Hasta La Gadget!

At their event this morning in Cupertino, Apple’s Craig Federighi announced that iOS 7 will be available to everyone beginning on September 18th. iOS 7 was first announced back at WWDC in June, and has spent the last three months in a developer-only (wink, wink) Beta testing mode.

As expected, the update will be available for the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad mini, and the 5th gen iPod touch.

“Since we make updates easy, and available to as many customers as possible,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. “iOS 7 will quickly become the world’s most popular mobile operating system.”

Those are some bold words, considering how dramatic a shift iOS 7 is away from the norm. If you’ve somehow missed it, iOS 7 is a pretty massive departure from iOS’ past iterations. Almost every core visual of the OS — from the icons, to the typography, to the overall style itself — has been changed, moving from the look we’ve grown accustomed to over the past 6 years to something quite different. Gone are the gradients, the drop shadows, and the heavy use of texture; instead, iOS 7′s design language focuses on a degree of minimalism, with a focus on bold color and simple lines.

They’ve been some very divisive changes, so it’ll be interesting to see how the general public will react to Apple’s new mobile software direction — thankfully, we’ll only have a few days to wait before those first consumer impressions start trickling in. By now though, it’s hard to think of iOS 7 as anything but a known quantity — it’s been dissected and criticized and lambasted and adored ever since the first beta was released to developers earlier this year. Now that Apple has pulled back the curtains on the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, it’s time for iOS 7 to start making the rounds in earnest.

Sadly, Federighi’s iOS 7 segment didn’t offer up much in the way of new details — it was largely a recap of the stuff Apple talked up at WWDC a few months ago.

In case you’re not completely up to date on what Apple’s updated mobile operating brings to the table, we did a deeper look at everything that was new to iOS 7 back when the update was first announced.

The wait is over. Apple’s overhauled OS will be available for download on qualifying devices next week. Control Center, retooled notifications, redesigned calendar and improved Siri functionality alongside numerous other tweaks and thinner typography will soon be a mere download away. In order to take advantage of the update, you’ll need an iPhone 4 or later, iPad 2 or later, iPad mini or fifth-generation iPod touch. As always, this is a free download for device owners which means that grouping photos by moments and iTunes Radio are set to arrive in just over a week.

Check out all the coverage at our iPhone ‘Special Event‘ 2013 event hub!

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple

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Apple’s making some huge changes to iOS this year, so what are the chances that the iPhone will undergo a similar transition? Based on what we’ve been hearing, the likelihood is pretty high; Tim Cook, Sir Jony Ive and the rest of the crew may show off not one but two new iPhone models for the very first time. We’re expecting to see both a 5S and a colorful 5C, but we’re still in the dark on when they’ll arrive, how much they cost and where they’ll be available. There’s always potential for a top-secret product nobody was anticipating, too. Regardless of what interests you the most, bookmark this page and return tomorrow at the time listed below as we keep you updated on the play-by-play!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Apple

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What exactly is happening with Apple’s next iPhone? Will it be substantially cheaper? Come in gold? Or even sport a fingerprint scanner? And will it be enough to keep Apple on top, now that it’s up against two software-hardware chimeras? The company’s making plans for next week and we’re likely to see not one, but two new iPhones revealed. Alongside a predictably retuned iPhone 5 (the 5S?), we might see the long-awaited appearance of a new, cheaper model, rumored to arrive under the 5C moniker.

Tim Cook has yet to make his mark on the company product-wise — regardless of Apple’s continued financial health. Steve Jobs was apparently well-involved in the development of the iPhone 5, even if it launched on Cook’s watch, so a freshly designed phone or two could finally be his launch: a chance to silence critics and show them where he’s taking Apple.

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Mobile, Apple

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The Apple-shaped stars are aligning, once again suggesting that September 10th is the big day for a hardware and software refresh of everyone’s iOS devices. The maker of Apple’s Siri tech claims iOS 7 is now said to be launching early next month alongside the updated iPhones.

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