How To Upgrade Ios On Iphone 5

Should you upgrade to iOS 7?

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Yesterday, Apple released iOS 7 to the world, ushering in a new age of design sensibilities. The OS looks quite different from past iterations, but like your mom always told you, looks aren't everything. Will iOS 7 hurt your battery life? Will upgrading to iOS 7 increase or decrease the performance of your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5? Does the new OS introduce any bugs, or remove your favorite features from iOS 6? Should you pull the trigger and upgrade your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to iOS 7, or stick with a trusty older version of iOS, such as iOS 6?

First, make sure your Apple device supports iOS 7. The mobile OS plays well with the upcoming iPhone 5S and 5C, the iPhone 4 and 4S, and even the iPhone 4. The iPhone 3GS and earlier is not supported. As for the iPad, the iPad 4, 3, 2 and iPad mini supports iOS 7. The only Apple tablet that does not support the new OS is the original iPad. As for the iPod Touch, only the most recent one — the fifth-generation iPod Touch — will work with iOS 7.

Upgrading to iOS 7: Changes in functionality and usability

After using iOS 7 for a few minutes, you feel right at home. Compared to iOS 6, iOS 7 looks different more than it feels different. Native apps might have their options in different locations on the screen, but overall they work how they always have. You enable an alarm clock by sliding a knob to the right, you sort your music library by playlists, artists, or albums, and you still get mad at the inefficiency and subpar organization of the Podcasts app.

iOS 7 Folders

The most noticeable differences in everyday use are unavoidable. First, thanks to an admittedly slick fade, turning on and off the screen takes a little longer than it used to. While an extra two seconds added into your phone usage routine isn't too much, it can be a little frustrating at times. Second, folders now work differently from previous versions of iOS. They don't roll out on the Home screen anymore, but instead invoke an entirely separate menu that fills the screen. Rather than the old 16 app limit, folders can now hold an infinite number of apps. That means if you're a bit obsessive-compulsive with your Home screen organization, you can now clean up all those Games folders on the second screen and slap all those games into one folder on the main screen. However, the step forward does take a step back. While you can swipe through a single folder to access an infinite amount of apps, only nine apps are displayed per page in a folder. So, if you want that cleaner Home screen, you'll be swiping more than usual.

Finally, perhaps the most noticeable difference in everyday use is that you can access the phone's features from the lock screen, such as the Control Center, as well as navigate your music playlists. This is extremely useful for users that frequently switch songs or answer text messages.

iOS 7: Control Center (left) and Notification Center (right)

Another extremely useful feature that technically removes a step from everyday use, is that you can now set the App Store to automatically update apps. No longer will you have to open the App Store and tap the Update button.

The Music app organizes your albums a bit differently from iOS 6 as well, but it's simply a different way of doing things rather than introducing new steps to accessing your jams.

Next page: Visuals and hidden features

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