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| Apple reveals iOS 7 design revamp and iTunes Radio music service | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Apple has unveiled a new look for the user interface of its smart device iOS operating system - the first to be overseen by its design chief Jony Ive. | Apple has unveiled a new look for the user interface of its smart device iOS operating system - the first to be overseen by its design chief Jony Ive. |
| He said the aim was to make the system look "cleaner" to help "elevate" users' content. | He said the aim was to make the system look "cleaner" to help "elevate" users' content. |
| It involves a shift away from skeuomorphism - the use of leather, wood and other real-world inspired textures and artifacts in apps. | |
| A similar change has also been made to its OS X system for Mac computers. | A similar change has also been made to its OS X system for Mac computers. |
| Highlighting the new look of the firm's Game Center app, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi joked: "We just completely ran out of green felt and wood - this has got to be good for the environment." | Highlighting the new look of the firm's Game Center app, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi joked: "We just completely ran out of green felt and wood - this has got to be good for the environment." |
| He also showed off a parallax effect which means icons shift against the background image as an iPhone-user tilts their handset one way and another, based on feedback from the device's accelerometer sensor. | |
| "The new version is almost unrecognizable, which will make it polarising," said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at the consultancy Ovum. | |
| "Some people will love that their phone feels new and different, while others will be disoriented by the newness. | |
| "Finding your Settings app is hard when the icon has totally changed, and the many people who easily get disoriented by their gadgets may well have a negative experience. On the other hand, this is a clear statement from Apple that it acknowledges the need to refresh the user interface and is willing to do something pretty dramatic." | |
| Music streaming | |
| The firm also announced iTunes Radio - a streaming music service offering access to themed stations which can be tailored according to a person's listening history on iTunes, as well as tracks from specific bands - including unreleased exclusives - which they do not own. | |
| Apple suggested it was a way for users to "discover new music", and the firm will promote the ability to buy songs that a user likes via its store. | |
| The feature is accessible via iOS 7's music app and poses a challenge to LastFm, Pandora, Spotify and other similar products. | |
| It comes a month after Google unveiled Play Music All Access, a similar facility for Android devices. But unlike the search firm's pay-to-use model, Apple is making iRadio accessible without charge if users are willing to listen to adverts, as well as an ad-free option to users buying an iTunes Match subscription. | |
| One music industry watcher suggested Apple's move could prove disruptive in light of the fact the firm has 575 million iTunes accounts. | |
| "A large portion of digital music consumers currently buy their music through Apple's store," said Chris Cooke, business editor at the music industry news site CMU. | |
| "If we are seeing a shift - which many in the industry think we are - from a situation where downloads are the norm to one where streaming becomes more popular, then Apple has a large audience to try and persuade users that its streaming service is the one to shift to." | |
| Other new features to iOS 7 include: | |
| About 37.4 million iPhones shipped worldwide in the January-to-March quarter according to market intelligence firm IDC, confirming its status as Apple's biggest source of revenue. | |
| Although that was a rise on the same period in 2012, the study indicates the firm's smartphone market share slipped to 17.3% while Android's grew to 75%, thanks in large part to Samsung's success. It also indicated Apple is facing a similar trend in the tablet sector. | Although that was a rise on the same period in 2012, the study indicates the firm's smartphone market share slipped to 17.3% while Android's grew to 75%, thanks in large part to Samsung's success. It also indicated Apple is facing a similar trend in the tablet sector. |
| Apple's products might still be more profitable, but IDC suggested it needed the refresh. | Apple's products might still be more profitable, but IDC suggested it needed the refresh. |
| "People were getting a bit bored with the old design so Apple needed to make significant changes," said IDC's mobile device research director Francisco Jeronimo. | "People were getting a bit bored with the old design so Apple needed to make significant changes," said IDC's mobile device research director Francisco Jeronimo. |
| Apple said iOS 7 would be released to the public in the autumn. |