iOS 7: Apple unveils new operating system

As Apple launches its new operating system, The Telegraph's Consumer Technology Editor Matt Warman says iOS 7 shows the software giant almost doesn't need to compete with its rivals.Apple has unveiled new-look software for its phones and tablets, in a move that chief executive Tim Cook described as “the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone”..

_{The new iOS 7 features are displayed on screen at the Apple developers' conference}

The new software has been designed to make the iPhone appear bigger, as its features take up the entirety of the screen.

A new "control centre" on the phone will enable users to adjust its settings with just one swipe from the bottom of the screen, and text will appear sharper.

"What Apple has done is show that it can cater to its own loyal fan base as well as they demand, and what that means in practice is that it's a beautiful operating system, there is now almost no reason why an Apple user would want to go somewhere else for something that looks on screen as lovely as the hardware feels in the hand," said Matt Warman.

_{iOS 7 has been described as Apple's biggest innovation since the iPhone}

He added that Apple products may not "have every feature under the sun" like its competitors Samsung and Google, "but what they're trying to do is deliver the perfect combination of easy to use and genuinely innovative".

"In a way, the most revealing thing [that Apple did] was not to upgrade an operating system, it was to almost reveal that they don't need to compete," he said.

"Apple exists in its own bubble and it's getting steadily more beautiful within that bubble, but ultimately, what they're doing is serving their existing audience.