In addition to announcing its new 64-bit A7 chip, which will power the flagship iPhone 5s, Apple also revealed that iOS 7 itself will be 64-bit. This means a native 64-bit kernel, along with 64-bit libraries and drivers. Accordingly, all of the native apps that come baked into iOS have been retooled to serve up faster performance (don't worry, iOS 7 will still run 32-bit apps from third-party developers). For devs who do want to make the switch, Apple is promising a "seamless" transition, though details are light at the moment. In the meantime, between the A7 chip and this software tune-up, Apple is promising the CPU performance will be 40 times what we saw in the original iPhone. Then again, comparing the new iPhones to the one that came out in 2007 isn't a very helpful comparison -- you might just have to wait for our initial hands-on and, later, a full review.
Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 'Special Event' 2013 event hub!
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Apple iOS 7
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Flickr app gains auto-upload feature in iOS 7 update
Oct 9th 2013 5:03AM
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Skype apps for iPad and iPhone get an iOS 7 interface makeover
Oct 7th 2013 10:51AM
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500px photo-sharing app gets iOS 7 update, new looks and features
Oct 6th 2013 4:14AM
Apple iOS 7
- Key specs
- Reviews • 66
- Prices
- Discussions
- Type Mobile / embedded OS
- Source model Closed
- Architecture 64-bit, 32-bit
- Released 2013-09-18
- Ease of use 8.9
- Speed 8.2
- Configurability 7.5
- Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.) 9.2
- Openness 6.2
Displaying prices for model:
Apple iPhone 5s
- Key specs
- Reviews • 158
- Prices
- Discussions
- Type Smartphone
- Operating system iOS (7)
- Screen size 4 inches
- Internal memory 16 GB
- Carriers (US) AT&T
- Dimensions 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 in
- Weight 3.95 oz
- Released 2013-09-20
- Reception and call quality 9.1
- Display 9.2
- Battery life 7.9
- Camera 9.4
- Ease of use 9.6
- Design and form factor 9.3
- Portability (size / weight) 9.5
- Media support 8.4
- Durability 8.5
- Ecosystem (apps, accessories, etc.) 9.5
Good news, Engadget peoples! We’re creating a single login system for both our product database and comments. The first part of that transition is a new commenting system, launching on September 28th. You’ll get to keep your current user name (as long as it doesn’t contain invalid characters, in which case you’ll have to go through a few extra steps to make the transfer), and all your old comments will eventually (not immediately) migrate with you.