Alerts

iOS 7: The ultimate Notification Center guide

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Notification Center first appeared in iOS 5 as a way of receiving and accessing notifications from anywhere. It consists of an overlay slide down menu interface, banner notifications, and other types of alerts. Prior to iOS 5, notifications were extremely intrusive and clunky. Notification Center solved many of the issues stemming from receiving notifications on iOS.

Over the past two iOS iterations, Notification Center has been streamlined and improved. iOS 7 brought about several new changes to Notification Center, including the new Today View, which provides users with an overview of the pertinent appointments, stock prices, and even driving alerts.

Needless to day, Notification Center has evolved into a significant feature in iOS with many moving parts. To assist you, we’ve created this ultimate Notification Center guide in order to help you understand how to benefit most from this handy feature.

Owl City founder Adam Young revealed as creator of iOS 7 sounds

Cody Lee ∙ October 22, 2013

You know those cool new alert sounds in iOS 7? Well as it turns out, a number of them were likely created by Owl City founder Adam Young. Owl City, as you may know, is an American electronica project responsible for several hit records.

Young confirmed last night that he was behind at least some of the new sounds in this year's iOS update, adding 'Sounds for iOS 7' to his discography on his website. He's since removed the entry, but we've posted a snapshot of it after the fold...

iPhone 4S/5 users to get Wireless Emergency Alerts via AT&T

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 29, 2016

U.S. carrier AT&T announced Friday that its subscribers will soon start receiving Wireless Emergency Alerts to their iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 devices. Text notifications will include AMBER, Imminent Threat and Presidential Alerts and will be enabled following an upcoming carrier update pushed out to iPhone devices running iOS 6.1 or later.

Of the three types of alerts, users will be able to disable AMBER and Imminent Threat alerts. Presidential alerts, which are sent straight from the President, can't be turned off...

New in iOS 7: Notification Center ‘Today’ stream shows context-based alerts

Cody Lee ∙ Updated June 20, 2013

Alongside the sweeping changes in iOS 7, Apple gave its Notification Center a complete overhaul. It's been divided into three sections, it no longer sports a linen background, and it's lost a few features, such as the handy Weather widget.

But it's also gained some nice features, such as the new 'Today' view. The column offers up all kinds of useful information including stock prices, Calendar events, and apparently, traffic information for your frequently visited locations...

Concept: how Jony Ive should redesign iOS alerts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 24, 2012

With Scott Forstall's departure, watchers and users alike are keeping their eyes peeled for Jony Ive-ification of Apple's mobile operating system. It is no secret that iOS is showing its age in several key aspects, especially compared against Android. The concept of alerts, despite advancements such as Notification Center, is still too obtrusive and leaves a lot to be desired.

That's why I approve a new solution proposed by an Apple fan who has envisioned friendlier and actionable iOS alerts...