6 Overlooked New Features of iOS 7

Apple fans have read all about the most exciting features of iOS 7, the soon-to-be-released mobile operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Many of us are already familiar with the redesigned interface, AirDrop being added, the completely updated Notification Center, as well as some much-needed changes to photos, multi-tasking, and the control center (see the video at the end of this article for a closer look at those top features).

But there are a few overlooked features of iOS 7 that I think are worth pointing out. They may not be as visually sexy as the new design, but they all drastically improve overall experience of owning an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

While iOS 7 won't be available to the public until early September, developers (and anyone willing to pay $99 to sign up for a developer account) can download and install iOS 7 beta 6 now. If you're content to wait, here are six overlooked features I think may whet your appetite even more.

1. Limit Ad Tracking
A lot of the best overlooked features of iOS 7 are hidden in the settings, and the ability to limit ad tracking is one of them. This setting—found in Settings > Privacy > Advertising—lets you limit ad tracking and reset your device's "Advertising Identifier." The Advertising Identifier is a "non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier, that apps will use to give you more control over advertisers' ability to use tracking methods," according to Apple's included information. "[I]f you choose to limit ad tracking, apps are not permitted to use the Advertising Identifier to serve you targeted ads." There's a little disclaimer that advertisers are not yet required to use the Advertising Identifier (implying that they use another identifier at the moment), but that they will be soon. This makes it pretty clear that advertisers can essentially track some of your activity on your iOS device and use that information to advertise products and services that are specific to you—unless you choose to limit Ad Tracking with this new feature.

2. Do Not Track in Safari
Another privacy and security feature new to iOS 7 is the Do Not Track option for mobile Safari. It appears to be an updated and better version of iOS 6's Private Browsing. (The desktop version of Safari has Do Not Track for a while.) You can find it in iOS 7 by going to Settings > Safari > and looking under Privacy & Security. It essentially prevents websites, advertisers, and other services from tracking your online behavior.

3. Blocking Numbers for Phone, Messages, FaceTime
You can now block numbers for phone calls, text messages and iMessages, as well as FaceTime calls in one fell swoop. Go to Settings and pick either Messages or FaceTime. Then select Blocked. You're able to add Contacts who should be blocked from all the apps and services just by adding them in either the Messages or FaceTime area of the Settings.

4. Auto Close Captioning and Subtitles
I've really gotten into some of the accessibility features in iOS recently, and iOS 7 has even more. There's a new button for Subtitles and Captioning (Settings > General > Accessibility, and then look under Hearing) that, when enabled, will automatically opt you into using closed captioning and subtitles when they're available. It's a feature that's hard to test thoroughly until the public release of iOS 7, unfortunately, but I love its promise. It even has a setting that lets you change the style of the type (which crashed repeatedly in iOS 7 beta 6; again, we'll have to wait until the final release of iOS 7 to know whether the feature is truly reliable). It's an enticing option for the hard of hearing, as well as speakers of other languages and anyone who has an easier time understanding spoken dialogue when text is provided, too.

5. Apps Popular Near Me
Finding apps that are popular near your current location seems like a gem of a feature for frequent travelers. Let's say you arrive in San Francisco and aren't sure what are the best apps for public transit maps or hiring taxis. The "popular near me" recommendations in the App Store should be able to pull up the most tried and trusted apps for locals. Of course, we'll have to see how it works in practice, but the traveler in me loves this idea.

6. Preset Maps for Walking or Driving Directions
The Maps app has a setting that lets you chance the default preferred directions from driving to walking, which is great for people who tend to go places by foot. (Allow me to add, however, that I'm still not a fan of Apple's Map app, which on a recent trip to Atlanta suggested my destination was half a mile closer than it actually was. Gah.)

For more about new iOS 7 features, see "iOS 7 Features Cribbed from Other Platforms."