Where to find the bubble level in iOS 7

Did you know iOS 7 includes a bubble level? Well, it does, but it's hiding in a strange spot.

Matt Elliott Senior Editor

Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he's not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.

Expertise Laptops, desktops, all-in-one PCs, streaming devices, streaming platforms

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Matt Elliott

Sept. 20, 2013 10:59 a.m. PT

The bubble or spirit level is not among the headlining features of iOS 7, but if you are assembling a piece of Ikea furniture, hanging a picture, or otherwise find yourself in need of a level, it can save you a trip to the garage or basement for your actual level or the App Store for such a third-party app.

Apple didn't grant the humble bubble level its own app, instead choosing to hide it within another default app. Care to guess which one? Time's up! The answer (drum roll, please): the Compass app.

If you look carefully, you'll notice the new Compass app for iOS 7 includes two dots at the bottom of the screen, denoting a second page exists. And if you swipe to reveal that second page, you'll encounter the bubble level.

The level works when you hold your iPhone horizontally: