New iOS 7 gimmicks may be more reliable than Samsung's Galaxy gimmicks

Samsung makes some great Android handsets, but IMHO they put too many gimmicky features in their devices and then play commercials acting like the gimmicks are easy to use and reliable.

I found it interesting to see Apple including some of these features in iOS7 and wonder if Apple will see people using them past the two-week novelty period.

In the Galaxy S4 we see a huge number of functions available beyond what is provided by the Android OS, including Screen Mirroring, Multi-window, S Beam, Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Stay, Smart Scroll, and S Voice. I have a Galaxy Note II with many of these features available, but I only use the multi-window function -- thanks in large part to the huge 5.5-inch display.

In the upcoming iOS 7 release, we see Apple adding new colorful icons like we see in TouchWiz; a control center similar to that found at the top of Samsung devices; an interface that "tracks" your movements; AirDrop that lets you wirelessly share things with other iOS users in your proximity; an improved version of Siri; and more.

These improvements are nice to see in iOS 7, and I expect that Apple will do a better job than Samsung has at making sure these unique functions work reliably. I do wonder, though, if there should be so much effort put into these kind of features rather than improving the core user experience.

For example, I would love to see some service integration in iOS in things like the photo gallery and contact database. I love how I can have my Facebook photos appear in my Android gallery and have my contact caller ID photo change automatically as my selected service for that contact changes the image. I am not saying I want iOS to copy Android and Windows Phone, but I would like improvements in some core capabilities rather than fluff features that are fun for a week or two.