Hidden iOS 7 feature puts panoramas in lock screen

(Credit: Apple)

An otherwise undocumented iOS 7 feature has been discovered that lets users view the entirety of large, panoramic photos on their iPhone's lock screen.

The feature uses the device's built-in gyroscope to track movement, and pans across the photo. In its demos of the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple had only shown off that the background of the lock screen and home screen would move slightly as users tilted the phone.

A Vine of the eye candy, spotted by Business Insider on Wednesday, shows the feature in motion. Try not to throw up watching this (hint: clicking it will stop it):

Apple introduced the panoramic photo feature inside of iOS 5 last year. The technology, which was outed in earlier versions of the software, stitches together a panoramic photo as users slowly pan their device from side to side. Similar features also are available on rival smartphone platforms, including Google's Photo Sphere feature, which lets users capture 360-degree, interactive photos.

An initial beta of iOS 7 was released to developers Monday, in what is expected to be the first of several ahead of its release. Apple has not provided an exact date for its release, short of this fall, when the company is also expected to introduce its next iPhone. There are still no versions of iOS 7 available for iPads, just the iPhone and latest-generation iPod Touch.