The Great Flattening has begun.
iOS 7 is being released to the public tomorrow, and you know what that means: app updates galore. iOS 7 compatibility updates have been sneaking into the App Store for the last several days, but now bigger names are getting updated with new designs and features.
Foursquare hit version 6.3 earlier today:
The moment you update your phone to iOS 7, you’ll see a fresh coat of paint on Foursquare. We’ve fancied up the icon, updated the UI, and made it all work flawlessly in Apple’s new iOS. So, while you’re playing with your new operating system (or new phone!), you can keep using Foursquare as usual.
For those of you on iOS 6, this update features a few behind-the-scenes improvements.
(Apple has made it possible for App Store users on outdated hardware to download previous versions of apps if they can’t use the latest OS.)
Flipboard has been updated with some under-the-hood improvements, including parallax support:
For Flipboard readers who’ve updated to iOS 7, there are new visual touches but also some interesting features under the hood. For example, the full-screen magazine covers now support parallax—so as you tilt your iPhone or iPad, more of the image is revealed. (Try it!) You’ll also see more iOS 7-style controls and “flatter” treatment of images.
The general design of the app has largely stayed the same.
Apps that have been designed specifically for iOS 7, like version 2.0 of SoundShare, are also being approved by Apple. Tomorrow is going to be the big day for app releases, but the ball has already been rolling behind the scenes week or so.
It will be interesting to see how apps react to iOS 7. A lot of devs will be charging users for standalone upgrades, but I imagine that many apps will simply receive a fresh coat of paint and be labeled “iOS 7-ready.”
Stay tuned for plenty of app launch news to come.
