Tips and Tricks - The Best Features of iOS7

Apple has released iOS7 on September 18, the latest update to its mobile operating system that runs the iPhone smartphone as well as the iPad and iPod Touch.  According to Apple, "... our purpose was to create and experience that was simpler, more useful, and more enjoyable- while building on the things people love about iOS.  Ultimately, redesigning the way it works led us to redesign the way it looks.  Because good design is design that's in service of the experience."  Almost a week later, Apple's customers and critics have had time to play with the new features.  I have compiled a few of the best tips and tricks of the new iOS7.

Shutting Down Apps-  With the old iOS, if users wanted to close out apps, they would double tap home button and choose the apps that they wanted to close. In iOS 7, after the double tap, apps now appear as a series of screens users scroll left to right (similar to how mobile Safari might organize multiple pages). To close apps, users simply swipe up.  iOS7 revolves around the art of multitasking and having the ability to run multiple apps at a time while still preserving battery life.  

Photo via Apple

FaceTime -  A really great feature of the updated FaceTime on the phone is the availability to call anyone with an iOS from anywhere in the world with or with out wifi. This saves the hassle from having to use a third party program to  call someone.

Control Center - This new feature lets the user change the most popular settings such as screen brightness or Airplane mode all with the swipe of a finger.  Apple promotes this feature as "Do what you need to do. Quick."  Some of the main features of this simple swipe up is the ability to turn on or off airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Do Not Disturb, and the screens orientation and brightness.  Instead of double tapping the home button to control the music, you can now play, pause or skip a song right on this screen.  Apple put the most used controls on this screen such as flashlight, timer, calculator and camera.

Photo via Apple

New Camera Features - There are more options of the camera right in front of you. High Dynamic Range and Panorama are just a swipe to the right.  My new favorite feature of the camera is the new iOS7 which has a photo filter option with 9 different filters to choose from (displayed below). The best part of this is that it can apply the filters before even taking the picture.  Photos are organized a bit differently, as well. There are the standard albums, but when you tap the Photos icon at the bottom left, you can view images as "collections" sorted by date.

Picture via Funranker.com

iTunes Radio -  This free streaming radio is very similar to Pandora.  The more you listen, the more personal your favorite stations become.  Additionally, iOS7 users can now stream the internet for a musical experience with no ads via iTunes Match.

Photo via Apple

Blocking Numbers - With the new iOS7 update, there's now the option to block unwanted callers.  The feature will block any phone calls, iMessages or FaceTime calls from contacting you.

Being an iPhone and iPad user myself, I have really enjoyed the new software update.  I feel that the new design makes the phone look, feel and run with higher precision and elegance.

If you want to read more about the iOS7 update, check out Apple's Website !