iOS 7 Beta - Insights and Experiences

[Mohitster]

I am starting this thread to let anyone who has downloaded and installed iOS 7 Beta on their devices share their everyday insights and experiences.

As to me, I own iPod touch 5G - jailbroken with iOS 6 and I am not looking to upgrade anytime soon - perhaps when the final iOS 7 is available. Right now, I don't feel the need to install iOS 7 Beta, howsoever I am tempted, since I already own most of the tweaks which Apple has implemented in it.

At first glance, I don't like what Apple has done with the interface, but I would rather wait for some more members to chip in with their thoughts. Will add more of mine later on. :)

It would be nice if we keep the focus on Apple, iOS 7 and its interface and not deviate towards unnecessary ranting, particularly which is not constructive. :)

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Im running it on my iPhone 5 and let me tell you, its simply fantastic to use. So far the only thing that is buggy is the scrolling of youre contacts (it lags a bit) but the new features are just beautiful to use. When it does become widely available, you will all love it.

Feel free to ask me anything specific about it.

[philcruicks]

I'll be getting it installed on my iPhone 4 tomorrow night when I'm back home (away on business atm) need to get a full backup of my phone onto my PC 1st.

Two of my friends have it.

Both like it, though battery life as always with the betas isn't great and apparently the dyncmic backgrounds doesn't work at all currently.

(please note thats what my friends have said and not my own experience, I'll comment on that when I've got it tomorrow.

[threetonesun]

Am I missing something, or is the only way to get into the beta to become a developer (@ $99 / year)? I understand the requirement to pay to distribute your software, but I've always found it odd that they lumped betas in the same pool.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

Am I missing something, or is the only way to get into the beta to become a developer (@ $99 / year)? I understand the requirement to pay to distribute your software, but I've always found it odd that they lumped betas in the same pool.

You can find ways to install it on the net by googling without a developers account. I have friends who are devs so they added my UDID but yeah. You can also google sites that will activate one for you also for a modest fee. (like 10 bucks).

Id say however if you are going to do it, do it legit and either ask around for a dev to add youre UDID or simply wait for final release.

Also the backgrounds do work, but mostly on the lockscreen only, i have seen the pictures move on the normal screen but it doesnt seem to do it quite as much.

[philcruicks]

Its the only legitimate way, My friend is an iOS dev with several apps under his belt and I test for him, as such I get access to the beta.

[philcruicks]

https://vine.co/v/blOUxUtaKzE

This I did not know, and is very cool!

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

https://vine.co/v/blOUxUtaKzE

This I did not know, and is very cool!

WOAH I didnt know that either! Just did it thank you! :)

[Gnieus]

I installed it on my iPhone 4 yesterday afternoon. It's a nice looking update, until you start using it.

It's very slow, framerate drops everywhere. I haven't seen this update on an iPhone 4s, however on the iPhone 4 it doesn't run smooth at all. On the iPhone 5 it's an amazing update, iPhone 4 not so much. I wouldn't recommend updating to this beta on an iPhone 4 just yet.

Also, all those cool moving wallpaper and lockscreen features aren't enabled for the iPhone 4. Which I can understand, as the iPhone 4 struggles with just a static wallpaper.

[.Neo]

There doesn't seem to be a way to download all items in a playlist from iTunes Match... :s

[Mohitster]

https://vine.co/v/blOUxUtaKzE

This I did not know, and is very cool!

Wow man, that thing is super awesome!! And creative too! :)

Am I missing something, or is the only way to get into the beta to become a developer (@ $99 / year)? I understand the requirement to pay to distribute your software, but I've always found it odd that they lumped betas in the same pool.

I guess they want to avoid the super-inflow of support calls when people install betas on a mass scale and pester them with their broken iDevices.

[El Marto]

Yeah i installed it on release day. Overall i really like it having used it (was unsure before). Few of the icons aren't quite right yet i dont think (mainly safari and settings). I like all the new system controls, gonna take a while to go through and update all my old apps though to look decent on it!

[Mohitster]

Yeah i installed it on release day. Overall i really like it having used it (was unsure before). Few of the icons aren't quite right yet i dont think (mainly safari and settings). I like all the new system controls, gonna take a while to go through and update all my old apps though to look decent on it!

How are you liking the new Control center and its overlay look and feel? Is the faux glass look any good?

[Goalie33]

Anarkii - how is the multitasking? Is it really as fluid as it looked in the demo? And how about performance with multiple tasks open?

[scumdogmillionaire]

https://vine.co/v/blOUxUtaKzE

This I did not know, and is very cool!

I'm a Windows Phone guy... but that is pretty cool.

[Kyang]

I'm a Windows Phone guy... but that is pretty cool.

Same here. WP user, but this would be nice. It's a nice evolution from the tilt in the ZuneHD.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

i don't get why the ipod touch 4g won't be included in this update if the actual iphone 4 is. they're pretty much the same spec wise aren't they? besides the camera

my only iOS device is my iTouch 4 and i was looking forward to an actually changed iOS but go figure apple decides they don't want to support it for the big change

[Shiranui]

i don't get why the ipod touch 4g won't be included in this update if the actual iphone 4 is. they're pretty much the same spec wise aren't they? besides the camera

my only iOS device is my iTouch 4 and i was looking forward to an actually changed iOS but go figure apple decides they don't want to support it for the big change

Indeed, my son will be a little disappointed about it.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Indeed, my son will be a little disappointed about it.

and it's really a kick in the groin when you think about how recently they just stopped selling the 4g too, the 5th gen iTouch has only been on the market for about 8 months

[0sit0]

I understand where they are going feature wise ( or coyping-wise) but the overall feel and look is horrendous. Ask any designer and they will agree. Of course this is Beta 1 but usually with Apple things don't change that much from beta to final. I think this might be the year I switch from iPhone to Android (or Windows Phone), Windows 8 to OS X and Xbox to PS. :woot:

[Denis W. Veteran]

i don't get why the ipod touch 4g won't be included in this update if the actual iphone 4 is. they're pretty much the same spec wise aren't they? besides the camera

my only iOS device is my iTouch 4 and i was looking forward to an actually changed iOS but go figure apple decides they don't want to support it for the big change

iOS 6 struggles a slight bit on the iPod touch 4. I suspect it *may* have to do with the touch having only 256 MB of RAM. iPhone 4, 4S, the 5th gen iPod touch, and the iPad 2 all have 512 MB of RAM.

Also the support cycles of the iPod touches tend to run across three iOS revisions: 2nd gen had iOS 2.x, 3.x, and up to 4.2.1. 3rd gen is iOS 3.x, 4.x, and up to 5.1.1. 4th gen is 4.x, 5.x, and up to 6.1.3.

[0sit0]

if it is super slow on the iPhone 4 imagine the iPod touch. (And that is without all the bells and whistles, no transparency or 3DBoard effect).

[Stetson]

The homescreen icons are definitely weird, but I've noticed that they do look better on the device than in screenshots.

There are a lot of very small details in the icons, 1px lines and such that show they were really designed for the higher density displays. I wonder how it will look on the iPad 2 / iPad Mini which don't have the retina displays.

I really like most of the general UI changes. Navigation bars, tab bars, etc. are all really nice. Some of the toolbar icons are weird, like the new 'share' icon, and it's a bit inconsistent in the UI whether it shows that icon or just the word 'share'.

Some of the animations are a bit too drawn out right now and have a bit of lag when starting, but that's the kind of thing you expect in a beta.

The new folders are kind of disappointing. You get this dramatic animation as it zooms in on the folder full-screen, but then you only get 3 rows of icons at a time even though it's taking up the whole screen. It should be able to show at least 4 or 5 rows per 'page'.

Control Center is great, although it could maybe use a link to the actual settings app.

Notification center still has those stupid tiny X buttons to clear notifications. Needs a big 'clear all' button somewhere.

[Kriz]

https://vine.co/v/blOUxUtaKzE

This I did not know, and is very cool!

oh my god, thats amazing!

Cant wait for it, been bored of looking at my iphone for years!

[Osiris]

The panorama feature on the lockscreen is mildly pointless but pretty damn cool