Apple's iOS 7 officially hits 90 percent adoption ahead of iOS 8 debut

Ahead of the forthcoming iOS 8 update, expected in the fall, Apple has told developers that iOS 7 is now running on 90 percent of iOS devices using the App Store, indicating a growth rate of about one percent per month. The penetration level of iOS 7 is consequently, like most other iOS versions before it, the most quickly-adopted operating system update ever, on any major platform. The result was garnered from visits to the App Store over a seven-day period that ended on July 13.

The company's previous update in April indicated 87 percent adoption, with 11 percent still on iOS 6. The latter figure has now dropped to nine percent with just two percent running an OS version below iOS 6. The ability of Apple to get users to adopt iOS updates in record numbers has strengthened the developer community, which can target future products to be exclusive to the latest OS at the expected time of launch without fear of wide compatibility issues. Ad marketing firm Chitika had previously posted that iPhones had achieved the 90 percent penetration at the end of May, but the average overall was brought down to 88 percent by the slightly-lower adoption rate of iPad users.

Most users update within the first few weeks of availability -- in December, iOS 7 had achieved 78 percent adoption within its first three months. The next update, iOS 8, will not only improve on existing features in iOS 7 (and share compatibility with most devices, except the iPhone 4), but add new features such as Handoff to OS X 10.10 Yosemite, smart home appliance support, the new Health app, better app integration with system services and much more.

Apple is expected to launch iOS 8 alongside the next generation of iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 6, which is expected to offer at least one model with a larger, 4.7-inch display. Currently, this is expected to happen sometime in September or October. There have been unconfirmed rumors of the company also developing a 5.5-inch model, but to date no solid evidence has been revealed that would indicate such a device is currently in or about to enter mass production.

iOS 8 adoption target for iPad

People are always comparing iOS to Android and this has generated some interesting debates, as there are pros and cons for both platforms, but when it comes to adoption rates for a new version of either mobile OS, well it is Apple that claims the prize. Adoption rates are always higher for a new version of iOS because it is always compatible with almost all iPads, iPhones and iPod touches.

A recent study from Chitika’s analytics team has found that iOS 7 adoption for the iPad was 85 percent, which compared to 82.9 percent for iOS 6 is considered a great achievement. It is for this very reason why we believe that Apple will have an even greater iOS 8 adoption target for the iPad.

According to Chitika there has been greater growth in people using iOS 7 on the iPad over the last 3 months, which makes sense because some iOS users put off installing a new version until they know it is as stable and all the kinks have been ironed out.

We know that iOS 7 still has its issues, but it is far better than when it was first released. However, we hope to see what Apple has planned for iOS 8 on Monday during WWDC 2014. Apple will not go into as much detail as they usually do, as there is to be a greater focus on OS X 10.10 , but we should find out some of the main iOS 8 features.

One feature we hope to see is support for iOS to OS X AirDrop , as no doubt this could help increase adoption rate because this is something we have been wanting for several years now. It’s not just the iPad that had an increased adoption rate with iOS 7, as the iPhone also saw an increase to 89.7 percent, but we have to warn that these figures might not be as accurate, although there is still a clear increase.

This is what the Apple iPhone 6 couldlook like

Recently, schematics allegedly showing the dimensions of the next two versions of the Apple iPhone were leaked. The 4.7 inch Apple iPhone 6 had dimensions of 137mm tall x 66mm wide x 7.0 mm thick. The 5.7 inch Apple iPhone phablet weighed in at 157mm tall x 77mm wide x 6.7 mm thick. With that thin form factor, we wouldn't be surprised if the larger screened model was the one rumored to be called the Apple iPhone Air .

MacRumors paid designer Ferry Passchier to develop renders of both phones, based on the schematics. We can see the more rounded corners, smaller top, bottom and side bezels, and a power button that is moved from the right side to the left side of the device. And similar to some iPhone 6 cases that we've seen, the flash has reverted back to a round design . 

There has also been talk that Apple will release the 4.7 inch Apple iPhone 6 this year, with the larger model coming to the market sometime next year.

Micromax to offer Windows Phone smartphones later this year

Domestic handset maker Micromax has
partnered with Microsoft to offer
Windows Phone 8.1-powered
smartphones in the country.

The deal -
that was announced on Wednesday at
Microsoft's Build 2014 conference in
San Francisco - is expected to
intensify competition in the
smartphone space in India.

Microsoft Executive VP (Operating
Systems) Terry Myerson on Wednesday
said: "We are thrilled to welcome 11
new Windows Phone partners since
Mobile World Congress in February,
with the addition of Micromax and
Prestigio just announced today".
Delhi-based Micromax's revenues were
Rs. 3,168 crores for the financial
year 2012-13 and it expects to clock
revenues of $1 billion for the last
fiscal-ended March 2014. The mobile
manufacturer is expected to release
its first Windows Phone smartphone
later this year.

Micromax, which is the second largest
smartphone player in India, held about
16 percent market share in Q4 2013,
according to IDC data. Some its top-
selling models were the entry level
smartphones like A35 Bolt and A67.
Besides, the software giant has also
announced that it will offer its
Windows operating system free to
smartphone and tablet makers (for
devices with screen-sizes less than 9-
inches), a move that will help the firm
compete with Google's Android and
Apple's iOS in the fiercely competitive
smart devices market.
This offering also enables hardware
partners to provide their customers a
one-year subscription to Office 365 .

The move, though surprising, will led
to a fiercer competition in the
smartphone and tablets space,
especially in the backdrop of its plans
to acquire the handset business of
Finnish phone maker Nokia for $7.2
billion.

Microsoft's third CEO, Satya Nadella,
since his appointment in February
has been emphasising the company's
focus on mobile and cloud.

iOS 7 experience on Android via iLauncher

Not all Android users give a hoot about
iOS 7, but we know there are a few of
you out there that may be a little
intrigued about Apple’s new operating
system. We have come across an
Android app called ‘iLauncher’, which
gives you the iOS 7 experience on your
Android.
This app is fairly decent, there is one
feature within iLauncher iOS 7 users
would love Apple to add to its next
update, a few iOS 7 users experienced
motion sickness when using the new
operating system, but this Android app
allows users to disable the zooming
function that makes iPhone users a
little sick.
iLauncher provides a similar experience
as iOS 7, same design with a few added
extras. Once you have installed this app
your entire Home screen will look like
Apple’s UI.
Main iLauncher Android app features
include smooth scrolling, the ability to
uninstall apps from the Home screen,
you can edit exit mode by pressing the
back button, support 5 rows mode just
like the iPhone 5, 5S and 5C. The apps
have rounded corners and gloss
effects; it also includes a dock bar
and so much more. The app does cost
just a little over $2, for more
information about iLauncher, please
visit the Google Play Store .
If you do decide to install the app you
must be aware that you may lose the
ability to add widgets to the Android
Home screen, shortcuts can be added
still.
Not sure why Android users would want
to add iOS 7 to their devices, but hey
we are sure someone would like to give
it a go. If you do decide to install
iLauncher please give another app some
thought, this Android app is called
‘Espier Launcher iOS7 ’ and unlike
iLauncher this one is free.
Would you like iOS 7 on your Android
device?

iOS 7: Battery Saving Features

If you’re unhappy with the current longevity of your iPhone’s battery life, you might want to hold off switching to Android because, come fall 2013,iOS 7promises to make things better in this department.iOS 7 comes with a lot of aesthetic pleasantries but also with a bunch of under-the-hood optimizations that keep the phone from taxing the CPU and battery.For instance,Multitaskingin iOS 7 not only knows when to update your social networks with the latest news and messages from your friends, it also updates all your apps with all the latest bug fixes and new features, automatically, and in the background.The new iOS schedules updates during “power-efficient times,” as Apple itself puts it. For example, when Google publishes a new versionof its YouTube app and your device is on and connected to Wi-Fi, it’ll instantly download the updated YouTube to your device.This way you don’t have to move through different screens, tap buttons, and wait for the progress gauge to fill up. And, best of all, that App Store icon will never show a red badge again.Another power-saving feature isControl Center.That’s right. Although Apple doesn’tmarket Control Center as such, it too works to reduce power drain on your iPhone or iPod touch.The reason is simple too. Instead of having to navigate to the Settings app and then browse endlessly to find those On/Off toggles for Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, andDo Not Disturb, all you do is swipe upand tap once.The screen brightness slider is also there, allowing you to dim the lights in a second when your battery is running low. Everything is much easier to access in iOS 7, so you’ll waste less time performing actions (with the screen on).