iOS 7 Tips

When the first version of iOS 7 was released, there was a wealth of awesome new features, but there was also a lot to complain about. The biggest issue by far was, and still is, how custom home and lock screen wallpapers work on iPads and iPhones.

Apple's just released a new beta of iOS 7.1 for developers, Beta 5, which fixes some small bugs and adds some minor feature enhancements. With previous reports stating that the final version of 7.1 was slated for a public release in March, these early leaks are indications that the final will be released in the following weeks, shortly after the Golden Master version hits developers.

Apple has released the third beta of its iOS 7.1 software to developers, just a few weeks after their second beta introduced us to button shapes, a new calendar list view toggle, a hidden Car Display control and several other tweaks and performance improvements.

This last weekend, Apple released the second beta of iOS 7.1 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, and I've got a firsthand look of what's to come in iOS 7.1—the first major update since iOS 7 was released.

As obtrusive as they come, the translucent volume control window that appears in iOS 7 takes up a lot of screen real estate. It's extremely annoying when watching videos, appearing directly in the middle of the movie you're viewing for several seconds any time you adjust the audio levels with the volume rockers.

Apple baked multitasking and quick app switching into iOS back in 2010 with the launch of iOS 4, but the multitasking view changed in iOS 7 to show previews of the apps you have open. Unfortunately, this made swiping through open apps slower than before.

There are definitely some great things about iOS 7, but like any good piece of software, it's got some things to kink out—and how wallpapers work seems to be one of the biggest issues, since it's so much different than in previous iOS versions.

Closing all of your tabs open in Safari is not an exceptionally quick task—you have the choice of either tapping the X on the left edge of each page or swiping each tab to the left of the screen.

With the recent release of iOS 7 there is a world of easter eggs to discover within the new operating system.

How many of you have appointments that start at 11:07 in the morning or 4:46 in the evening? Probably none of you.

If you're an iPhone user, iMessage is great for cutting down on SMS costs from your carrier, but it doesn't always work right away.

Old people are usually perceived as wise and enduring, whereas an old smartphone, like my iPhone 4, becomes the butt of a joke every time I take it out of my pocket. I mean, come on, it's not like I'm still rocking one of these...

I know it's a very first-world problem, but I really can't stand it. Email was invented to speed up communications between people across the world, even just across the office, yet when I'm on my super awesome iPhone running iOS 7, I have to go back and forth between my gallery and my email to send more than five photos at one time.

Apple's line of iPhones, iPads, and iPods are of some of the most advanced devices available on the market. Usually, the biggest complaint is that they are not customizable, but they can be if you exploit a few bugs in the system.

I've been playing around with iOS 7 for a while now, and for the most part, I dig it. It's a nice update for a stale OS, and there are a lot of great new features. But like any good piece of tech, there are a few things to be disliked.

With the release of iOS 7, the entire Internet was abuzz with what's the exact opposite of excitement as Apple's servers were overloaded, causing many download fails of the new operating system.

Every iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch owner has that one folder which contains those never used apps. You know what I am talking about, the folder that contain Stocks, Voice Memos, Game Center, Compass, Newsstand (That's right, iOS 7 allows Newsstand to be placed in a folder!!). What do you call that folder? "Junk," "Hardly Used," "CrApple?" Why not call it nothing at all.

While Siri has never been my favorite, after using her in the new iOS 7, I have definitely become a fan. If you want to know why, check out the newest cool features that Siri has to offer!

Newsstand was the most hated Apple app when it was first introduced, mainly because you could not delete or hide it inside of a junk folder. That's because it acted like a folder itself, with magazine and newspaper apps contained within.

Now that iOS 7 has rolled out to the general public, with an overwhelming fit of mass hysteria, it's only custom for people to start bitching about battery drain—and I don't blame them. I was experiencing some rapid battery drain after first updating my iPhone 5, as well.

When it comes to pronunciation, Siri absolutely butchers my last name. Instead of pronouncing Aguilar as ah-gew-lar, my own "intelligent" personal assistant pronounces it incorrectly as ah-gui-ler.

With the camera usually being pretty simply in the past iOS versions, iOS 7 has seen a few major changes—built-in filters, Instagram-ready square photographs, zoom-in during video recording, and more.

If you're a frequent Snapchatter like myself, you're probably well aware that Snapchat can't stop you or anyone else from taking a screenshot of a photo received. Instead, they notify the sender that a screenshot was taken—a greatly appreciated fair warning when impetuous photographs are involved.

While there were many highlights during Apple's keynote address at WWDC this year, the new advancements to the sassy personal assistant Siri in iOS 7 were amongst the most talked about—and something I was eager to test drive myself.

Panoramic live wallpapers for the iPhone? If the first beta version of iOS 7 is indicative of the imminent public release of Apple's revamped mobile operating system, the answer is a resounding yes.

With the majority of smartphone carriers no longer offering unlimited data plans for the iPhone, monitoring how much mobile data you use is a key element to saving money on your phone bill.

With iOS 7, Apple is finally fighting back against spam, offering the option to block certain phone numbers from sending you text messages or iMessages (plus, phone calls and FaceTime too).

With all the little improvements that Apple made to iOS 7, some older features have been changed or moved (and sometimes, it's not obvious).