Control center. This is arguably the biggest upgrade announced Monday, because it will make the Apple device you use more than any other significantly easier to monkey with. IOS 7 will include an all-new “control center” that users swipe from the bottom to access, revealing instant access to features smartphone users tend to mess with the most: AirPlay on/off, certain apps, brightness adjustments, music play, Wi-Fi connections, even a flashlight. And it’s available from anywhere, including the lock screen.

Siri: Not only is Siri better looking in IOS 7—with an all-new voice—but she no longer has to be a woman. Users can choose a male-voiced Siri. But what’s even better than that is Siri’s “brain,” which promises to be way bigger. No longer limited to searching the Web, making calendar appointments, or answering a few routine questions, the new Siri can now sneak into several apps, playing your last voicemail, turning on Bluetooth, increasing screen brightness, and checking into Twitter.

Better multitasking. The chief complaint of the iPhone-hater club has long been that Apple does a lousy job at letting people use more than one app at a time (at first it wasn’t allowed at all, now it’s only a few select apps). Well, it’s a new day: all apps will now allow multitasking. And they’ll do so without taxing battery life, Apple boldly claims.

Background updates. No more annoying red climbing numbers in the app store. From IOS 7 on, apps will update automatically, in the background, and will be more likely to do so when your phone senses you have good coverage.

Activation lock. With this new feature, thieves who steal your iPhone and then hope to sell it after either turning off the “Find my iPhone” function or wiping the device completely will no longer be able to do so without entering your username and password.

A better Safari. Hoping to catch up to Google and Google Chrome’s intuitive swiping between pages, the new Safari will allow users to roll through an unlimited number of tabs as if through a Rolodex-style function, and also to swipe left and right to move forward and back. No more hunting for the tiny little arrow with your big fat finger, in other words.

Airdrop. If you’d bought into that feature of some Android phones that allow users to “bump” one into the next to exchange playlists and contact information, Apple says it can do one better. With Airdrop’s “share sheets,” users will be able to pull up a list of nearby friends, tap on one or more of them, and send files, playlists, and contact information over encrypted peer-to-peer Wi-Fi. The NSA will love this one.

A better camera app. IOS 7’s camera lets users swipe at the opening screen between photo, video, square photos and panoramic camera settings, and still shots will be immediately filterable with a new set of options built into the app. Apple also revamped its photo app, using the metadata of individual pictures to better organize photos into “moments” and places, making your collection more searchable. Ditto on the NSA.

Notifications in the lock screen. No more punching in your password for a quick peek at emails and messages you missed, friends’ birthdays, the weather, or stock prices. The notification center will all be available right from the lock screen.

A reason to come back to Safari. Apple says its newest version of Safari will not only be faster than competitors Chrome and Firefox but with cooler features. The reading list will appear in a sidebar that offers ready access to bookmarks and “shared links,” those suggested by members of whatever social networks you use; and that content will all be viewable in one long continuous scroll.

The iCloud keychain. No more sticky notes with the 18 different passwords you’re trying to remember for 18 different websites. iCloud’s new keychain option will store complex passwords, credit-card numbers, Wi-Fi access information, and your home address in the encrypted cloud. It’ll even auto-suggest crazy long passwords for you that you’ll never have to remember.

Less-annoying notifications. No more will your weary fingers be forced to slide that heavy mouse all the way from that new message or mail or Facebook update notification. Now you can delete that spammy email right at the notification itself, or reply right there to a message.

A Google Drive competitor? Apple’s newest version of iWork will allow users to create pages, spreadsheets, and keynote presentations anywhere in its iCloud, right inside browser windows and in multitouch apps on the iPhone and iPad.