Apple has enhanced Siri in a few new ways. First, you can tell when it's listening because a sound wave appears at the bottom of the screen. Now, if you want to look up a celebrity, you can ask what they're "saying" or about them and Siri will show tweets or Wikipedia pages. By asking Siri "What is Molly McHugh saying" I got an instant link to our star Social Media Editor. It's also now powered by Bing. It can help you navigate, play your voicemail, return calls, control iTunes Radio, and do other things, too. If you want to give Siri a sex change, you can do that; a male voice is also available.
Siri continues to get better, it's still nowhere near being a feature that won't frustrate you more than help you. Many times, it won't be able to connect or won't have an answer, and anytime it can't help you quickly, it ends up sucking up much more of your time as you dig through the phone to find an app you realize you should have opened in the first place. For example, though it was easy to look up what "Molly McHugh is saying," We tried to find out what DT's resident anti-technologist "Andrew Couts is saying" and got nothing but a bunch of people I didn't want to know about.
Though Siri now connects to a few new services, it uses Bing for search. We really wish Google and Apple would make up. We'd like our choice of search engine.
Using the Moto X has also made Siri feel antiquated. Moto X allows you to call Google Now (Android's version of Siri) up by talking to the phone, even if the screen is off and it's asleep. The iPhone should do this. By having to turn on the screen, hold the Home button, and wait for Siri to open before you can ask it something, you're almost better off just doing that something yourself.
Love: The new visual design
We've been defending the design of iOS 7 for months. Seriously, we've defended it a lot, even as people nitpicked its icons to death. It's a good looking OS and should be a welcome change for almost anyone who is considering an iPhone, or has been staring at the iPhone apps and homescreen for years. If you love glossy skeumorphic gradients, then yes, you will miss the way iOS has looked for the last six years. But times change, and this new design will grow on you. We promise. The new minimalist look to apps makes them easier to use much of the time, and as all apps begin to incorporate the new style, things will only improve.
Hate: Functionally, nothing's really changed
If you were pinning your hopes on iOS 7 leapfrogging Android and being completely new and different, you may want to sit down. When you get past the new visual design and the half-dozen or so new features, a phone will iOS 7 will still work almost exactly like any iPhone before it. Functionally, it's almost identical. The home screen layout is the same; the Settings are organized the same way; and most major qualms you had with any iPhone or iPad, you'll probably still have with an iPhone or iPad running iOS 7. This isn't a game changer; it's a much-needed facelift, with a tummy tuck for good measure.
We like iOS 7 a lot and think you'll be happy you upgraded to it. Keep your expectations for iOS 7 on the ground and your dreams for iOS 8 in the sky. The new OS is available now. To get it, follow our guide on How to prepare for and download iOS 7.
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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