexity,' said Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of Design.
Apple also updated Siri, its voice-based assistant software, to integrate search results from Twitter, Wikipedia and Microsoft's Bing web search. Another new feature of iOS7 is that the App Store will automatically update apps.
Apple also announced the latest version of its Mac operating system called OS X Mavericks and launched a new line of MacBook Air laptops, running on the Intel's fourth generation Haswell processors.
AAPL closed Monday's trading at $438.89, down $2.92 or 0.66%, on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock further dropped $0.83 or 0.19%.
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