The major changes mentioned in the iOS 7.1 release notes include CarPlay support, improvements to Siri's voice in some languages, an option to display Calendar events in month view with a button tap, improvements to accessibility features and more. But, digging around we found some new cool additions and improvements, so here they are:
Faster Animations
This isn't much of a hidden feature, in fact it's probably the first thing you'll notice but, it definitely is a welcomed change. Previously, animations took too long before the interface began accepting input, leaving you waiting for things like the icons to align into the grid layout after unlocking your device. (If you ever tried using "Reduced Motion" then you would understand). It will take some getting used to just like the next addition in our list but you'll begin appreciating it soon.
New Keyboard
The second thing you'll probably notice is the new keyboard with all new bold text and an inverted shift/caps lock button. Honestly, after just a few hours, I'm already finding myself getting used to it but the shift/caps lock button might bother many.Darker Phone, Messages and FaceTime Icons
New Bounce Animation
Pulling up Control Center will now animate with a quick and exaggerated bounce after being released. On the other hand, it is hardly noticeable on Notification Center, so much that I'm not exactly sure if it even exists.
Notification Center
Notification Center now says "No Notifications" if you don't have any instead of just staying blank. Also, notifications now have a slightly larger 'X' button for clearing a notification. Lastly, the Calendar Widget in the Today Tab now shows a red line to inform you of the current time relative to your scheduled events. (@nertilduraku one of the many that follow us @AskSUAPP).
Perspective Zoom
A new "Perspective Zoom" option is now available while setting a new
wallpaper - the simple feature that will put a few apps out of business.
Before, iOS 7 cropped images used as wallpapers by default so Parallax
would work properly. But now, if don't care about the full Parallax
effect and would rather enjoy the full image then just set Perspective
Zoom to off. This however seems to preserve some of the parallax effect.If you would like my current wallpaper, you can get it here!
New Phone Call Buttons
Other Differences
- "Slide to unlock" now glows differently.
- The Spotlight Search bar has been slimmed down.
- Pressing the Share button on photos now has a smoother animation.
- New "Slide to power off" slider and "Cancel" button.
- iPhone's will only vibrate once instead of twice after receiving a reply from whomever you're speaking with while you have the conversation open in Messages. (We're loving this subtle feature.)
- Restrictions now allows you to restrict the use of CarPlay.
That's all we found so far, if you find any that we missed leave a comment telling us. iOS 7.1 is a great improvement to iOS 7 and you should update if you still haven't. Can't wait for iOS 8!