Apple had been releasing iOS 7 beta every two weeks, like clockwork. However, the extended Apple Developer Website outage obviated the developer seed that was due last week. However, Cupertino’s code monkeys used that extra time to put together a rather impressive update. Yes, iOS 7 Beta 4 is chock full o’ features, including a reference to the long-rumored fingerprint sensor.
Features, tweaks and fixes arrive in abundance in iOS 7 Beta 4, which arrives more than a week late. Whether or not the wait was worthwhile, it does pack quite a punch:
Mail — Deleting individual emails by swiping is faster (the lag is gone!)
Apps – Relocated HDR button. Reminders app include a Search bar
Siri — The help menu in Siri now includes suggestions
Lockscreen — Slide to Unlock has been updated with a shifting highlight color and an arrow
Search (image above) — iPhone Search screen now includes a “Cancel” button
Safari, Mail, AirPlay — Tweaked icons
Folders — Folder fade animation now functions correctly
Phone — The Call button has been slightly altered to take up less of the phone’s screen and the Answer/Decline buttons have also been updated.
Notification Center — Swipe left or right to switch between different parts of Notification Center
Screenshot API — SnapChat can now detect when screenshots are taken
There are, of course, many more small changes and tweaks, but let’s move on to the main event…
iPhone Fingerprinter Sensor: It’s in There
Perhaps the most anticipated new feature in iOS 7, assuming it makes the cut, is biometric security via an integrated fingerprint. Although there hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of an iPhone with fingerprint scanner, developer Hamza Sood spotted references to one within iOS 7 Beta 4:
iPhone home button to contain fingerprint sensor (found in beta 4) pic.twitter.com/tUlZ6xjeer
— Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) July 29, 2013
That is a big deal, though it’s still to early assume a biometric security fingerprint scanner will definitely be part of iOS 7 or the iPhone 5S when they ship this Fall. More than once, Apple has dribbled code references for features, like HDR photography, in iOS betas only to pull them before shipping final code.
Some pretty exciting stuff in iOS 7 Beta 4, no?
via The Verge