Top 7 features of iOS 7

Top 7 features of iOS 7

Trevor Tan navigates the second beta of Apple's upcoming mobile operating system and picks his favourites.

Phone, FaceTime and Message Block

If you simply hate those telemarketers who keep calling you or there is a person you want to ignore, you now have the option of blocking their calls and messages.

First, add the phone number to your contact list. Go to Phone, tap on the contact you want to block, then scroll down to the bottom to find the Block This Caller option.

Tap on this option and you will not receive phone calls, messages or FaceTime from this number.

AirDrop

AirDrop technology made its debut in Mac OS X Lion 10.7. It will be introduced to the mobile platform in iOS 7.

It uses proprietary software that allows users to share files wirelessly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi without the need for any configuration.

It is really easy to use. As long as your friend is close by and you both have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched on, your iOS devices can "see" each other and send files across.

However, it is compatible with only iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini and iPod touch (5th generation) running iOS 7.

In iOS 7 beta 2, the AirDrop works only between iOS devices. It could not work between iOS devices and Mac OS X computers. Head Movement Control

This feature may or may not be included in the final build.

If it is, it will allow you to change settings just by turning your head to the left or right.

To enable it, go to Accessibility under General in Settings. Under Physical & Motor, tap on Switch Control and enable it in the resulting page.

Then, iOS 7 will move through every option available on the screen by highlighting the option with a blue border.

To select the option, you just need to turn your head once to the left. Move your head to the right and the phone returns to the Home screen.

You can also customise the right head movement to move the border to the next option instead of waiting for the cycle.

FaceTime Audio

This feature will save you plenty of money in long distance and international calls.

Instead of the usual FaceTime video chat that is possible over Wi-Fi now, FaceTime Audio will allow you to make calls from your iOS device using any data plan or Wi-Fi.

If you have already signed up for data roaming when you are overseas, using this feature is a no-brainer to save plenty of money.

But your FaceTime Audio callers will have to be using iOS devices as well in order for this to work. Also, there is a possibility telcos might block such a service.

Spoken Turn-By-Turn Walking Directions in Apple Maps

Turn-by-turn walking directions are finally available on Apple Maps in iOS 7. Now, you will not keep bumping into lamp posts, pillars or people because you have your head down checking your iPhone for directions.

After you locate the place you want, tap Get Directions To Here. On the resulting page, tap the Walking Person icon, then tap Route on the upper right corner for the overview of your route.

Tap Start and follow the spoken directions to your destination. To end, tap End in the upper left corner.

Auto App Updates

If you are like Senator John McCain, who hates to keep updating apps, you can opt to activate automatic download of your apps' updates in iOS 7.

Just go to Settings. Tap on iTunes & App Stores, and scroll down to Automatic Downloads. Here, you will find Updates as one of the options other than Music and Apps.

Enable Updates by dragging the slider to green and your apps will update automatically. You also have the option to use cellular data for these automatic downloads.

App Folder Redesign

At least once, you must have chafed at that 16-app-per-folder limit on your iPhone 5; or worse, 12 per folder on iPhone 4/4S.

That limit is all but gone.

In iOS 7, you can create up to 14 pages in each folder with each page containing nine apps.

To access each page in the folder, just swipe across the folder to access the apps you want. This is so much easier, compared with creating another folder.

And you can tuck up to 126 apps into each folder. Enough?

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