Announced last week, iOS 7 has just entered the early beta stages, with plans for a commercial release this fall. Apple has posted plenty about the design of iOS 7, highlighting the new app icons and interior designs. If you peruse Apple’s website looking for iOS 7 information, you won’t find a single black and slate iPhone. All of the iOS 7 promotion is highlighted with a white and silver iPhone. Realizing that most folks cannot get their hands on iOS 7 and plenty of you own a black iPhone, we took to Photoshop to provide a gallery of what iOS 7 looks like on a black iPhone.

The theory behind selecting a black iPhone over a white iPhone was to remove harsh frames that were created between the apps and the display border. With the changes in iOS 7, there is an abundance of white space and the interior design of most of the apps like Notes, Reminders, Videos, Gamecenter, Photos and others are set on a white background. For those looking for the seamless look, you might find yourself picking up a white iPhone this fall. It’s also interesting to note that when Apple released the iPod touch 5th generation last year, not one had a display with a black border.*

Do you have a black iPhone? Based on these renderings, does the new operating system look better on a white & silver iPhone?

* Apple’s new low-cost iPod touch features the classic black & silver color combination.

Gallery: What iOS 7 looks like on a black iPhone is an article from everythingiCafe.

Still digesting all of the features coming in iOS 7? While the shiny new interface gets all the glory, there are some other very exciting things in the fold and one is support for physical game controllers. One such controller has been leaked. This blurry-cam image shows a Logitech game controller made for either the iPhone 5, iPod touch 5th generator or both.

Prior to last week’s announcement, there have been assorted unsupported controllers. They would use Bluetooth to connect to your iOS device,. Trouble with this route was the limited support of 3rd party games. Without true os level support, these devices had minimal use. That will end this fall when iOS 7 arrives. Apple’s App Store is littered with games that occupy the best sellers list. Gaming on iOS doesn’t need a shot in the arm, but that is exactly what it is going to get later this year. Logitech will not be the only company offering new controllers. Gaming controllers will be the new host accessory, so we should see plenty of them. It shouldn’t hurt game developers, especially those who build in support for the physical controllers. Apple does not have plans to introduce their own game controller at this time.

Is a game controller a must-have accessory for you? Will support of third party game controllers result in more gaming and more game purchases?

Source: Kotaku

iOS 7 To Support MiFi Game Controllers Just Like This One is an article from everythingiCafe.

In response to the ongoing NSA Prism program that continues to grab headlines, Apple has issued a statement providing specific details on their position on sharing customer data. When news first broke two weeks ago, a handful of major technology companies that included Apple were called into question. Apple responded to say they don’t provide “direct access” to their servers. Today’s press release provides more in the way of specifics.

From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data. Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.

Each request is reviewed by their legal team before granting any sort of information, which in most cases is a narrow set of data.

One of the more interesting notes from today’s press release is with regard to iMessage and Facetime. When you engage in either, the data is encrypted and even Apple cannot decrypt the information. As we’ve heard before, Siri data is also anonymous, along with Map searches.

Apple said they hope to strike a balance between privacy and fulfilling their legal responsibilities.

Source: Apple

Apple Issues Statement On Customer Privacy is an article from everythingiCafe.

You’re not a designer. You’re not a developer. You don’t work for Apple. It’s a beta. It’s not finished. You shouldn’t talk about it. You shouldn’t have installed it. Wait until you have installed it to comment. You know they only had 8 months. The Internet is filled with commentary about why you’re not allowed to have an opinion on iOS 7. The level of disdain for folks who have authored an opinion, either in a forum, blog post or 140 character tweet is astounding, but is it justified?

Let’s review the facts. Apple has introduced iOS 7 in all it’s vivid glory on arguably the biggest stage in tech. WWDC sold out in less than one minute, with tickets and lodging costing attendees thousands of dollars. For tech press, developers and even enthusiasts, this is their Super Bowl and admission doesn’t come cheap. Apple used this stage to announce an update to the MacBook Air, Mac OS X Mavericks and the positively ass-kicking Mac Pro. They saved the biggest of announcements for last. iOS 7. If they had spent two hours talking about nothing but iOS 7, attendees would have left happy. This event has become the annual iOS state of the union and for good reason.

When it’s the big game, you go big. Apple did just that with iOS 7. This wasn’t shown to a handful of reporters in a hotel room. As with previous iterations of iOS, a bug flushing process ensues and in a few months it will be final, ready for public consumption. Commenting on bug issues publicly is unacceptable, but it continues despite what some have deemed a disposable NDA.

Why is that people are being lambasted for having an opinion on the homescreen and specially the icons? The big one I hear is, “you’re not a designer“. Speaking for myself, that would be correct. I’m not a designer. On occasion, I’ll play with fonts, Photoshop or the design of this site. None of it qualifies me to be called a designer. For Apple, I’m something much more important. See, I’m an iPhone user.* When I’m not in front of a computer, I’m on my phone, even it means hiding under a table while out with friends. I care about the design choices made by Apple and third party app developers. I’m not a designer or an engineer, but I have a rooting interest. I’m not a head football coach or a pro quarterback, but on Sunday afternoons, it’s in my right to scream for Jason Garrett to pull Tony Romo. **

WWDC is the biggest show of the year. Not CES. Not CTIA and not even E3. There is no bigger stage and the platform is used to discuss the annual release of iOS. iOS 7 represents the biggest change in software since the iPhone. As with previous years, it will change over the next three months. Some things will not. You shouldn’t have to be a designer, engineer or employee to have an opinion. Ultimately, this is the operating system of our future, the people who use their iPhones each and every day. Their opinions should matter.

* I use a number of devices, but my daily driver is often an iPhone 5.

** I’m actually a Romo apologist and would never call for his removal from a game.

Don’t Hate The Haters is an article from everythingiCafe.

Iconfactory’s Twitterrific has been out for quite some time, but it’s seeing an bump in sales thanks in part to the introduction of iOS 7. While there are hundreds of thousands of apps in the App Store, the design elements found in Twitterific allow users to get a preview of what’s coming when iOS 7 is released in the fall.

Before this week, Twitterrific was unique and stood out from the crowded throngs of Twitter apps and apps in general. Now it shares a common bond, not with third party apps, but with the new apps and design language used in iOS 7. The similarities are striking. Both use Helvetica Light (which might technically be Helvetica Neue Light), which is a thin font style. Within layouts, there is a generous amount of whitespace. Icons are clean, simple and get the job done. They are used for interaction, while not becoming the focal point. Front and center is the content, which in Twitterrfic’s case are tweets, images and web pages. The app also has a number of fluid animations that help the interface come to life. iOS 7 also uses circular icons for images, as seen here in the new GameCenter.

iOS 7 will be released in the fall. What Apple introduced this week was a major stride forward. With such drastic changes comes bugs and instability. Let’s be honest, not everyone installing iOS 7 is a developer. In fact, I’d wager that the percentages skew in the other direction. If you are craving a look at iOS 7, without making a compromise, it’s worth giving Twitterrific a test drive. If you happen to be a developer, this a good example of how apps should look this fall.

It’s certainly a beautiful looking app and in the end, can one person have too many Twitter apps?

Twitterrific for iPhone and iPad is available in the App Store, priced at $2.99.

Twitterrific Is The Twitter App From The Future, Available Today is an article from everythingiCafe.

The Microsoft Office suite for iPhone is available, but its availability is incredibly limited, requiring you have a subscription to Office 365. That runs $12.50 per month if billed annually, so that’s $150 per year to fun the latest version of Office. A less expensive in-app purchase of $99 for Office Home Premium, also provides you with Office on up to 5 home computers, along with the iPhone. This includes both Mac and PCs. This subscription enables you full access to the new iOS app, Office Mobile for Office 365. The app lets you access, view and edit your Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint documents on your iPhone. For reasons unknown, the new app is not available yet for the iPad. Perhaps it has something to do with the required data connection, so that your subscription can be verified.

Some basic requirements. You’ll need an iPhone 4 or later that is running iOS 6.1 or later.

It seems like an eternity that folks have been asking for this suite. Microsoft’s reluctance to developer for iOS is perplexing and has opened the door for multiple third-party developers who been seeing steady sales from folks who need to run Office. Others seeking a low-cost word processor and spreadsheet programs are likely more than satisfied with Apple’s Pages and Numbers apps. By forcing the Office 365 subscription, things don’t change all that much. If you already have an Office 365 subscription, this is a great value add. If not, how many are going to drop $150 year for the Microsoft brand suite, when there are more compelling and less expensive options.

Microsoft Office for iPhone is available as a free download from the App Store.

Microsoft Office Mobile for Office 365 Subscribers Now Available is an article from everythingiCafe.

The design philosophy that drives the new UI in iOS 7 is radically different from previous versions of iOS and even some of the newer Apple apps like Passbook. Gone are the bubbly app icons, replaced with new flatter icons. It’s a seismic shift. According to Matthew Panzarino at The Next Web, Jony Ive looked to designers within Apple’s marketing and communications departments, to cultivate the color palette of the new app icons. Instead of interactive designers who had in the past worked on iOS iconography, Ive tasked Apple’s best print and web teams to conceptualize the new look.

These teams worked internally with interactive designers, those familiar with iOS, who worked to implement the design using the directive. What’s odd is that while teams were provided the foundation of the design, sources say there was not a high level of communication within teams working on the various projects. If you were on a team working on Music, you might not be collaborating with GameCenter teams.

Clearly Ive, Apple’s Senior VP of Design, wanted a completely fresh take on icons, design elements and usability. Panzarino theorizes that in order to break the status quo of iOS, it required new teams, with fresh new ideas. The result is a polarizing change from iOS 6, one that has garners its fair share of criticism, some with incredibly good humor. Ives pastel gradients are the new Forstall’s green felt.

Now that Cook and company have left the WWDC stage, leaving the iOS 7 announcement in their wake, this will likely become an all hands on deck scenario. In previous beta releases, internal teams were tasked with fixing bugs and testing new features or functionality. If design and visual elements are still subject to change, that puts an incredible challenge ahead for Apple. If they were to release iOS 7 in September, which would mark the one year anniversary of the iPhone 5 and likely target for a new iPhone, that would give them three months to ship. Let’s hope those teams weren’t planning on any summer vacations.

Source: The Next Web

Apple Changed Designers For Change In Design Philosophy is an article from everythingiCafe.

A new report today from Reuters says that Apple is looking at expanding the range of iPhones to include new models with large displays alongside a low-cost iPhone priced at $99. We’ve seen rumors of this sort floated before, but this one is different. The larger iPhones Apple is considering include screen sizes of 4.7-inches and 5.7-inches. To put those in context, these new iPhones would put them in the range of Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note products. The latter being the large Marge of smartphones that borders on tablet-size.

The lower-cost iPhone would come in an assortment of colors and a subsidized price of $99 is being discussed. It could be see a release sometime later this year, but sources say it may slip to 2014. The large devices are still being considered, with suppliers in Asia now working on prototypes. As the source notes, plans change and a prototype doesn’t necessarily mean Apple will make the jump.

Apple’s competition, namely Samsung, has not shied away from expanding their product portfolio. They offer a wide range of products in assorted screen sizes and pricing. Apple makes one new iPhone and uses older models to attract cost conscious buyers.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook hasn’t shut the door on larger displays, but has said they won’t make compromises such as reduced battery life or quality of the display.

How about you? Are you ready to give up one-handed operation to supersize your iPhone?

Source: Reuters

Apple Considering Cheap, Big and Extremely Big iPhones is an article from everythingiCafe.

There are some big changes in iOS 7, but they aren’t limited to the fresh new look. Some of the more common tasks have changed. In today’s quick tip, here’s how to search in iOS 7.

Using iOS 6, search could be accessed by swiping right from the home screen. This is great if you don’t have a large number of apps or spend all of your time on the homescreen. If you are on page 5 or 6, you have to press the home button and then proceed to swipe right. If it sounds inefficient, you’re right. Search is an important aspect of any mobile OS and should have a prominent place at the table. Enter the changes in iOS 7.

To search in iOS 7, you swipe down from anywhere on a screen to bring up spotlight search. Sliding down from the absolute top is still reserved for your notification shade. This tip works within screens, but not within individual apps.

iOS 7 is still in beta, so things could change. This seems like a change for the better. From anywhere in the operating system, you can swipe down to search.

How to search in iOS 7 is an article from everythingiCafe.

Apple has said that iOS 7 will be released sometime this fall. With a radically new interface, developers will undoubtedly be on the fast track to updating their apps using the design elements that are evident throughout iOS 7. For those looking to start prototyping their new apps, Applidium has created a free iOS 7 GUI PSD, a resource that many developers should find incredibly useful.

The work they’ve done in the span of a few days is impressive. When you look at the file, you’ll see all of the familiar elements, which really puts into the perspective the wholesale changes that have occurred. While Apple only had 8 months to transform iOS, developers will have only a few months to transform their apps. Last year, developers were racing to update their apps for iPhone 5 compatibility. iOS 7 compatibility might be even more important, with such profound differences between old and new.

You can find the free iOS 7 GUI PSD download on their website.

iOS 7 GUI PSD Now Available is an article from everythingiCafe.