Let’s take a closer look at seven new features that iOS 7 brings to the scene.
1. Control Center
More than once I have wished I could just turn my iPhone’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Airplane mode On or Off with one tap. Same for controlling the screen brightness and for activating the flashlight functionality. Well, with iOS 7, Apple introduced a new featured named Control Center where you can do this and much more. Just swipe up from the bottom of the screen (even the lock screen) to summon Control Center and you will be able to access everything mentioned above plus the Rotate and Do Not Disturb functions, the music player, and some basic utilities like the Timer, the Calculator and the Camera.
2. Better Notification Center
The current Notification Center displays all your notifications in one place. The one on iOS 7 goes instead for more choice and organization by offering three tabs that allow you to see not just all your notifications, but also your missed ones and what your current day looks like.
3. Smart Multitasking
We all know how multitasking works on the iPhone. With iOS 7 though, there are a few novelties that make it far more interesting. To start, you can preview the most recent screen of an app while in multitasking, which helps you remember where you left it at. Then, instead of having to press and hold to remove an app from the multitasking tray, all you need to do is to swipe the app upwards. The most interesting aspect of this feature, though, is that iOS 7 now learns from your usage and schedules updates for your most used apps so they will be waiting for you with the most recent information when you access them again.
4. Four Cameras in One
With the current iPhone camera, you had the option of shooting either photos or videos and little more. With the new camera app in iOS 7 you now have four different choices for capturing your favorite memories. These include: Regular video shooting, the already known panorama, regular and square photos (ideal for Instagram aficionados) and a new set of filters to enhance your photos. Also, all of these shooting “modes” are accessed by swiping the screen to the sides instead of having to hunt for dedicated switches for each of them.
5. AirDrop
This one is perhaps one of the coolest features of iOS 7 that was available before exclusively on the Mac. With it, you can share files from your iPhone with nearby friends who also have iPhones running iOS 7. However, instead of having to be next to each other or to bump devices like other apps or services require, AirDrop allows you to share your files seamlessly over the network. Quite neat.
6. iCloud Keychain
A long-time coming feature for Safari and other apps of iOS 7 is the arrival of iCloud Keychain. With it, iCloud remembers your login information and other important data (like your credit card number for example) and credentials and uses it to fill out forms or shopping carts when you browse the web. Of course, all the information of iCloud Keychain is completely encrypted.
7. iTunes Radio
While a streaming radio service offered by Apple was rumored long ago, it is finally coming with iOS 7. With it, iTunes Radio (a part of iTunes) provides different streaming radio stations that iOS personalizes the more you listen to them in order to suit your musical tastes better. Best of all, it is completely free, and if you happen to have an iTunes Match subscription, it is also ad-free. And there you go. iOS 7 will still take a few more months to be released, but as you can see above, the changes made to it are far more than just aesthetic ones. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
