Apple unwrapped the latest version of its mobile operating system yesterday, claiming that the accusations the firm didn't know how to innovate were well wide of the mark.

As expected, the new OS features a redesigned look and feel, with light shades and clean lines replacing the faux-leather and wood effects that were so common throughout previous versions.

iOS 7 also features a new Control Centre, allowing users to change certain settings from any screen, such as brightness, wifi and Bluetooth.

Another new feature is AirDrop, which makes it easier to share messages and photos with nearby contacts. This however will only work on iPhone 5.

Apple also revealed iRadio, a music streaming service similar to Spotify and Pandora.

Siri, Apple's voice controlled 'personal assistant' has also been amended, now featuring voices from either gender, rather than just the male voice from The Weakest Link TV show for users in the UK.

Siri will now also search Wikipedia and Bing - as part as the Cupertino firm's ongoing feud with Google, Bing will now be the default search engine for Siri.

Announcing the new features, Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook described iOS 7 as “the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the smartphone.”

iOS 7 will be available on the iPhone 4, 4S and 5, iPad 2 and later, and the fourth and fifth generation iPod Touch. It will be released to consumers this autumn and is available to developers now.