iOS 7 is the biggest update to iOS since it launched. A new beautiful User Interface has been developed, with updates to core Apple apps and newly design icons. It incorporates some powerful new features to make the experience as seamless as possible, including an all new control centre, AirDrop, big updates to notification centre, and all new animations.

Below I’ve listed 10 tips for things that might not be so obvious in iOS 7:

Spotlight

As the popup reveals when you first install iOS 7, Spotlight no longer lives on it’s own screen. Spotlight is now available from all home screens simply by sliding the screen down. You can still search email, messages, notes, apps etc but Apple have removed the ability to search the web or Wikipedia:

Delete/Forward Messages

Apple have changed the way you delete/forward individual messages. You now have to tap and hold the message you want to delete/forward and select ‘More’ from the pop over. You can also get an accurate time the message was sent by sliding the message from the right.

Safari menu bars

Safari in iOS 7 has had a huge makeover. One of the new features is that the top and bottom bars slide away to allow the user to focus on the content. You can make these bars come back in a number of ways: Tap the top URL bar, or tap where the bottom bar would have been:

Access music app in Control Centre

In iOS 6 you could quickly access the app that was playing music/media via the multi tasking tray. This feature may not be so prominent in  iOS 7’s Control Centre, simply tap the name of the song/media to quickly access the app:

Block numbers

iOS 7 finally brings the ability to block numbers from calling or messaging you. Simply go to the phone app, click on the blue i and scroll down to block this caller.

New unread mailbox

All of the stock Apple apps have been re-designed in someway, and the mail app is no different. Mail now an inbox that only shows unread email. EDIT: As @miametro pointed out you need to enable this mailbox in mail by tapping edit (top right) and checking the ‘Unread’ box. You can also set up custom mailboxes for any of your mail accounts, which is pretty cool.

Turn off auto updates

If you’re on a low data plan or don’t want your apps to automatically update, you can turn off auto updates in: Settings > iTunes & App store > updates (under the automatic download heading):

Eating a lot of data? See app by app breakdown of data usage.

Again, if you you’re on a low data plan you might be interested to know which of your apps use the most data. Simply go to Settings > Mobile/Cellular and scroll down to view the list and the option to turn off data for that app:

Swipe up to quit app in multitasking

Multitasking has a whole new user interface. Instead of having to tap and hold to reveal the little red cross for you to quit an app, in iOS 7 you simply swipe the app ‘card’ up and it’ll disappear:

Go back/forward

You can now swipe from left edge to go back in Apple apps such as: settings, App Store, photos, messages, mail, Maps, notes, calendar. Safari also allows swiping from the left to go back and from the right to go forward. A key hint here is the animation, if, when you tap on something, the new window slides in the from the right you’ll be able to slide from the oft to go back to the previous page:

As an aside, I love iOS 7. The new look and the new API’s for developers (particularly background refresh, and AirDrop) has set iOS on a course that will truly delight users.