As Apple prepares to debut iOS 7 in only a couple of weeks, professors and students who have already gotten their hands on the update note dramatic changes. 
One of the most significant design changes is the voice memo application. While all versions of iOS 6 feature a studio-style microphone that monitors noise levels of the recording and a recording/pause icon, the update will have a more streamlined design that looks like a simple audio signal.  The icons that allow users to begin and pause recordings will remain. 
“It’s trying to look like an Android with the same ideas of an iPhone,” said Blake Mader a mathematics senior and iPhone owner, who has seen iOS 7.  
But Mader is not planning on keeping his iPhone. 
“I’m planning to switch to a Samsung Galaxy because there’s more open-source options,” Mader said.
Robert Kooima, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and a member of the Center for Computation and Technology, is a registered developer with Apple and currently uses iOS 7. 
This change is an example of Apple’s attempts to veer away from skeuomorphic designs, or a layout that attempts to recreate something real. The current iBooks application, for example, displays books a user purchases in a virtual bookshelf, complete with wooden shelves and all. Previous versions of iOS are notorious for this. 
Kooima said the new voice memo application is an example of a non-skeuomorphic interface as it displays an audio signal rather than an older-style microphone.
Major changes will also impact Apple’s calendar application. The new calendar will look less like a literal calendar with boxes for each day. Instead, users will have a timetable for each day easily accessible from a redesigned notification center. 
The new system also creates a pull up bar from the bottom of the device, called Control Center, with easy access to AirDrop, AirPlay and the user’s music library.
The top and bottom of this pull up menu feature a new flashlight icon and easy access to other familiar applications and settings, such as the Calculator, Camera, Bluetooth, Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb, Brightness control, Wi-fi and Lock Screen orientation. The update will also feature the ability to block individual contacts, using the do not disturb icon, Apple announced. 
While easy access to applications is necessary, using them at once is another new feature Apple’s developers are focusing on.
With iOS 6, only one application was accessible at a time, but now, users can multitask with ease. 
Aesthetic-oriented users will be pleased to see the option of implementing a moving, three -dimensional background and application fading effects similar to those of a Mac. 
While the move toward Android might surprise college students who often opt for an iPhone, American iPhone users are actually smaller in number than Android users.
According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center this summer, 28 percent of American adult smart phone owners use Androids, while 25 percent own iPhones.
For those who do elect to use Apple devices or update to iOS 7, the University’s Center for Computation and Technology offers an iOS application boot camp to teach people how to use the technology at the beginning                  of August. 
“It’s trying to look like an Android with the same ideas of an iPhone.”