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| Not a lot of information taking up a lot of space |
The Good: I like that notifications are more visible when they come in. Apple has increased the size of notifications at the top of the screen which does help in noticing them as they come in. The "All" view of the notifications pulldown is more organized and easier to read, and the x to clear them is much easier to see and touch.
The Bad: I hate that the "Today" view of the notifications pulldown is the default. Not really a big deal in the grand scheme as I just swipe over to "All", but it seems like the "Today" view is a little bit of information taking up a lot of space. Another thing I don't like is how the notifications pulldown on the iPad now takes up the full screen. I thought it was nicer before where you could simply tap outside of the area to make the pulldown disappear. I'm not sure how to feel about the change on the lock screen where "Slide To Unlock" no longer launches the app for an incoming notification. Probably the way it should be, but the fact that it's a change in behavior to what we've grown accustomed to in iOS is going to throw us off some.
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| Only 9 icons? |
The Good: It never really made sense that folder sizes where limited to just the icons you see on the screen. Being one who likes to try several apps, I've had several categories where I would have to create more than one folder. I had 5 folders of Games on my iPhone 5 which I have since consolidated to 1, which has actually reduced the number of home screens I need on my phone.
The Bad: 9 visible icons in a folder sucks, especially on an iPad. I had a few folders on my iPad that went all the way up to the 20 icon limit of previous versions of iOS, which now is spread across 3 PAGES.
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| Lock screen controls for the music player have improved |
The Good: I think what Apple has done with lock screen music controls is an improvement. They are displayed nicely in the upper half of the screen with the progress bar, title, play controls, and volume controls. The progress bar is a nice addition, and the whole area has a nicer look than the previous lock screen controls that you had to double tap the home button to use.
The Bad: The "Slide To Unlock" is a little less intuitive than the arrow Apple has used with all previous versions of iOS. It seems like I am actually missing the area to swipe, or just not completing the action when it seems like I should be.
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| Lots of bright colors in iOS 7, not all of them look great |
The Good: Sometimes it's just good to do something different. The old look and feel of iOS has gotten stale and for those of us who have been using iOS devices for several years, it's a welcome change to be looking at something different.
The Bad: Too much pink in the music app. Overall I really wish they had used colors that are easy on the eyes, but in several places they use brighter colors which can create more eye fatigue if you are using the device for an extended period of time. Also the use of < and > in some places like tabbing through form fields is less intuitive than the "Previous" and "Next" buttons they used before.
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| Users of other operating systems may find iOS 7's multi-tasking familiar. |
The Good: While it does seem to mimic the way other mobile operating systems multitask, having a window view of the app is more helpful and makes better use of the screen space than previously just having the 4 icons across the bottom. It's also easier to swipe to "terminate" the apps than to hold down on one until they start jiggling and pressing the red minus button.
The Bad: If you are a heavy multi-tasker, it may be a little slower to switch to an app you've been using if you go well beyond the few apps that are visible. While the window view of the app does make it easier to identify and switch, it does take up more space which can take longer to swipe through.
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| Lots of settings are now just a swipe away. It's about time. |
Control Center
The Good: The fact that it exists. Several controls here will be convenient for changing settings quickly. Some of these settings you previously would have to launch the Settings app and then go a few levels in to change. It's also more convenient to have music controls here than previously double-tapping the home button and then swiping to the left.
The Bad: Hard to pick on a feature that didn't previously exist, but they made some questionable choices for quick launch settings, and it would be nice if there was some customization in the settings available to toggle on/off. For example, I don't anticipate using the rotation lock setting a lot on my iPhone. Whether or not others will use this is debatable, but for me personally it would be more convenient to have an option to turn on/off mobile hotspot or cellular data. I also question the choices of Calculator and Timer for quick launch icons, and some have questioned the need for flashlight here. These could probably be used better, especially if the user is allowed to select their own icons.
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| iTunes Radio (hopefully) is a work in progress. |
Other Features
The Good: For me, having another competitor in internet radio is ultimately a good thing. While sometimes buggy, iTunes Radio is a welcome addition in iOS 7 and I hope they are able to improve the service over time. AirDrop is a nice little addition, although restricted to iPhone 5 and up running iOS 7, and is somewhat unnecessary considering a lot of these file transfers could be done over MMS.
The Bad: Like I stated above, iTunes Radio is buggy. I've had a few occasions where tapping "Never play this song" would result in that same song being started from the beginning again. I've also seen a song repeated 2 to 3 songs after being played previously. I also find it a little strange that tapping the star brings up the menu that marks a song as a favorite or select to never play that song again.
It may be good to mention that tests show that on the iPhone 5 battery life is reduced by around 30% compared to iOS 6.
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