The little things in the new mobile OS that
make the big difference
iOS 7 tips and tricks 1-10
The jury may still be out on iOS 7's
radical redesign - for what it's worth we
love it, with a few reservations - but
there's no denying that it's the friendliest
version and most powerful of iOS yet.But
there's more to iOS 7 than headline
features such as Control Center, Airdrop
and iTunes Radio: some of our favourite
improvements are little things that make
our everyday lives that little bit more
pleasant. These are our favourites - let us
know yours in the comments.Check out
our iOS 7 review for the full lowdown!
1. Camera: shoot in burst mode
The redesigned Camera app has a nifty
trick up its sleeve: if you want to shoot in
burst mode, taking multiple shots in quick
succession, just click and hold the
volume-up button.
2. Multitasking: quit multiple apps
You probably know that you can quit
running apps by double-tapping the Home
button and flicking the offending app
upwards, but you might not have tried it
with multiple fingers to force-quit more
than one app at a time. We've made it
work with three apps on our iPhone,
although doing the same on an iPad
means getting your nose involved too.
3. Notifications: begone!
When you receive a new notification, you
can still swipe right to open the
appropriate app - but if you just want rid
of it you can now swipe up to hide it.
4. All new balancing act
iOS 7 is bad news for novelty app
developers: not only has the Control
Center killed the market for flashlight apps,
but Compass has done the same for spirit
level apps too.
If you launch the app you'll see the
familiar dots at the bottom of the screen
that indicate there's a second screen:
swipe it and you'll see a spirit level for all
your checking-things-are-flat needs.
5. Phone, FaceTime and Messages: block
contacts
Does someone have your number and you
wish they didn't? Successfully avoid exes,
creditors and the angry husbands and
wives of your lovers with iOS 7's excellent
blocking features. Add the number to your
Contacts, scroll down to the bottom of the
screen and tap Block This Caller to refuse
incoming calls, messages (including SMS
and MMS) and FaceTime calls.
6. Messages: see the timestamps
iOS 7 likes to keep things nice and
minimalist, but if key information isn't
visible there's a good chance it's just a
swipe away - so for example in Messages,
you won't see timestamps against each
SMS, MMS or iMessage. Want to know
when they were sent? Swipe left.
7. Apps: swipe backwards
This little tip is a handy time-saver: when
you're finished reading an email or
message, or fiddling with Settings, or
exploring a Music playlist, swipe
backwards to return to the previous page.
If you're at the first level (such as your list
of mailboxes in Mail, or the first Settings
screen) nothing will happen.
8. Location Services: see where you've
been
iOS 7 keeps an eye on where you go to
help it personalise features such as the
Notification Center, and to help improve
the accuracy of Maps. If you fancy a look
you'll find it in Settings > Privacy >
Location Services > System Services >
Frequent Locations. You'll see a list and a
map, with blue circles showing where
you've been and when. You can clear the
history from this page, and if you think it's
a little creepy you can turn it off from the
System Services page.
9. Newsstand: put it away!
We like Newsstand, but we don't like the
way it can't be stuck in a folder like
Apple's other stock apps. Hallelujah for
iOS 7, then, because at last that absurd
restriction has been removed.
10 . Settings: make iOS 7 easier on the
eye
We like the new interface, but it isn't for
everyone. If you have problems with your
sight or just want to make iOS more
legible, you'll find some useful settings in
Settings > General > Accessibility. You can
make all system text bold, increase the
size of text in apps that support Apple's
Dynamic Type, scale down motion effects
such as the parallax effect or invert the
colours to make iOS 7 look like a 1980s
electro-pop album cover.
11 more handy iOS 7 tips
11. Sounds: get some new tones
iOS 7's library of sounds (Settings >
Sounds > Sounds and vibration patterns)
has been given a regular update, and
Apple says they're so good you might
miss calls because you're dancing. That,
frankly, isn't very likely.
12. AutoFill: let Safari input your details
Feeling trustworthy? Safari can
automatically fill out web forms using your
Contact info, previous names and
passwords, and credit card details, should
you so wish. You can toggle these AutoFill
options individually from Settings > Safari
> Passwords > AutoFill.
13. Siri: now reads your emails
Siri makes light work of not only listing
emails in your inbox, but also reading
them out to you. Hold down the Home
button and say, "Read my emails" and Siri
will give you sender, time and date sent,
and the subject of each in turn. When
asked if you want it to read out your mail,
just say "Yes".
14. Apps: one folder to rule them all
Unlike previous versions of iOS, there's no
limit to the number of apps you can file
away in a single folder. Now you can
simply pile icons onto each other to your
heart's content. Finally, an end to the
Games 1, Games 2, Games 3 (ad
nauseum) home screen debacle.
15. Motion: reducing sickness
iOS 7 likes to advertise its existence to
you with all manner of motions,
animations and alerts. If all the hullabaloo
is leaving you slightly queasy, put a
dampener on things by selecting Settings
> General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion
> Off.
16. Notification Centre: not on my lock
screen
Notification Centre got a visual overhaul in
the latest version of iOS, offering a neat
snapshot of your appointments and
message snippets accessible from the lock
screen. But not everyone wants their
itinerary on show to all and sundry.
Happily you can turn off this overview
from Settings > Notification Centre, using
the sliders listed under - you guessed it -
'Access on Lock Screen'.
17. Compass: invoke the spirit
The compass is a mainstay of iOS, but
has been redesigned to look less 'Forstall'
and more 'Ive'. That's not all though, as a
quick swipe left in the app reveals: a spirit
level now accompanies the navigational
tool, ensuring future DIY jobs should be a
little less skewed.
18. Maps: walk or drive everywhere
Maps still has its downsides, but it's
useful for the most part - more so now
that you can choose a default mode of
travel. If you're more rambler than driver
and want to avoid having to define your
directions as such, simply tap to Settings
> Maps and select Walking under Preferred
Directions.
19. App Store: Near Me
A new tab in the App Store app called Near
Me automatically lists the most popular
apps in your general location. That might
sound a bit gimmicky, but we found it
useful when visiting towns and cities for
the first time, when it turned up local
transport and tourist information apps.
20. Apps: Background App Refresh
iOS 7 introduces the ability to selectively
control which apps are allowed to refresh
their content while you're getting on with
other business. When battery life is at a
premium, turn off any offenders by going
to Settings > General > Background App
Refresh.
21. Apps: Automatic Updates
iOS can now update your apps
automatically. That's great as long as a)
you have an unlimited data plan, and b)
your favourite app's functionality doesn't
get mangled with some poorly advised
revisions. Control this function either way
by going to Settings > iTunes and App
Store and sliding the Updates option under
Automatic Downloads.
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