Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iOS 7: 8 Months Later

_Refurbished_

_Refurbished_

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 23, 2007
2,351
3,090
iOS 7 has been a roller coaster for me. At first, I loved the design. Then, I hated it and wanted to revert back to iOS 6. Like a fine wine, I gave it time. I let it set in. Then I loved it (mostly).

iOS 7 is crisp, clean, well designed and, in some cases, beautiful. Sure we can argue about ugly icons, and Jony's interest in white....oh so much white. The fact of the matter is Jony modernized the UI and created a starting point to improve the OS for future releases.

Today I went into TMobile, as I am switching to their service very soon. I was intrigued with Android, as they have larger, better screens. To my amazement, Android is a turd. In every sense, a turd. This debate can go on forever, but it's amazing how unresponsive Android feels compared to iOS.

iOS users complain about the "shift" button. Here's a shot of the convoluted LG G2 Android keyboard:

IMG_6833-980x653.jpg


There's something to say about simplicity and Apple gets it. Today re-affirmed why I still love my iPhone.
 
Yes. Android phones (the top ones) have better performance and better screens...but a truly dreadful o/s.
 
sunking101 said:
Yes. Android phones (the top ones) have better performance and better screens...but a truly dreadful o/s.
Click to expand...

Have to disagree with performance. Android was not nearly as responsive on my "out-of-date" iPhone 5. The Nexus 5 was the only phone that could compete with my iPhone 5, in terms of fluidity. All the other phones suffered from lag and stuttering.

Hardware comparisons only are relative to the same OS. You cannot compare hardware performance on different operating systems. It would be like comparing an iPhone 4 on iOS 6 vs 7. iOS 6 is faster than iOS 7, even though the hardware is the same. The same theory can be applied when comparing iOS vs Android. Specs are only half the battle.

Even on Android, you cannot compare experiences because companies put their own bloatware on top of the OS which alters the performance of the OS. The Nexus 5 was significantly more responsive than the G2. Both use the same hardware, but run on different versions of the Android. Hence, the experience is different.
 
Last edited:
bboucher790 said:
Have to disagree with performance. Android was not nearly as responsive on my "out-of-date" iPhone 5.

Hardware comparisons only are relative to the same OS. You cannot compare performance on different operating systems.

Even on Android, you cannot compare experiences because companies put their own bloatware on top of the OS which alters the performance of the OS. The Nexus 5 was significantly more responsive than the G2. Both use the same hardware, but run on different OS's. Hence, the experience is different.
Click to expand...

Depends what you mean by 'responsive'.
Connected via WiFi to the same router and in the same room, my partner's HTC ONE M8 loads web pages lightning fast. Noticeably faster than my i5. It also has a nicer, bigger screen and immeasurably better speakers. To me, these things scream 'better performance'. Sure my i5 flies around the settings and loads apps faster, iOS is after all a much nicer o/s, but in terms of speed where it matters and overall 'in your face' performance, the Android phone steals the show.
The o/s really annoys me though.
 
sunking101 said:
Depends what you mean by 'responsive'.
Connected via WiFi to the same router and in the same room, my partner's HTC ONE M8 loads web pages lightning fast. Noticeably faster than my i5. It also has a nicer, bigger screen and immeasurably better speakers. To me, these things scream 'better performance'. Sure my i5 flies around the settings and loads apps faster, iOS is after all a much nicer o/s, but in terms of speed where it matters and overall 'in your face' performance, the Android phone steals the show.
The o/s really annoys me though.
Click to expand...

When comparing WiFi to WiFi, I feel there are a lot of variables. I have no issues with my iPhone 5 "instantly" loading pages, compared to my roommate's Android. I'd say both platforms load pages equally, based on the tech reviews I've read. YMMV.

I was not including hardware specs when discussing performance comparisons. Android clearly wins the hardware battle, as you can choose between so many different types of smartphones.
 
Well I've used android before and yeah it was a mess with a lot of lag. Seriously, I can't remember how many times I've wanted to throw my phone at a wall. But the example you've shown is a weak argument against android. Don't like that ugly keyboard (LG UI is the worst), download a new one. They have swiping keyboard, super accurate predicting keyboard, and a whole bunch more. That's the only thing I miss when moving back to iOS. Even windows phone have swiping keyboard now.
 
People that complain about iOS 7 aren't saying it's worse the Android. They are saying that they prefer everything to be back when it was comfortable.
 
sunking101 said:
Yes. Android phones (the top ones) have better performance and better screens...but a truly dreadful o/s.
Click to expand...

Android is a great mobile operating system. It's just the deadful skins and crap carriers + OEMs add on that bring the experience down.

iOS:7, 8 months on. For me, it's just every iOS gone before it with a new skin. Nothing wrong with that.
 
watchthisspace said:
Android is a great mobile operating system. It's just the deadful skins and crap carriers + OEMs add on that bring the experience down.

iOS:7, 8 months on. For me, it's just every iOS gone before it with a new skin. Nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...

If iOS7 really was 6.1.4 with a different skin then I would be happy. How come a much worse battery life and some bugs which didn't exist before if it's merely a reskin? Or did Apple just bodge it?
 
watchthisspace said:
Android is a great mobile operating system. It's just the deadful skins and crap carriers + OEMs add on that bring the experience down.

iOS:7, 8 months on. For me, it's just every iOS gone before it with a new skin. Nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...

Agreed !

Which is why I only buy Google Play Edition devices. I've been extremely happy with all my Nexus devices.
 
+ Control center
+ Full screen browsing in Safari
+ Blur > linen textures
+ Swipe to switch between video/photo in the Camera app
+ Swipe back gesture
+ iOS design guidelines that make 3rd party apps look a zillion times better (check out Flickr for example, very nice)

- Stock app icons are not pretty
- Text as buttons is not very user friendly, but even worse, it's inconsistent!
- Control center is hard to use when the keyboard is open (double tab worked regardless of the keyboard in iOS 6)
- So much white. Even 3rd party apps have white icons. I don't like white.
- Very fast, but iOS 6 was faster.
- The weather 'widget' in Today is absolutely useless compared to the old widget.
- The 'missed' tab in Notification Center: I don't get it and I don't use it. Completely useless.
- Turn on screen and unlock animations take too long
- No more full screen contact photos
- Slight lag when answering or making phone calls (my Nokia 3310 was better at this...)
- Music app sucks.

Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons but the cons should be taken care off.
 
Totally agree with you, ios 7 is a really nice operating system and better looking apps IMO than android, don't get me wrong I really like my google nexus tablet it is a pretty nice tablet, but some apps compared to the ipad ones, looks like crap... :rolleyes:
 
Agreed. The shift key needs some getting used to, but my Nexus 5 has a confusing keyboard too.
All in all, I hope Apple refines 7 and adds some clever features in 8.
 
Menneisyys2 said:
Agreed. Anyone refusing to jailbreak just doesn't know what (s)he is missing... f.lux, soon full windowed multitasking on iPads, call recording, screen recording, camera tweaks etc.
Click to expand...


Seriously. I can make my phone back exactly his ios6 looked. Status bar. Ui. Even the power down screen and how the icons looked. Don't like that the next day? I'll add widgets and make my phone look like a htc one.

Can add security where if soneone types in passcode wrong, a picture. Location and more all sent to my email. Can make it where you can't turn the phone off on the lock screen. Which is perfect in case your phone gets stolen that way u can continue to track it.
 
The keyboard argument you brought up is totally moot as you can just download a different one if the stock one is not to your taste.
 
TC03 said:
+ Control center
+ Full screen browsing in Safari
+ Blur > linen textures
+ Swipe to switch between video/photo in the Camera app
+ Swipe back gesture
+ iOS design guidelines that make 3rd party apps look a zillion times better (check out Flickr for example, very nice)

- Stock app icons are not pretty
- Text as buttons is not very user friendly, but even worse, it's inconsistent!
- Control center is hard to use when the keyboard is open (double tab worked regardless of the keyboard in iOS 6)
- So much white. Even 3rd party apps have white icons. I don't like white.
- Very fast, but iOS 6 was faster.
- The weather 'widget' in Today is absolutely useless compared to the old widget.
- The 'missed' tab in Notification Center: I don't get it and I don't use it. Completely useless.
- Turn on screen and unlock animations take too long
- No more full screen contact photos
- Slight lag when answering or making phone calls (my Nokia 3310 was better at this...)
- Music app sucks.

Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons but the cons should be taken care off.
Click to expand...

The pros: you are missing the new multitasking and full screen pictures in lock screen.

The cons seem like iOS 8 in a nutshell. I think the animation speeds are fine post-iOS 7.1 though.

iOS 6 was the same speed as iOS 7.1 on my iPhone 5 well, in every day use cases. There's some stutter when selecting a wallpaper but that's pretty much all I can remember since it was so long ago since iOS 6 (had iOS 7 it since beta 2).
 
IFRIT said:
The keyboard argument you brought up is totally moot as you can just download a different one if the stock one is not to your taste.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the stock OS. It was one example of a cluttered OS. I have a jailbroken phone and customize my OS heavily.

It's not an argument against Android, but rather an example how terrible some things are by default with Apple's competition. The nitpicking in this forum would be all out war if some of the competition's design choices were brought over to iOS 7.
 
TC03 said:
+ Control center
+ Full screen browsing in Safari
+ Blur > linen textures
+ Swipe to switch between video/photo in the Camera app
+ Swipe back gesture
+ iOS design guidelines that make 3rd party apps look a zillion times better (check out Flickr for example, very nice)

- Stock app icons are not pretty
- Text as buttons is not very user friendly, but even worse, it's inconsistent!
- Control center is hard to use when the keyboard is open (double tab worked regardless of the keyboard in iOS 6)
- So much white. Even 3rd party apps have white icons. I don't like white.
- Very fast, but iOS 6 was faster.
- The weather 'widget' in Today is absolutely useless compared to the old widget.
- The 'missed' tab in Notification Center: I don't get it and I don't use it. Completely useless.
- Turn on screen and unlock animations take too long
- No more full screen contact photos
- Slight lag when answering or making phone calls (my Nokia 3310 was better at this...)
- Music app sucks.

Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons but the cons should be taken care off.
Click to expand...

I'll add some more pros:

+ Music controls always present in the lock screen
+ Control Centre
+ Block contacts
+ Activation Lock

And of course, some cons:

- iMessage must be on par with WhatsApp and let me send voice memos or share my location.
- the 7.1 caller photos... Are you kidding me?
- No mobile data toggle in CC

And from your list, I don't agree with the too much white, the icons and use text instead of buttons, I quite like that, but that's subjective.
 
sethlution said:
Well I've used android before and yeah it was a mess with a lot of lag. Seriously, I can't remember how many times I've wanted to throw my phone at a wall. But the example you've shown is a weak argument against android. Don't like that ugly keyboard (LG UI is the worst), download a new one. They have swiping keyboard, super accurate predicting keyboard, and a whole bunch more. That's the only thing I miss when moving back to iOS. Even windows phone have swiping keyboard now.
Click to expand...

I do agree with you when it comes to keyboard. I decided to try Android and got the Samsung S5 (Kind of already regret it because I realise that the screen is a bit to big for my liking but that is another subject) and still use my iPhone 5s for work. Swiftkey is really impressive and very fast! Yes, overall Android allows you do do much more, however I totally agree with OP. But my guess is all is to do with the bloatware phonemaker put on the top of Android. Brand new Galaxy S5 and the lag is evident from the very first moment I put my finger on the display! I find the display really beautiful though. And the fingerprint scanner is no where as bad as I thought it would be.
 
My major complaint about io7 is the notification center. I think it's just terrible the way it works and looks now.

I really hope it gets revamped in ios8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back