AppleInsider Staff
Apple on Friday provided developers with the second beta of iOS 7.1, its forthcoming maintenance and security update for iPhone and iPad, with the pre-release software featuring fixes for issues related to iTunes Match, and also making it easier for users to access Touch ID settings on their iPhone 5s.
iOS 7.1 beta 2 is now available for download from Apple's developer website, as well as over the air on test devices. It is not intended for general public use, and is provided solely to developers for testing purposes. The software is said to be identified as build 11D5115d.
People familiar with the second beta of iOS 7.1 revealed that the update addresses a bug with iTunes Match that would make load times of large libraries particularly lengthy. The new update should address that bug and make it easier for iTunes Match subscribers to access their music in the cloud.
In a more obvious change to the software, Apple has reportedly moved the "Touch ID & Passcode" options to the main menu of the system's Settings application. Options for Touch ID and lockscreen passcodes can now be found sandwiched between the "Sounds" and "Privacy" settings.
Apple is also said to have informed developers that crash logs for testing will now appear in the Diagnostics & Usage Data menu in Settings starting with the second beta.
The software is not yet ready for prime-time, and issues remain, including a bug that prevents audiobooks from playing. Apple is also said to have warned developers that iCloud Keychain may not be able to be enabled during new iCloud account setup.
Bugs also exist when running 32-bit apps on 64-bit devices, like the iPhone 5s or iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display. Those 32-bit apps can reportedly have trouble with Bluetooth connectivity.
The first beta of iOS 7.1 was shipped to developers nearly a month ago. The last publicly released update came in the form of iOS 7.0.4 last month, which addressed a bug related to FaceTime calls.
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew O'Hara
43 Comments
That's great!
Calendar update makes it a lot more functional like it used to be.
Faster animations is cool too, I've disabled them and it feels so fast that I wonder if I'll want to re-enable them.
At the pace they are going this looks like a January 2014 release - like in most places, they will probably have a code freeze during the Dec 20-Jan 4th time frame
I hear a button feature has been added to the accessibility settings. And animations are faster.
I get crashes in 7.0.4 on iPhone 5s regularly -- disappointed with the lack of quality control. Why all apps are STILL not landscape compatible, I will never understand -- the Phone app STILL is not. :( Not to mention 3rd party apps -- I wish Apple would mandate that all App Store submission also fully work in landscape mode! It's also dumb that you cannot switch from cellular call to FaceTime Audio, and cannot switch from FaceTime Video to FaceTime Audio w/out ending the session. Also, why can't we get the share button in the Phone app for voicemails?! One of the biggest issues is lists of Apps in Usage or Notifications when you have to scroll forever through a long list, but there is no search ability! It is a still a nightmare to manage Applications on an iOS device when you have many. There is still no unified file system either for storing files except for the Camera Roll - why does it have to be such a kludge?! iOS 7 is a lot of graphic/animation change for visual sake, but some of these meat and potatoes above are still lacking.
I get crashes in 7.0.4 on iPhone 5s regularly -- disappointed with the lack of quality control.
Why all apps are STILL not landscape compatible, I will never understand -- the Phone app STILL is not. Not to mention 3rd party apps -- I wish Apple would mandate that all App Store submission also fully work in landscape mode!
It's also dumb that you cannot switch from cellular call to FaceTime Audio, and cannot switch from FaceTime Video to FaceTime Audio w/out ending the session.
Also, why can't we get the share button in the Phone app for voicemails?!
One of the biggest issues is lists of Apps in Usage or Notifications when you have to scroll forever through a long list, but there is no search ability! It is a still a nightmare to manage Applications on an iOS device when you have many. There is still no unified file system either for storing files except for the Camera Roll - why does it have to be such a kludge?!
iOS 7 is a lot of graphic/animation change for visual sake, but some of these meat and potatoes above are still lacking.
Did you submit these to Apple on their Feedback page? That's the best way to do it. Hell, do it more than once if you have to.