iOS 7 Traffic Spikes as WWDC Approaches

Traffic from iPhones and iPads running iOS 7 is surging in and around Apple’s headquarters and San Francisco as engineers are apparently ramping up testing of a new version of iOS which we expect to se on stage at WWDC 2013 in June.

Apple internally tests new versions of iOS software ahead of the official announcement and today sources are reporting an uptick in traffic from IOS 7 devices.

The most informative source is OnSwipe, which tells TechCrunch that visits to OnSwipe powered sites are up dramatically in the past week. Three key indicators come from OnSwipe’s data;

• Most of the iOS 7 traffic is from San Francisco (18.75%) and Cupertino (17.9%)
• On May 2nd iOS 7 devices represented 23% of all iOS traffic to OnSwipe sites
• iOS 7 testing is taking place on the iPhone and iPad, with 75% on the iPhone.

Gotta Be Mobile sees some search traffic which identifies as iOS 7, but cannot confirm that these devices are part of any Apple internal testing at this time.

TechCrunch shares some OnSwipe search data which shows iOS 7 devices searching for,

…finding out about which turntable to buy, Vine’s recent update that allows for selfie vids, Apple’s stock price drama and Kid Cudi.

iOS 7 is expected to arrive on older Apple devices, but we may see the iPhone 3GS and iPad 2 lose support for iOS 7. Apple typically cuts an iPad and an iPhone from the updates, but there is hope the iPad 2 may hang on one more year thanks to the similar hardware inside the iPad mini.

We reached out to OnSwipe to see if the company tracked any specific device identifiers which could confirm these rumors. OnSwipe CEO Jason Baptiste told Gotta Be Mobile, “We can only log the different device types, but sadly not the models.”

This increase in visits from iOS 7 powered devices could point to progress for the team and may signify a wider rollout to internal testers. Apple reportedly called in OS X software engineers to help Apple get iOS 7 ready for WWDC. These engineers would need access to iOS 7 and may now be using them on devices with special screen protectors in place to prevent prying eyes.

After WWDC 2013 Apple will likely push out an iOS 7 beta to Apple developers who want to use the new version of iOS to prepare their apps. In the past regular users also got in on this action by purchasing a cheap spot on a developer account from sites that resell developer UDID registrations. Apple cracked down on this last year, but at least one site is weighing a comeback for iOS 7 beta access this summer.

If Apple announces iOS 7 at WWDC 2013 on June 10th, the developer beta will likely run for several months. A public iOS 7 release would likely come days ahead of a new iPhone release, based on Apple’s previous actions. Rumors point to an iPhone 5S announcement in September, which could mean an iOS 7 release in September or October.

This video shows a better Do Not Disturb, which we would love to see in iOS 7.

There are many iOS 7 concepts showing ways Apple can change iOS 7, but we don’t expect Apple will be able to pull all of the features shown off in these videos in a new version of iOS. Sources indicate Jony Ive is pushing for a fresh, flat look for iOS 7 that includes a new user experience. This could point to a design that relies less on gloss and real-world looks and flatter style similar to the Windows Phone 8 Modern User Interface or HTC Sense 5.