- This page was last modified on 10 June 2025, at 23:02. Suggest an edit.
iOS 7 facts for kids
| Version of the iOS operating system | |
 |
|
iOS 7.1 home screen, showing the redesigned user interface
|
|
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Source model | Closed, with open source components |
| Initial release | September 18, 2013 |
| Latest release | 7.1.2 (11D257) / June 30, 2014 |
| Repository |
|
| Update method | Software Update |
| Package manager | App Store |
| Platforms | |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
| License | Proprietary EULA, except for open-source components |
| Preceded by | iOS 6 |
| Succeeded by | iOS 8 |
| Tagline | The mobile OS from a whole new perspective. |
| Support status | |
| Obsolete, unsupported. Drops support for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch (4th generation). | |
iOS 7 was a big update for Apple's iOS mobile operating system. It was the seventh main version of iOS. Apple announced it on June 10, 2013, and released it on September 18, 2013. Later, iOS 8 took its place on September 17, 2014.
iOS 7 brought a completely new look to the iPhone and iPad. A team led by Jony Ive, Apple's design chief, created this new style. It had "flatter" icons, a new way to unlock the screen, and cool new animations. Jony Ive said the new design was "simple and beautiful." This new look was everywhere in the system. The Notification Center got new tabs, and you could see notifications on the lock screen. Siri, the voice assistant, also got a new look. A new feature called Control Center made it easy to get to common settings quickly.
iOS 7 also added AirDrop, which lets you share files wirelessly. CarPlay was introduced to connect your phone to your car. Apps could also update themselves automatically in the App Store. iOS 7 was the first iOS version to work with faster 64-bit apps and processors.
People had different opinions about iOS 7. Some didn't like the new design, saying it focused more on looks than making things easier to use. They pointed out that some animations made things slower. However, many liked the new Control Center and the updates to Siri and multitasking. After it came out, some users even said the new animations made them feel sick, like car sickness.
Many people updated to iOS 7 very quickly. After just one day, 35% of iOS users had it. Within five days, 200 million devices had iOS 7. Apple said this was "the fastest software upgrade in history." iOS 7 was the last version of iOS that worked on the iPhone 4.
Contents
Cool New Features in iOS 7
Fresh New Design
iOS 7 changed how everything looked on your device. It had "sharper, flatter icons," thinner fonts, and a new way to slide and unlock. A new panel slid up from the bottom for quick settings. Even the apps that came with your Apple device got a new look. Jony Ive, Apple's design boss, said the goal was to make things simple and clear. He wanted to bring order to complex things. The screen that showed when your device started up also matched your device's color.
AirDrop: Easy Sharing
iOS 7 brought AirDrop. This is a wireless way to share files. You could send photos, videos, or documents from your device to other nearby Apple devices. You could turn it on in the Control Center. You could choose to be seen by "Off," "Contacts Only," or "Everyone."
AirDrop worked on the iPhone 5 and newer iPhones. It also worked on the fourth-generation iPad and newer, all iPad Minis, and the fifth-generation iPod Touch.
Control Center: Quick Settings
The Control Center was a new menu in iOS 7. You could open it by swiping up from the bottom of your screen. It gave you fast access to common settings. These included Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, and screen rotation lock. You could also change screen brightness and control music. There was even a flashlight button and a quick way to open the camera.
Notification Center: Stay Updated
The Notification Center got a big update in iOS 7. It looked different and worked better. It had three tabs: "Today" for daily info, "All" for all notifications, and "Missed" for ones you didn't see. Notifications now showed up on your lock screen. They also synced across your devices. This meant you didn't have to clear the same notification on your iPhone and iPad.
App Switcher: See All Your Apps
iOS 7 made it easier to switch between apps. If you double-pressed the home button, you would see big pictures of all your recently used apps. You could then easily tap to switch to another app.
CarPlay: iPhone in Your Car
CarPlay (first called iOS in the Car) came out with iOS 7.1. It let you connect your iPhone to certain car models. You could use your car's screen to control music, get directions with Maps, and use Siri. You could even tell Siri to send messages without using your hands. CarPlay worked with iPhones that had a Lightning connector and iOS 7.1 or newer.
Siri: Your Smarter Assistant
Siri got a new look in iOS 7. When you talked to Siri, the background app would blur. You would see cool visual waves as you spoke. Siri could now control some settings on your device, like Bluetooth. If Siri couldn't do something by voice, it would show you the settings menu. Siri also used Bing for web searches and could find info on Wikipedia. It was also better at searching Twitter.
With iOS 7, you could also choose if Siri had a male or female voice.
Other Handy Features
- Spotlight Search: You could find things on your phone by dragging down on the home screen.
- New Wallpapers: iOS 7 had new wallpapers with a "Parallax" effect. This made icons look like they were floating when you moved your phone.
- Settings Options: You could make custom vibrations for different alerts. You could also turn off the parallax effect if it bothered you. A new feature let you block callers, and this block worked across your phone, Messages, and FaceTime.
- New App Dots: When you installed a new app or an app updated, a blue dot would appear next to it. This dot stayed until you opened the app for the first time.
- Better Folders: Folders could now have different pages, just like your home screen. This meant you could put many more apps in one folder. Each page could hold up to nine apps, and a folder could have 15 pages. That's up to 135 apps in one folder!
App Updates in iOS 7
App Store: Smarter and Easier
The App Store got many important changes in iOS 7.
- Automatic Updates: Apps could now update themselves without you having to do it manually.
- Update History: You could see a list of all past updates for each app you had.
- Near Me: If you had location services on, the App Store would show you popular apps in your area.
- Older App Versions: You could even download older versions of apps. This was helpful if a new iOS update made your older device unable to run the latest app version.
Photos and Camera: New Ways to Shoot
The Camera app in iOS 7 got a new square photo mode. This was great for taking "Instagram-style photos." It also added live filters. You could choose from nine different filters to change how your photo looked. You could also zoom in while recording videos. A new Burst mode let you take many photos quickly by holding the shutter button. On the iPhone 5S, you could even record slow-motion videos at 120 frames per second. You could edit these slow-motion videos right in the Photos app.
The Photos app also got new ways to sort your pictures. It had three tabs at the bottom: "Photos," "Shared," and "Albums." The main Photos view showed your pictures in a timeline, sorted into "Years," "Collections," and "Moments." You could also add filters to your photos. The app also supported the new AirDrop feature for sharing pictures.
Camera Look and Feel
The Camera app in iOS 7 had a new, simple design. Buttons like the shutter used flat shapes. You could switch between camera modes by swiping or tapping the mode name. The camera designs in all later iOS versions are based on this look.
Camera Controls
The new camera also gave you more control over your photos. You could adjust how bright your photos were and lock the focus. Tapping on the screen would focus and set the brightness for that area. If you tapped and held, it would lock the focus and brightness. You could also swipe up or down to change the brightness. These controls worked for regular videos, slow-motion videos, and even the front camera.
Music: iTunes Radio and More
The Music app now included Apple's iTunes Radio service. This let you pick an artist, and the service would create a "station" with songs by that artist and similar ones. You could skip songs and see a history of what you listened to. You could also buy songs directly from the iTunes Store. iTunes Radio also showed songs that were popular on Twitter. It was free with ads, but if you subscribed to iTunes Match, you could listen without ads.
iTunes Radio was later stopped in January 2016. Its features moved into the new Apple Music service.
Safari: Better Browsing
The Safari web browser got many big updates in iOS 7.
- Smart Search: The two search bars from older versions were combined into one "Smart Search" bar.
- Tab Management: You could have more than eight tabs open. Tabs were stacked vertically, making them easier to see.
- Private Browsing: The option to go into a Private tab was built right into the app.
- Do Not Track: A new "Do Not Track" button helped you manage your privacy.
Maps: Walking Directions and Night Mode
Apple Maps now offered walking directions, step by step. The map design was updated to show a full-screen view. Things like the search bar would disappear when you didn't need them. It also had a Night Mode that turned on automatically when you drove at night. Maps also had a separate volume control for Siri's voice. This let you change Siri's volume without changing your device's main volume.
Weather: Dynamic Views
The Weather app in iOS 7 got big changes. It had a new icon. It also showed cool, moving pictures that matched the current weather. For example, you might see rain falling or clouds moving.
FaceTime: Audio Calls
iOS 7 added its own FaceTime app on iPhone. It also brought FaceTime Audio. This feature let you make calls using Wi-Fi. You could start a FaceTime Audio call from the Phone app, Contacts app, or the FaceTime app itself. It worked on devices with iOS 7 or newer.
Messages: See Timestamps
The Messages app now let you see the exact time for every message you sent or received.
Some Challenges with iOS 7
Design Causing Sickness
Soon after iOS 7 came out, some users said the new design made them feel sick. This was because of the many zoom animations when switching apps or opening them. There was also a slight "parallax" effect where icons seemed to float. Doctors said this could be true for some people. It was like car sickness, where your eyes and inner ear get out of sync.
Battery Drain Concerns
Some iPhone and iPad users reported that the iOS 7.1 update made their battery drain faster. Lab tests showed some devices had a small battery drain, while others didn't change much.
Lock Screen Bypass
A way to get past the lock screen was found in iOS 7. This allowed someone to get into the phone very quickly in some cases. Apple later fixed this issue.
Devices That Worked with iOS 7
With iOS 7, Apple stopped supporting the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch (4th generation). This meant that devices with older Samsung processors no longer got updates. However, the iPhone 4 still had some support.
iPhone Models |
iPod Touch Models
|
iPad Models |
iOS 7: A Quick Look at Updates
| Version | Release Date | What's New |
|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | September 18, 2013 | This was the first release for iPhone 5s and 5c. It brought the completely new, flatter design. It added the Parallax effect, Touch ID support for iPhone 5s, Control Center, and AirDrop. Safari got a combined search bar. It also added Find My iPhone activation lock and allowed audio-only FaceTime calls. |
| 7.0.1 | September 20, 2013 | Allowed iTunes purchases with Touch ID. |
| 7.0.2 | September 26, 2013 | Fixed a lock screen bypass issue and restored Greek keyboard for passcodes. |
| 7.0.3 | October 23, 2013 | First release for iPad Air and iPad mini 2. Added iCloud Keychain and fixed issues with iMessage and phone calls from a locked screen. |
| 7.0.4 | November 14, 2013 | Fixed issues with FaceTime calls and unauthorized App Store/iTunes Store purchases. |
| 7.0.5 | January 29, 2014 | Fixed network issues for some iPhone 5s and 5c models in China. |
| 7.0.6 | February 21, 2014 | Fixed an important security issue with SSL connections. |
| 7.1 | March 10, 2014 | Improved Touch ID for iPhone 5s. Introduced CarPlay. Siri could now listen until you released the home button. Fixed a home screen crash. Added bold font support to keyboard and calculator. Improved performance for iPhone 4. |
| 7.1.1 | April 22, 2014 | Further improved Touch ID. Fixed issues with Bluetooth keyboards. |
| 7.1.2 | June 30, 2014 | Improved iBeacon connectivity. Fixed issues with data transfer to accessories and data protection for Mail attachments. |
See also
In Spanish: IOS 7 para niños