Apple has pushed iOS 7 beta 4 to developers, a release that had been delayed for a week while the company took its developer site down over security concerns. The new build has several interface tweaks and refinements as the operating system heads towards an expected release to the public in September.
Apple's normal schedule of releasing developer seeds every two weeks was interrupted last week when Apple took down developer services after a security researcher claimed he had hacked into Apple's developer data base. Those services were offline while Apple said it was overhauling the security for the site, but began coming back up on Friday.
Several services remain offline, according to a new System Status page Apple set up, but iOS 7 beta 4 showed up as an over-the-air download on devices registered by developers to run iOS 7 betas.
We haven't seen release notes yet, but user reports on reddit say that iOS 7 beta 4 includes several refinements to the interface, including:
- A new arrow on the unlock screen that should clear up any confusion on which way to slide your finger to unlock it (see image below).
- Tweaks to the buttons that allow users to answer their phone or decline calls.
- The Call button on the dialer window is not longer transparent.
- Transparency on folders has been eliminated on the home screen.
- Tweaks to Spotlight searches.
The new iOS 7 beta 4 unlock screen
Image posted to imgur by a reddit member