Technology and the Internet

Photos: 10 iOS 7 features you should know about

In iOS 7, users don't have to worry about updating their apps constantly. The software does this automatically, saving users the hassle. Interestingly, this feature was requested by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was on a committee grilling Apple's CEO Tim Cook over the company's questionable tax practices.

In iOS 7, users don’t have to worry about updating their apps constantly. The software does this automatically, saving users the hassle. Interestingly, this feature was requested by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was on a committee grilling Apple’s CEO Tim Cook over the company’s questionable tax practices.  (Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times)

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Apple’s iOS 7 is coming Wednesday, and with it, a whole lot of new features. Ten of the most useful features on the latest version of Apple’s new mobile operating system are shown here. You’ll want to test these out after you download and install iOS 7.

Dynamic wallpapers

On iOS 7, users can select dynamic wallpapers for their device’s background. If you aren’t sure what those are, they’re simply wallpapers that are animated. IOS 7 comes with a few, which have little bubbles that move around depending on how you tilt the device.  (Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times)

Safari's Unified Smart Search Field

The top bar in Safari no longer includes separate address and search fields. Apple has combined the two into the Unified Smart Search Field, where you can either type a website address or simply do a search query. It’s a minor tweak but it makes things more simple.  (Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times)

Swipe to go back

Navigating around iOS 7 should be quicker than on other versions of the mobile platform because now users can simply swipe on their screen to go back to the previous page they were on. This gesture works on some apps, including Safari, Messages and Mail.  (Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times)

FaceTime Audio

If you don’t like wasting your call minutes, you can use FaceTime Audio to talk to other iOS users for free. Just like FaceTime video calling and Skype, FaceTime Audio uses the Internet to connect the call. Theoretically, the feature should allow for free international calls with other iOS users. Whether this feature works on your data network will depend on which wireless carrier you have. It should work over Wi-Fi networks.   (Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times)

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