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iOS 7 Brings Dynamic and Panoramic Wallpapers to the iPhone

It's no secret that Apple heavily borrowed a few ideas from the jailbreaking community for iOS 7, and it looks like they also took a few notes from Google's playbook. iOS 7 will allow users to choose between motion or still wallpaper for their device's background image. iDownloadblog discovered several basic wallpapers, and two Apple created animated wallpapers in the iOS 7 beta. You can see from the video posted below, that the two bubble wallpapers gives your iPhone a lava lamp kind of look.

iOS 7 New Look

iPhone 5 users will also be able to use their favorite panoramic images from their Photo app as their Lock or Home screen wallpapers. The panoramic wallpaper effect is a lot like the Android option that allows you to pan your phone's background image left and right. It is unknown if Apple will allow third party animated backgrounds to be used, or if they will somehow make more of their self-created wallpapers available in the future.

Here's What Your iPhone Will Look Like in a Few Months

Monday was a huge day for the tech world. Most eyes were glued to the console wars, where Sony ultimately made the Xbox One look like an overpriced glorified cable box. Apple was also busy showing off its new redesigned OS, which is going to give your iPhone and iPad a whole new look and feel. Apple unveiled iOS 7 at the WWDC keynote on Monday, and it was a huge announcement, even if it was overshadowed by the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This is an advanced warning, your iPhone is going to drastically change, so you better start getting used to it now.

iOS 7 New Look

iOS 7 is going to completely change your iPhone. Your app icons, phone keypad, email and everything else are getting complete makeovers. Here are two charts that compare the new iOS 7 icons to the old iOS 6 icons. The only way you can avoid these new icons is by not upgrading to iOS 7 when it's released.

iOS 7 Adds Call Blocking to the iPhone

UPDATE: How to block calls and text messages with iOS 7.

One of the biggest features lacking on the iPhone is the ability to block incoming calls from specific people. Previously you needed a jailbroken device and an app called iBlacklist to block calls, but soon everyone will be able to stop their exes or bill collectors from contacting them. Developers found a new "Block Contact" option in the recently released iOS 7 beta. The new feature allows you to block phone calls, FaceTime calls and messages from a specific contact listed in your Phone app.

iOS 7 Features

You can easily remove people from your blocked caller list by going to their contact screen via the Phone app. There is a "Unblock this Caller" option at the bottom of each individual contact card that has been blocked. Just tap the "Unblock" button and you will be able to receive calls from that specific person again. This is a great option for on-again, off-again relationships, and a new way to identify and ignore telemarketers.

22 iOS 7 Changes Not Mentioned by Apple

Keynote presentations have a time limit, and it's a good thing because discussing 1500 new iOS 7 APIs could get tiring. iPhone owners are now used to hundreds of improvements and new features added in every major iOS release, and iOS 7 is no different. Not only has the entire interface been redesigned, but as developers test the beta release changes that Apple didn't have time to mention are discovered.

iOS 7 home screen

Towards the end of the WWDC presentation Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, quickly mentioned a few iOS 7 features in passing. FaceTime audio calling, notification sync across devices, per app VPN and message/call blocking to name a few. He went into a bit more detail when describing activation lock, which makes it harder for thieves to use stolen iOS devices.

iPhone Games Coming to a TV Near You

Pretty soon iOS gamers will be able to play all their favorites full-sized on a real television screen. GamePop promises to bring this technology to couches everywhere, linking mobile gaming to bigger displays. The games be controlled with an iOS device (great for games that work by tilting the phone) or with GamePop's included video game controller.

The GamePop console uses new mobile-to-TV technology known as "Looking Glass" to play iOS games on different hardware. According to the company, the console is not an emulator. CNET quotes BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma, "Looking Glass works at the API-level... it embraces all aspects of running the [game] app and using the [GamePop] app as the controller." GamePop claims the games run just as fast if not faster than they run on top-tier smartphones.

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