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Apple iOS 7: What you need to know

(MyFoxBoston.com) – Apple rolled out its latest mobile operating system, iOS 7, Wednesday afternoon.

While much of the system remains familiar, Apple says they hope the overall experience is aimed at being more useful, more enjoyable, and more simple.

Many of the changes are obvious, redefined software typography and updated icons with a new color palette.

In a video, released by Apple, Jony Ive, the company's Senior Vice President of Design, says the new iOS 7 system brings order to complexity and adds depth to content.

"While iOS 7 is completely new, it was important to us to make it instantly familiar. We wanted to take an experience that people know very well and actually add to it – to make it more useful, to make it more enjoyable," Ive says.

In addition to the redesigned user interface, iOS 7 touts new features and new applications, including a new control center, an updated camera app, and a content sharing system called AirDrop.

The company says commonly used controls are in one place called: control center. One swipe gives you access to the controls. Additionally, the notification center is now available from the lock screen with a new at a glance view of your day.

The company says the software is more intuitive in keeping track of apps you use on a daily basis.

One of the biggest enhancements that comes with iOS 7 is the improved camera app. The new app allows you to swipe from still, to video, to square frame, and offers a variety of palette filters similar to Instagram.

Siri has also been improved with enhancements, allowing it to search through social media.

The company says iOS 7 ushers in the most significant changes to user interfaces since the introduction of iOS in 2007.

At a Glance:

- Control Center - Allows you to do what you need to, quick. Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb all in one swipe. Play, skip, or pause a song. Connect to AirPlay or activate flashlight, timer, calculator, and camera.

- Notification Center – New feature called Today gives you a convenient summary of your day at a glance, birthdays, missed called, weather and traffic updates, and get a heads up on tomorrow.

- Multitasking – While you multitask, so will your device. iOS 7 is even smarter and will keep your content up to date even while you search other pages and launch other apps. Your phone is going to know what you want before you even ask it to do anything. Creepy or genius?

- Camera – All formats are now front and center. The phone's new filters allow you to do more and be more artistic.

- Photos – Your new photo library will make it easier to relieve precious memories, funny and/or embarrassing moments, and milestones. Updated organization categorizes photos into Collections and Moments. Also, iCloud sharing allows you to easily share photos and videos amongst friends and family.

- AirDrop – Sending information to contacts has never been easier. AirDrop uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to share content with the click of a button. You can share your content with multiple users, just one, or people out of your network, but close by.

- Safari – Browsing is bigger, better, and easier. Searching is also simpler. A new tab view allows you to see all your open content vs. the swipe-by-swipe way we view open pages now.

- iTunes Radio - Streaming radio stations all available on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV for FREE. Your History will allow you to add certain songs to your Wishlist, making downloading easier. You can also build stations and find new artists based on how you edit/skip.

- Siri – Easier to understand and better at answering questions by checking more sources. Siri also has the ability to return calls, play voicemail, control iTunes Radio, and much more.

If I haven't convinced you to try iOS 7, watch this http://www.apple.com/ios/.