Swipe Issue 30 Sample

iOS 7 NEWS

4

apps

18

FEATURES

33

HOW-TO

40

DESIGNERS’

New iPhones REACTION

Reviewed!

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CAMERA TIPS • BETTER MAP APPS

iPhone SWIPE

NEWS • REVIEWS • TIPS

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HELLO! Welcome to this sample of Swipe: the iPhone magazine. We’ve put together a taster of what each edition offers, with all the hottest iOS news, reviews of the latest apps and accessories, plus expert advice from the people that bring you Tips & Tricks – iPhone Secrets. We hope you enjoy this small slice of what Swipe has to offer, and don’t forget to check out the full free trial on the App Store. Happy reading!

THE SWIPE TEAM

NEWS THE LATEST GOINGS-ON IN THE WORLD OF iOS

APPS MAP APPS FOR YOUR HOME SCREEN

FEATURES

iOS 7 CRITIQUED

HOW-TO

TOP 5 CAMERA TIPS

NEWS STEVE JOBS REMEMBERED

iPAD EVENT

WONKY SENSORS

iPHONEOGRAPHY

iMESSAGE WOES

PLUS SIRI’S VOICE / iTUNES RADIO ROLL-OUT INSTAGRAM ADS / AMIGA GAMES ON iOS TWEED iPHONE CASE / OTTERBOX WALLET JONY IVE’S LEICA CAMERA / OTHER NEWS

Steve Jobs

Two-year anniversary

I

t has been two years since Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011, following a long battle with cancer, and Tim Cook took the time to email all Apple employees this week. Here’s the email in full as first published on 9to5Mac: TeamTomorrow marks the second anniversary of Steve’s death. I hope everyone will reflect on what he meant to all of us and to the world.

Steve was an amazing human being and left the world a better place. I think of him often and find enormous strength in memories of his friendship, vision and leadership. He left behind a company that only he could have built and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We will continue to honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to the work he loved so much. There is no higher tribute to his memory. I know that he would be proud of all of you.

Best, Tim Last year Apple posted a video to commemorate Jobs as well as a page where people can send messages to share their memories, thoughts, and feelings.

iPad event

New tablets releasing soon

A

pple’s updated iPad range will make its debut at an event on October 22 according to industry sources.

AllThingsD initially reported the date which has since been confirmed by Jim Dalrymple. Both sources have a good track record of predicting Apple events.

Almost certainly we’ll be seeing the new-look fifth-generation iPad 5, with its smooth, curved edges and smaller screen bezel. This will make it thinner and lighter, and bring its design in line with the iPad mini. It should also gain a healthy speed bump by using the new 64-bit A7 processor of the iPhone 5s.

We also expect to see the Silver and Space Gray color schemes of the new iPhones, though whether Gold will make an appearance is up for debate. It’s also unclear whether the new Touch ID sensor will be included.

Photos of an alleged Gold iPad mini 2 have surfaced – but are they real?

The big question is whether the iPad mini 2 will gain a Retina display, which would be fantastic in use, but not so great for battery life. All will be revealed in just over a week’s time.

Wonky sensors 5s not quite right

T

he new iPhone 5s seems to have a problem with its gyroscope, compass, and accelerometer that is causing the 5s to report measurements incorrectly.

An investigation by Gizmodo seems to confirm that the 5s is about two to three degrees off when using the level and the compass is as much as eight to ten degrees off. It might not seem like much of a difference but many games use the accelerometer and gyroscope as a means of control, such as Real Racing 3 or Temple Run. While testing in our office we did find a disparity between the 5s and the year-old 5, making it seem that this is a hardware fault rather than a software problem.

Apple has yet to comment on these reports but hopefully a fix is coming.

Image: Placeit

The voice of Siri Is that me?

S

iri was originally introduced with the iPhone 4s in 2011 but only now has the original voice actress come forward.

In an interview with CNN, Susan Bennett revealed how she originally recorded her lines for ScanSoft, a software company, back in 2005. For four hours a day, every day, in July 2005, Bennett read nonsensical phrases and sentences in her home recording booth. With iOS 7 though, her voice has been replaced by a new unknown voice performer.

Apple has not confirmed who the voice of Siri is so we’ll just have to take Bennett’s word – or should that be voice – for it.

APPS MAP APPS FOR YOUR HOME SCREEN GOOGLE MAPS / WAZE / COPILOT GPS

INCREDIPEDE

BLUR

BOSON X

TILTSHIFTGEN2

PLUS VELOCITY / HALL OF FAME: FIGURE NEW TO THE APP STORE

GET A BETTER HOME SCREEN #12

GREAT MAP APPS Replace Apple’s default apps with our pick of the best alternatives

A

s smartphones have evolved, map apps have become essential. Armed with an iPhone and a data connection, you should never become lost again, whether you’re walking around an unfamiliar city, or driving in your car to somewhere new.

In iOS’s early days, Google’s data was leveraged for the built-in Maps app, but some kind of behind-the-scenes spat led to Apple developing its own solution.

Initially, it was so riddled with problems that Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized. Even now, Apple’s Maps app doesn’t boast the same level of data maturity as Google’s, but it’s nonetheless far more impressive than on its debut.

In-car directions remain the highlight of Maps. They’re excellent In testing, we found Maps particularly good for in-car turn-by-turn. Directions and voiceovers are clear, rerouting is largely intelligent, and the routes chosen tend to be fine. However, Maps still lacks any built-in transit assistance (you’re instead unhelpfully presented with an apps list), and there’s no equivalent to Google’s Street View; we reckon the 3D Flyover feature is more of a gimmick than a useful aid for checking out landmarks on a journey you intend to take.

London, England in Flyover mode. It’s like a rubbish 1990s PC game In this round-up, then, we were keen to see if you could replace Apple’s Maps with something better and, as an added challenge, for free.

Google Maps Google Inc.

PRICE FREE

SIZE 12.5 MB

VERSION 2.2.0

I

t should come as no surprise that Google Maps is a first-rate maps application and the best on iOS. After all, Google’s been doing maps for a long time now. What’s perhaps more surprising is that the app is also very nicely designed and usable, Google’s new design language complementing iOS 7’s.

marked and labeled The app is a touch too insistent that you sign into a Google account, but beyond that niggle, it’s excellent. The maps are clear and accurate, and you get the option of car, transit and walking directions.

Transit is a big plus over Apple’s solution, as is integrated Street View, which enables you to virtually explore locations before visiting. (The feature’s a little hidden away, though – just drag up any address and you’ll see Street View, along with share and save buttons.)

We still much prefer Street View to Apple’s

Google’s in-car turn-by-turn directions also impress. The voiceover lacks the same level of polish as Apple’s, but it’s good enough, and on-screen graphics are clear.

Routing choices and rerouting during journeys seemed roughly on par with Apple’s Maps app, and we far preferred Google Maps while on foot. Ultimately, this is one of the few absolutely essential third-party downloads on iOS.

• First-rate directions • Integrated Street View • Some slightly hidden UI • Really wants you to sign in

FEATURES

IOS 7: DESIGNERS’ REACTION

RHA MA600I HEADPHONES

iOS 7: has Apple done enough?

We asked three design studios for their thoughts on the look and feel of iOS 7

W

hen Apple unveiled its first iPhone in January 2007, it truly was a thing of wonder. It embodied a completely new way of looking at mobile device design and it radically reinvented the way they also worked, thanks to the iPhone’s revolutionary touchscreen mobile operating system.

Six years on and iOS is no longer seen as cutting edge as it was – and that’s a problem for Apple, a company that’s built its reputation on innovation in product and user interface design. For some, especially among the creative and design communities, iOS is even seen as rather stale, with the cleaner, flatter, more minimalist interfaces of rivals like Android and Windows Phone leading the way.

Skewing and morphing

One of the key reasons iOS was seen as falling behind by critics was Apple’s extensive use of skeuomorphism – a way of crafting apps that make them look like their real-world counterparts. The late Steve Jobs embraced skeuomorphism when the iPhone launched as a sensible way to make an unfamiliar user interface feel familiar. The problem in the last year or two has been that skeuomorphism – as exemplified by the faux-calender look of iOS apps like Calendar and Contacts – has become increasingly seen as tacky and a little ridiculous. Who actually owns a leather-bound desk calendar or address book anymore?

Skeuomorphism arguably reached its nadir when Apple included a reel-to-reel tape recorder (long since dropped) in the Podcasts app it launched in 2012 – a move that was widely criticised.

Apple’s reel-to-reel-style Podcast app was old fashioned and irrelevant In October that year Apple CEO Tim Cook ousted Scott Forstall, the man in charge of iOS, and announced that responsibility for the design of iOS would now fall to Apple’s senior vice president of design, Sir Jonathan Ive. The move resulted in the official unveiling of iOS 7 at the World Wide Developers Conference in June 2013 – a heavily revamped version of the OS that featured a cleaner, flatter and more minimalist interface.

iOS 7: the designers’ view

The question now is whether Jonathan Ive and Apple have done enough to silence the critics and put iOS ahead again in terms of UI design. We asked designers at three of the world’s leading creative and interactive design agencies for their thoughts on the iOS 7. This is what they had to say…

Mark Pytik Stinkdigital

S

tinkdigital is a multi-award winning creative agency based in New York and London that employs over 60 full-time interactive creatives from app developers to film directors, working with brands such as Adidas, Ray-Ban, Nike and Mercedes Benz. Mark Pytik, CEO and founder, is one of those who believes that a radical overhaul of iOS was definitely needed, but he’s not above criticising the new iOS either: “The move away from skeuomorphism is welcome and long overdue,” he says. “I also generally like the move towards a flatter design, but something about the execution leaves me cold. It also too often recalls Windows 8, which is a very strange predicament considering that it’s Apple we’re talking about here.” Ow.

Mark thinks iOS 7 has more than a whiff of Windows 8 about it Mark also doubts whether the design of iOS 7 is radical enough an overhaul to push Apple out in front of rivals like Google and Microsoft in terms of UI design. “I feel them flagging a bit, not necessarily because designers are making better apps for other devices, but because they’ve reached a critical mass with the sheer amount of apps available,” he says.

“The only way to solve this and make Apple apps exciting again is to create devices with features or processing power that can shatter the old paradigm of what apps should and can do, but Apple seems unwilling to take anything but small swings these days.”

Moving targets

Having said that, Mark is also critical of the way that Apple constantly moves the goalposts when transitioning to new technologies and devices. “We’re taking advantage of some of the more useful features of iOS 7 for an upcoming project,” he says. “The obstacles are obvious: there’s a built-in obsolescence with older apps that’s immediately going to make them feel dated. While positive overall, the evolution of iOS has been particularly painful from a legacy standpoint, first in terms of transitioning iPhone apps to the iPad, then with the advent of Retina, and now this new design style.”

Mark’s currently working on a newmagazine style app for a hugely respected online music publication.

Warren Hutchinson Andy Moore SomeOne/Else

T

wo other creatives with strong opinions on iOS 7 are Warren Hutchinson (left) and Andy Moore (right) of London-based interactive design studio SomeOne/Else, which has been working with big brands like Mazda, O2 Téléfonica and Universal Music since it was founded in 2010. Andy told Swipe “iOS 7 is clearly a major step forward for the iPhone. There’s no doubt that a more restrained approach to the UI goes some considerable way to be more harmonious with the physicality of the device. It serves high frequency actions better and presents content better within the constraints of the screen and with less distraction.”

iOS 7 works well with the color-coded wallpapers and shells of the iPhone 5c Andy feels that the flatter, de-cluttered design of iOS 7 makes it simpler and easier to find and do the things you want to do on your iPad and iPhone, but warns that perhaps the design’s a little too severe, especially where interactions have been reduced to pure colored text with no suggestion for what you’re meant to do: “This removal of familiar suggestion of interactivity actually feels a little clunky in places and for less sophisticated users, may be a little hard to get,” Warren says.

“I still think Google’s iOS suite, which no doubt Apple has looked to, provides a better example of the right balance of simplicity and interactivity.”

The whole thing

While Andy Moore feels that Google’s iOS Suite has the edge over Apple’s UI in terms of simplicity and interactivity, its iOS where SomeOne/Else’s designers feel more at home, as Warren Hutchinson explains: “The harmony between device and OS is key, and if you want frictionfree, Apple is your guy. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s ahead, no more than a Mac is ahead of a PC or a Nikon ahead of a Canon, but there’s just something about the drive of iOS/iPhone that makes it feel lighter, easier, more considered and more friendly,” he says.

HOW-TO REMINDERS HOW-TO KEEP A TO-DO

TOP 5 CAMERA TIPS

Q & A YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Reminders How-to So many things to do

W

ith many apps redesigned for iOS 7, there are plenty of new things to learn, especially in the Reminders app. To help you through the transition, here’s an extensive rundown of all the features and how to find them.

Create a list

Upon first opening the Reminders app you will see the Create a New List option and the default Reminders list. Adding new lists can help you separate what you have to do in to relevant areas of your life, such as creating a list that only deals with work-based events.

Tap New List and enter the name of what the list will be about then tap Done. You can also pick a color to help differentiate it from the other lists. Once you’ve added a list you can add events.

Add an event

With iOS 7, there’s no actual ‘+’ button to add new events. Instead now tap on any empty line in the list and type in what you want to be reminded about. If you don’t want to be actually reminded, tap Done to add it to your list. To edit an event, just tap on the text entry.

Remind me

If you do want to be reminded, while entering the event, tap the ‘i’ icon to the right of it. From here you can turn on Remind me on a day or Remind me at a location.

If you select Remind me on a day you can then choose when you want to be alerted on a day and time. If you want it to replicate the event tap Repeat and choose from the options.

If you enable Remind me at a location, tap Location and then choose a saved address or search for a location. Once you have selected a place, a map will appear at the bottom of the screen with a dropped pin with a radius around it and the options When I arrive and When I leave visible.

Drag the black dot to change the distance and choose either one for when you want to be alerted.

When you’re happy with the alert tap Done to return to the list.

iPhone SWIPE

NEWS • REVIEWS • TIPS

mag

In your next packed issue...

App round-up Net issue we’ll be replacing Apple’s Podcast app with some great alternatives

App reviews All the latest games, utilities, and creative apps tested, reviewed, and rated

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