Just about everyone knows, Apple recently released its newest mobile operating system, iOS7. While the loyal Apple fans downloaded the operating system as soon as possible, I was not so eager to do so.  I was happy with iOS6 and didn’t feel the need to upgrade; however, at the behest of my roommates, I did upgrade only one short day after the release. After having played around with the features for a little over a week and having gotten used to the new look, I realize that, I absolutely detest it. That being said, I must admit that it is a thing of beauty.

For anyone who doesn’t know, my attitude towards Apple is a complex one. I will openly admit that Steve Jobs took helm of that ship and took it for one heck of a ride. He brought Apple Computers from near bankruptcy to profitability in his career, and for a short time, was the world’s most valuable company. Yet, he was a mean and ruthless leader, a perfectionist who obsessed over appearances to the point of getting a new car every six months to avoid the requirement of having a license plate. Go ahead, Google that to double-check it … I’ll wait.

Jobs’ relationship with his company sums up my view of Apple products; the obsession with appearances goes too far, at times delving into narcissistic territory. The fact is, when you buy any Apple product, a considerable portion of your money pays for the brand. Hard-earned money is being spent on a logo.  This tactic of creating a following of loyal users, by dividing society into in-groups and out-groups is devious, manipulative, immoral and completely brilliant. Honestly, my main complaint against Apple is simply that I wish I had been the first person to think like Jobs did.

The maintained upgrades, however small, in hardware and firmware keep loyal users coming back for more, upgrading their phones every 24 months for sometimes minimal changes.  This tapping into our societal need for the latest and greatest is what has propelled Apple to the position of success it is in today. Actions such as making unlocking smartphones illegal, blatantly stealing (though admittedly improving thereupon) ideas from other manufacturers and using questionable labor sources are just the sort of cut-throat tactics which laid their foundation for success.  Jobs’ maintaining the illusion of his benevolence and creating a cult of personality is what let him stay there; it is what keeps him in our minds as one of the good guys, whose greatness Bill Gates could never replicate.

In considerable contrast to iOS6, the new iOS7 is sleeker, replacing faux buttons with simple text and incorporating smart use of whitespace in apps such as Calendar.  All native apps got a complete overhaul for the new release. The icons, which most users notice immediately offer a preview for the new look and features behind them. Tapping an icon to open an app, the user is almost whisked into the phone itself as the other apps fly to the side and the screen appears to zoom in on the selected item. When exiting an app, one zooms back out to the next level up, be it the home screen or a folder. The new notification and control centers slide out in drawer-like fashion and have a translucency to them, obscuring but not covering items in the background.  These slide-out information centers provide the user with an instantaneous overview of what is going on with her phone.  New controls, including quick access to Wi-Fi and airplane mode switches, allow the user to quickly access features, including the new native flashlight feature.

This smart nod to the abundance of third-party flashlight apps and control centers for jail broken phones shows that, finally, Apple is paying attention to what users want, and providing it themselves, limiting the appeal of jail breaking in the process. This upgrade from iOS6’s faux 3D through shadows to a more realistic experience in the third dimension is an obvious improvement. Apps no longer “run in the background,” but instead run beside the app being used, giving the user a sense of breadth to the whole process and an idea of exactly what one’s phone is doing. The previous practice of holding on to features and designs to keep the feel familiar has gone out the window.

This complete overhaul has modernized iDevices in a way which firmware updates rarely do. The one drawback which I have to mention is this: if you have an older iDevice, you may want to reconsider updating. I know find myself among the minority, but I have managed to keep my iPhone 4 unscratched, unscathed and in working order for over three years now.  Some features of the new iOS are not supported by my device, unfortunately, including filters in the camera app, Airdrop, and panoramic photos.  The new iOS runs noticeably slower on older iDevices, and is in fact also slower on even the newest devices, albeit unnoticeably for most users. My iPhone 4 now takes 45 seconds to cold boot to the lock screen, up from approximately 30 with iOS6.  The counterargument to this would be simply that my device was never designed to handle such firmware, which is 100 percent accurate. As such, I highly encourage everyone with a newer iDevice to update their firmware and enjoy the cleaner, smarter iOS7, but advise those who are still using older technology to consider the cost of speed before jumping on the bandwagon.