Things to know about Apple iOS 7 before you install it

edcentric

1. It will make your phone look like it is built for a little kid that never seen a phone before.
It looks cheap and it is much harder to read
2. It will now check the charger that you use, if it not Apple it won't let the phone charge.
Never mind that I have been using this charger and cable since I got the phone, it doesn't work now.
3. Like with other updates, it changes a lot of default settings. If you care about privacy and security you will need to back through many setting screens and make sure that things are set the way that you want them.

These guys make the NSA look like rookies.

mertesn

edcentric said:

1. It will make your phone look like it is built for a little kid that never seen a phone before.

I'm fine with how it looks. Preferred the previous style, but whatever.

edcentric said:

It looks cheap and it is much harder to read

It's quite the opposite for me. Perhaps you're not using a device with the higher pixel density? I'm on an iPad w/Retina display and things improved greatly with the thinner fonts.

edcentric said:

2. It will now check the charger that you use, if it not Apple it won't let the phone charge.
Never mind that I have been using this charger and cable since I got the phone, it doesn't work now.

This is because you're using an unlicensed device. Thunderbolt chargers (not sure about the older dock connectors) are able to verify authenticity. Apple isn't the only one to do this. See: every console for at least the last two generations.

edcentric said:

3. Like with other updates, it changes a lot of default settings. If you care about privacy and security you will need to back through many setting screens and make sure that things are set the way that you want them.

If you care about privacy and security you're already doing this anyway. Your current settings are retained through the iOS 6/7 upgrade. New settings will need to be configured for best desired results.

edcentric said:

These guys make the NSA look like rookies.

1/10 troll attempt.

Myrmidon

While I also would bust his balls on number 1 (and I'd bust a lot of your balls for "Windows 8 looks too different,"), number 2 is actually pretty valid. Voltage is voltage, amperage is amperage, and adding an authenticity check to a device that is so simple that college freshman learn how it works (and so standard that the IEEE has a hand in it) seems very disingenuous. "Well, they're out for a profit," you say, or "other people do it," you say... that doesn't make it anti-competitive. The next step would to have an Apple-only outlet installed in your house, does that seem okay to you?

By the same token, any time I bring this up, I seem to be the only person that thinks it's unethical, so maybe I'm the nut.

UPSLynx

I can confirm the harder to read UI. Cherplunka was in town when she got the update and I couldn't read half the crap on the home screen. Not sure if it's a color blindness that I have or what, but she struggled as well. Just too much colorpuke clashing going on, and not enough stroke on the font used.

Also, authenticity is a bogus call for the charger cable issue. Consoles are massive set top devices that are designed to remain in one place - your TV stand - and not hold power when disconnected. Phones are mobile devices, and anyone with a smart phone over the last 5 years knows how imperative it is to use chargers that aren't your OEM cable at home, whether it means borrowing one from a friend, or buying a special use cable for specific reasons. That is seriously the dumbest thing.

BobbyDigi

Possible unpopular opinion incoming:

I believe it is perfectly fine to have proprietary equipment and furthermore take steps to require that. I feel it is up to the consumer then to decided if that is the right product for them and more so if that is a company they wish to support.

mertesn

I don't like the practice, but I also realize how much say I have in the matter (zero outside of "don't buy it" but whatever).

The console example was more to do with controllers and games than power cables.

There was a case in which someone in China was killed by electrocution while using a non-authentic charger with their iOS device. Since Thunderbolt adapters can be verified as authentic and disabled if not so, Apple('s lawyers) can protect themselves from certain lawsuits due to injury from third party devices.

Snarkasm

IANAL, and I'm pretty sure I'm in fact a giant idiot about the law, but even a giant goddamn idiot like me could clear Apple from a case where somebody died by electrocution from a cable that they didn't provide.

.... pretty sure.

mertesn

Snarkasm said:

IANAL, and I'm pretty sure I'm in fact a giant idiot about the law, but even a giant goddamn idiot like me could clear Apple from a case where somebody died by electrocution from a cable that they didn't provide.

.... pretty sure.

Yes, but you (and most of IC) fall into a category of potential jurors that the prosecution for these kinds of cases finds ...undesirable... You know, because logic and reason do not escape our grasp.

NiGHTS

Provides a wonderful excuse to get you to shell out for theirs, though, don't it?

oni_dels

still haven't update, and since my (phone) contract ends in a couple of month i might just wait til there... after a few patches...

Linc

UPSLynx said:

I can confirm the harder to read UI.

Settings -> General -> Text Size

Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Bold Text

I think it looks magnificent. But yeah, Retina.

Linc

Personally, the whole "preschool phone" thing holds no water for me. Anything that reduces the amount of brain power required to use my phone to do what I'm trying to do is an A+ for me. My favorite new feature is the control center (calculator, flashlight, timer, wifi, airplane mode, brightness etc) 1-flick away from the lock screen.

The ideal phone to me is the one whose UI feels invisible. iOS 7 is warmer.

oni_dels

11 Tips to Keep iOS 7 From Destroying Your Battery Life

oni_dels

first thing is about Parallax, which is a bit scary...

RyanFodder

Snarkasm said:

IANAL, and I'm pretty sure I'm in fact a giant idiot about the law, but even a giant goddamn idiot like me could clear Apple from a case where somebody died by electrocution from a cable that they didn't provide.

.... pretty sure.

As an engineer, you have to design against "reasonable uses." Meaning: you have to design for the fact that customers MIGHT use someone elses charger. Or you could write a clause or authentication into your device.

Snarkasm

Right, but it also depends where the fault is. Plug-phone interface? Might be an area for Apple to worry about. Plug-wall interface? Not Apple's area.

Now let's dig in. As a simple example, did said person get electrocuted because the male plug into the phone was too long, and it exposed contacts that caused the electrocution? Assuming Apple designed to standards, this is something they'd have to defend themselves against, but this defense is fairly simple. Worldwide electronics standards exist for a reason; a cable manufacturer not respecting them is at fault if they put out something so incompatible it's dangerous.

And ignoring ALL of this: the report linked says the woman was using the official charger. So... moot court debating moot point? :P

Linc

oni_dels said:

11 Tips to Keep iOS 7 From Destroying Your Battery Life

I haven't seen any evidence that those features actually drain excessive battery life, most of those features existed already in iOS 6, my battery life hasn't changed at all since upgrading, and Gizmodo is a pageview whore whose "advice" is based mostly on what will earn it more clicks.

mertesn

Lincoln said:

I haven't seen any evidence that those features actually drain excessive battery life, most of those features existed already in iOS 6, my battery life hasn't changed at all since upgrading, and Gizmodo is a pageview whore whose "advice" is based mostly on what will earn it more clicks.

Agreed. My battery life hasn't changed since updating to iOS 7.

AlexDeGruven

I'm not sure how #1 differs from pre-IOS7.

The IOS interface hasn't changed significantly since 2007 and has always had a bit of a "babby's first smartphone" feel.

oni_dels

Lincoln said:

oni_dels said:

11 Tips to Keep iOS 7 From Destroying Your Battery Life

I haven't seen any evidence that those features actually drain excessive battery life, most of those features existed already in iOS 6, my battery life hasn't changed at all since upgrading, and Gizmodo is a pageview whore whose "advice" is based mostly on what will earn it more clicks.

ha i know, it just seemed to fit in here, in case some peeps have battery probs. iPhone (compared to Android device) usually have a really good battery life and don't really need these advices, but i figure it could be interesting

Linc

I frequently go 2 days without recharging and I've done no "optimization" of battery life. Actively using GPS for navigation is the only thing that noticeably wears it down.

oni_dels

playing Plants vs Zombies 2 for an hour also drains the battery quite a lot...

Linc

oni_dels said:

playing Plants vs Zombies 2 for an hour also drains the battery quite a lot...

Yes. Fortunately I only did that once before deleting it.