iOS 7 Hints of Better Touchscreen Navigation, Landscape Features for a 4.8-Inch Device Called the iPhone 6
When Apple unveiled the iOS 7 this week, there was no mention of any gadget release date this year - not the iPhone 5S and more so not the rumoured iOS phablet iPhone 6.
Yet sifting through the device features presented on Monday, their optimal use is obviously designed for phone screen with various sizes, not only for the 4-inch that the 5S is expected to sport come its landing September this year.
Apple engineers, according to Gotta Be Mobile, had other screen sizes in mind when they cooked up the new iOS gadget behaviours. Of course, the immediate suspects are the next-gen iPad Mini and regular-size iPad but there be something in between.
Screen swiping, for instance, is made easier with the iOS 7 as users can swipe anywhere and they can pull up apps and essential functions. The adjustment, the report said, accommodates easier touchscreen navigation not only for the iPhone 5S but also for a big-screen that the iPhone 6 would be.
This improvement achieves ease-of-use even on phablet-size gizmos and eliminates one technology trade off that Apple Tim Cook is so averse of. With the reconfigure, using an iPhone with bit of a stretched screen on one hand is no longer a big issue, giving more reasons for Apple to finally give Samsung's Galaxy Note series a real and tough competition.
The GBM report also pointed out that iOS 7 designers have given due attention on landscape use not only of the iPad but also for all iPhone models.
As oppose to the iOS 6 rendering, multitasking on a landscape-mode iPhone offers more functions while giving off an overall attractive look, the report said.
Most notably, video playback, which is better appreciated in landscape, gained a big jump via the iOS 7, suggesting too that Apple is gradually revealing underway efforts to scale up all of the iPhone 5 features to a bigger sibling, likely the iPhone 6.
To date, Mr Cook remains coy on the possibility of a big-screen iOS smartphone but analysts are convinced Apple will join the fray next year via a fully reworked iPhone 6, which reportedly is set for a Q1 2014 release date.