Apple today released iOS 7.1, adding support for its new CarPlay automobile integration, manual control for Siri voice commands and better TouchID support. The company also claimed to have fixed a bug that caused the homescreen to crash, which should hopefully address the issue where iOS devices randomly restart themselves.
CarPlay, which launched earlier this month, allows a car’s in-dash system to control the Phone, Music, Maps, Messages and third-party audio apps.
The new Siri feature now lets you activate Siri while holding the button down so that it will stop listening once you let go. Siri also includes “more natural sounding” voices for Chinese, UK English, Australian English and Japanese.
iOS 7.1 includes minor updates to iTunes Radio, Calendar and Accessibility, as well as subtle changes to the user interface. The iPhone 5s can now automatically enable HDR, and the iPhone 4 should have better performance.
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In advance of the iOS 7.1 release, Apple pushed out iOS 7.0.6 in late February in order to address a serious SSL bug that exposed users to potential attack.
Here’s the iOS 7.1 change log from Apple:
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
Miscellaneous
- 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
Image credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
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