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.
