Love them or hate them, rumors will never cease. With the next big thing just around the corner and everyone doing their best to second guess what the big thing to come out of the likes of Apple and Samsung will be, speculation and conjecture will always be on the tip of the internet’s collective tongue. Unfortunately it doesn’t always get it right.
The final version of iOS 7.1 download links have just been released by Apple for those on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As well as bringing support for the Cupertino company’s recently-unveiled CarPlay feature, iOS 7.1 brings a host of smaller enhancements, as well as the usual supply of bug fixes and general performance enhancements. Full details and download information, as well as the full change log, can be found after the break.
You may or may not have been aware, but since the introduction of iOS 7, users have been able to control certain aspects of the mobile OS using only head gestures. The implementation is designed to make the iOS device range more accessible for those who mightn't be able to interact with the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch in a more traditional manner, but is also, as I think you will agree, a pretty cool little feature.
As well as bringing forth some exciting new changes and features, including the likes of CarPlay and the enhancement of Siri in some markets, iOS 7.1 has also ironed out and refined a few gripes and snags of iOS 7.0.x. Having made some big changes with the seventh version of its mobile OS released back in September, there were always going to be a few issues to work on in the first major update, and with iOS 7 offering many of the UI elements a translucent finish, iOS 7.1 also allows you to reduce the transparency, or depth, of the interface to better suit your tastes.
The iPhone 5s, Apple's current flagship, is scarcely six months old, but in smartphone terms, it's an old-timer. In a day when our supposedly beloved handsets have a shelf-life of around one year before we dispose of them and look for something else, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that talk of the iPhone 6 has been prevalent for a good few months already. And now, an interesting concept of the next-gen Apple smartphone, which packs a sumptuous, iPad Air-like design, has been showcased by perpetual designer Ran Avni, and in combining the most popular iOS device with best-designed gadget on the Cupertino company's roster, there was only going to be one outcome..
Apple made a lot of aesthetic changes with iOS 7, but even though - after a notable initial resistance - most folks seem to have warmed to the flatter, tidier new look, this hasn't stopped the Cydia community from coming through with a host of great themes. And recently, a new skin by the name of Elegance has dropped over at the MacCiti repository, and uses some very washy shades of color to create a dry, understated look that we believe works very well.
Shortly after the release of iOS 7 back in September, it became apparent that some users were experiencing motion sickness and nausea, attributable to the various new animations Apple had applied with its largely-altered software. Supposed to give the revamped iOS 7 a touch of finesse, it proved, quite literally, to be a headache for some, but with the update to iOS 7.1 earlier on this week, the issues related to parallax and zooming animations appear to have been addressed.
Even though numerous reports have given us a vague idea of what Apple may have in store for the iPhone 6, most of the details remain a mystery, and since it's going to be quite a few months before the company's next big thing manifests itself, anything that Apple has decided on could be subject to change. Amid the leaks and speculation, concept makers have been teasing some spectacular ideas, and while some, such as Sam Beckett's earlier design, try to be indicative of what we'll actually be seeing, others simply dare to dream. The following concept, which features a holographic display, does exactly this, and while Tim Cook's men probably don't plan on adding such a feature to the next iPhone, we can't help but fall in love with this little effort from SET Solution.
There's no denying that the public launch of iOS 7.1 brings with it a number of positives for users. However, to go with those positives, it also seems like there could be a substantial negative attached to iOS 7.1, with many users reporting significant battery drain after updating to the latest firmware.
The act of taking a selfie and sharing it with the world may be thought of as a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon by most of us, but it looks like Apple could be on a mission to give it some credibility and longevity.
