Apple releases iOS 7.1 with CarPlay support, Siri and Touch ID improvements

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2020
Apple on Monday released iOS 7.1, the most significant update to its mobile platform in six months, featuring tweaks to the user interface introduced in iOS 7, fixes for lingering bugs, and new features such as support for the new CarPlay infotainment center.




The newly released iOS 7.1 is identified as build 11D167. As first revealed by AppleInsider last month, the update is said to improve Touch ID fingerprint recognition for iPhone 5s users.

iOS 7.1 also includes a new manual setting for Siri, allowing users to hold the home button on their device to have the system listen, and let go when they are done speaking, as opposed to having Siri automatically detect when a user has finished speaking. The update also allows users to subscribe to iTunes Match directly from their device, allowing for ad-free listening to iTunes Radio.

Owners of the iPhone 4 should also see improved performance with iOS 7.1, while those who buy a compatible vehicle will be able to take advantage of CarPlay. Events can also be displayed in month view, iPhone 5s users can have the camera automatically enable HDR photos, and FaceTime call notifications are now synced across devices through iCloud.




Pre-release versions of iOS 7 have been supplied to developers for testing since last November, making it a particularly lengthy beta period. A mid-March release for iOS 7.1 has been expected for some time.

Release notes accompanying the update state that it includes "improvements and bug fixes." According to Apple, those are:
  • CarPlay
    • iOS experience designed for the car
    • Simply connect your iPhone to a CarPlay enabled vehicle
    • Supports Phone, Music, Maps, Messages, and 3rd-party audio apps
    • Control with Siri and the car's touchscreen, knobs, and buttons
  • Siri
    • Manually control when Siri listens by holding down the home button while you speak and releasing it when you're done as an alternative to letting Siri automatically notice when you stop talking
    • New, more natural sounding male and female voices for Mandarin Chinese, UK English, Australian English, and Japanese
  • iTunes Radio
    • Search field above Featured Stations to easily create stations based on your favorite artist or song
    • Buy albums with the tap of a button from Now Playing
    • Subscribe to iTunes Match on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to enjoy iTunes Radio ad-free
  • Calendar
    • Option to display events in month view
      Country specific holidays automatically added for many countries
  • Accessibility
    • Bold font option now includes the keyboard, calculator, and many icon glyphs
    • Reduce Motion option now includes Weather, Messages, and multitasking UI animations
    • New options to display button shapes, darken app colors, and reduce white point
  • New Camera setting to automatically enable HDR for iPhone 5s
  • iCloud Keychain support in additional countries
  • FaceTime call notifications are automatically cleared when you answer a call on another device
  • Fixes a bug that could occasionally cause a home screen crash
  • Improves Touch ID fingerprint recognition
  • Improved performance for iPhone 4
  • Fixes display of Mail unread badge for numbers greater than 10,000
  • Continued user interface refinements
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 137
    darklitedarklite Posts: 229member

    Nice. What are the new Siri voices like?

  • Reply 2 of 137
    Hope they've made the snooze button larger on the alarm.
    Right now it's about a quarter inch high by one inch wide.
    Way too small to focus on when you're waking up.
  • Reply 3 of 137
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    I'd have liked SIRI to note when I stopped touching the home button via TouchID rather than having to keep it physically pressed in.

  • Reply 4 of 137
    @robotstorm: For snooze, just hit the lock button.
  • Reply 5 of 137
    Just starting the download. I'm hoping some of these phone resets/springboard crashes are fixed. Has been the bane of my life in the past number of months.
  • Reply 6 of 137
    The ability to hold the home button to dictate the listening time to siri will be nice, especially in loud environments.
  • Reply 7 of 137
    sporlosporlo Posts: 143member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by alcstarheel View Post



    Just starting the download. I'm hoping some of these phone resets/springboard crashes are fixed. Has been the bane of my life in the past number of months.

    Yeah, the constant crashing (5S here) is literally the only thing I really care about getting fixed. It's basically 90% backboardd, a little bit of SpringBoard, a little bit of mediaserverd, and the rest being specific apps (often Safari, but there's quite a variety).

  • Reply 8 of 137
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    Hi, I'm Jack Ass Analyst here on Wall Street. I am urging my clients to sell their APPL positions based on the contents of this update. We originally forecasted that this update would contain holographic enhancements and a olfactory sensor, which would allow apps to recognize a food dish. However, since Apple has let us down once again by not meeting our outlandish prognostications, we are urging our clients to SELL.

    Samsung, with its lack of filters for the plethora of features it blindly slaps onto and into its phones, proves much more compelling for consumers who are easily delighted by senseless options, which they forget about by the time they arrive home from their local Android bazaar.
  • Reply 9 of 137
    Snappier?
  • Reply 10 of 137
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    robotstorm wrote: »
    Hope they've made the snooze button larger on the alarm.
    Right now it's about a quarter inch high by one inch wide.
    Way too small to focus on when you're waking up.

    Stayed the same size. But Safari hasn't crashed while posting this, so there.
  • Reply 11 of 137
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tpf1952 View Post



    Snappier?

    Apparently so for the 4, which, if true, is pretty amazing considering it is a very old phone by now. If Apple has managed to breathe a little life into the old 4 it will be very welcome to the millions of people who still use one, or everyone who has one or more collecting dust in a drawer somewhere. I have been vey hesitant even giving mine away as the experience is not great. 

  • Reply 12 of 137

    I am downloading the update.  I have a weird question.  My iphone5 the update is 1.27gb.  I call my friend that has a iphone 5, and he told me that his update was only 214mb as the article show!!  has someone has see these???? Note: i am making the update from my macbook pro! Is downloading all the IOS instead of making the update?

  • Reply 13 of 137
    Much snappier on my iPhone 5.

    install was quick too. Hopefully they've fixed the bluetooth keyboard crashing bug.

    As a bonus: all of my iTunes Match music seems to finally have the correct artwork!
  • Reply 14 of 137
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by CarlosDeBernard View Post

    has someone has see these????

     

    Yeah. Every model has a separate file that only works on that model.

  • Reply 15 of 137
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member

    Originally Posted by tpf1952 View Post



    Snappier?

     

    The snappiest.

    Ever.

  • Reply 16 of 137
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    I am downloading the update.  I have a weird question.  My iphone5 the update is 1.27gb.  I call my friend that has a iphone 5, and he told me that his update was only 214mb as the article show!!  has someone has see these???? Note: i am making the update from my macbook pro! Is downloading all the IOS instead of making the update?

    When updating through iTunes while connected over USB I believe it downloads the full 7.1 update. A stand alone update, over WiFi in my case, downloaded the delta, which indeed is a mere 214MB. My iPad downloaded the delta as well: 207MB in my case.
  • Reply 17 of 137
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    sockrolid wrote: »
    tpf1952 wrote: »
    Snappier?

    The snappiest.
    Ever.

    I wonder how this experience will be on Android. Is it something, like, BOOM¿
  • Reply 18 of 137

    The picture shows the wireless incremental update. If you update via iTunes, you will be downloading the full 1.20 Gb IPSW container. 

  • Reply 19 of 137
    damonfdamonf Posts: 229member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CarlosDeBernard View Post

     

    I am downloading the update.  I have a weird question.  My iphone5 the update is 1.27gb.  I call my friend that has a iphone 5, and he told me that his update was only 214mb as the article show!!  has someone has see these???? Note: i am making the update from my macbook pro! Is downloading all the IOS instead of making the update?


    Correct.  If you download and install the update via iTunes, you will download the entire image file.  The 214 MB update is the "over the air" update you run via WiFi directly on your iOS device (Settings app -> General -> Software Update)

  • Reply 20 of 137
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member

    Nice update! I just hope the constant Safari crash is fixed. It happens at least 10 times a day for me on my iPhone 5s. Same with my iPad. 

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