In case you’d missed the news, iOS 7 is here. It looks great, Jony Ive and his team have done good.

Refreshing, but not too bold.

Elegant, but not showy.

User friendly and where content is king, the latest system from Apple will not revolutionise the product (nor will it make your phone waterproof), but it will importantly help Apple’s longer term strategy.

Here is what we think.

iOS 7 has once again differentiated itself through its design and made sure it is Apple that lead the way in mobile digital systems and UI. As we know since Apple began it has sought to be the premium product, hence every app being vetted by Apple to make sure that their standards are met. Steve Jobs was a stickler for detail and his team has continued this trend.

However, with the rise of Android this premium content has become increasingly more difficult to create. Android lets users post app’s without vetting them, Apple’s competitors are all about open source, which has meant it is easy for developers to copy and create apps which are not particularly beautiful. Apple’s new outfit has successfully repositioned itself above its competitors, and design guidelines for its own apps have all now conformed to this new standard. It is brighter, bolder, less corporate and undeniably more modern.

Already thousands of updates have been submitted by companies who are now aligning themselves with Apple’s new guidelines. In this way, Apple have once again set the bench mark for digital design and others are following suit.

It is not just about design, there are certain tools which make life for the everyday user particularly easy, AirDrop allows anyone to send files super easily. The new drag up menu means we can access all sorts of useful gadgets in under a second (Torch is a lovely addition).  Apple’s design ensures that we don’t have to think about what to do and how to do, we just get on and do it. We can't help thinking that Apple at it's best is the epitome of ''

It remains to be seen how iOS 7’s competitors are going to respond but with the release of iOS 7, adjacently the iPhone 5S and 5C Apple have had fantastic publicity – the response when it comes is going to have to be significant.

Here are some we have particularly enjoyed since iOS 7 landed:

Pocket Yoga - a flexible yoga app. Choose between different practices different durations and different difficulty levels - easy to undersrtand, follow and lovely touches throughout

Evernote - THE productivity app that everyone we want to be when we grown up uses. Functionality hasn't really changed, but the clean new look is a breath of fresh air. 

If iOS 7 made you discover any new apps, or refreshed your enthusiasm for some old faithfuls - chirp us a Tweet @putitout and let us know. Alternatively, if you think it's all a bit Emperor's new clothes, we'd love to hear from you also!