iOS 7 specs: the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone

Apple iOS 7 officially announced. Here's an inside look

Apple just took the wraps off the newest version of its operating system, iOS 7, during its Worldwide Developers Conference Keynote in San Francisco.

"The team at Apple has been working incredibly hard on the latest version of iOS and today it's of great thrill that I announce iOS 7," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook went on to call iOS 7 the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of iPhone.

Features and interface

With a focus on a new design, iOS 7 introduces "true simplicity,” as Jonathan Ive called it in the demo. “It's about bringing order to complexity," Ive added. Apple’s iOS 7 brings in a new "coherent" structure that is applied across the entire system. And it includes everything from small details like refined typography to a redesign of all the icons.

A grid system allowed Apple to achieve a more “harmonious relationship” between individual elements. And it’s easy on the eyes too, as iOS 7 includes a brand new palette of colors (out with the stuffy old “green felt” and in with a more vibrant, clean look). Distinct, functional layers help with hierarchy and order, helping the user put things into better context.

Ive also mentioned better "depth and vitality." To put it simply, this means that your iPhone will now respond to your movements (that's where the depth part comes in). As you move the device in your hand it tracks your motions. The “liveliness” carries over across the whole system.

Control Center

Better yet, Control Center lets you simply swipe up from the bottom of your device to tweak every little setting (holy cats, can you imagine the amount of time saved here?). Access your flashlight, play songs, turn off your music ... you can pretty much do anything ever from wherever -- it doesn't matter what you're doing on your iPhone at the moment. All you need to do is swipe up. Mutlitasking got a makeover too, requiring little more than swiping to get from one thing to another. 

Improved camera

iOS 7 essentially offers four cameras in one. You can swipe from one camera to another, and you now have instant access to live photo filters. The new photos app includes an improved way to organize your shots. Doing away with the clutter stream that most of us are all too familiar with on our phones, iOS 7 introduces moments.

Moments for iOS 7 is exactly what it sounds like; it lets you put different moments into separate collections. You can even view an entire year on its own, and view separate photos just by tapping over it. First it will bring up a  larger thumbnail view, and tapping again will allow you to edit the photo straight from the collection. 

Additionally, there's a a Share tab that lets you easily allow friends and family to view your collections.

The unobtrusive new interface is different than what we’re used to seeing from Apple, but so far it looks a heck of a lot better. And it’s still as easy to use as ever. Ive noted that it was important to Apple to make ti feel instantly familiar, “We wanted to take an experience that people know very well and actually add to it to make it more useful. To make it more enjoyable."

iOS 7 defines an important new direction for Apple, "And in many ways a new beginning," added Ive.