10 Reasons to Download iOS 7.1 to Your Apple Device

by Don Reisinger

Apple last month announced CarPlay, a service that will allow iPhone owners to have full Siri, iTunes and Messages integration in cars equipped to work with the platform. Considering some automakers are launching models this year with CarPlay included, Apple integrated that feature into iOS 7.1. Although you won’t get much use out of it right now, that might change soon.

One of the biggest issues with Siri in iOS 7 was that it would guess when the user was done talking. That would at times delay responses and in other cases cause inaccuracies. To fix that, iOS 7.1 includes a feature that now lets users manually control Siri. Now, Siri turns on when the home button is held down and stops listening once it’s released. It makes the experience much quicker.

Although the main updates to iTunes Radio focus on making it easier to buy music, Apple has also added a search field above Featured Stations to make it easier to create new stations. It’s a small update, sure, but it’s an important one for those who create a lot of stations.

In iOS 7, to see an entire month’s worth of events, users would need to click on an icon. The app has now been given an important upgrade, allowing users to see an entire month’s view in a single pane right out of the gate. This feature is one of the most sought-after upgrades, based on Apple forum discussions, so it’s nice to see Apple listening to its users.

When iOS 7 launched, iPhone 4 owners said the operating system delivered a downright awful experience on their older handset. Apple has addressed that issue in iOS 7.1, making the operating system more responsive and smoother for iPhone 4 owners. The experience isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly better.

Some minor user interface upgrades have made their way to iOS 7.1. For one thing, the lock screen and call-answer screens are slightly redesigned and feature a nicer look. Apple has also improved transitions between apps and refined spots where design enhancements were needed. Overall, the company did a fine job improving the user interface.

iPhone 5S owners should be quite happy with what they find in iOS 7.1. The software has improved Touch ID fingerprint detection and automatically enables the HDR feature in the iPhone 5S camera settings. Apple has also addressed some bugs that affected iPhone 5S owners more prominently than others. All in all, it’s a nice upgrade for those folks.

A huge group of people in the Apple Support forums have been complaining about a soft reset bug in iOS 7 that results in occasional application crashes that cause users to lose all their work, such as email drafts, browsing history, notes and incomplete Web data entries. Apple says that issue has been fixed.

Accessibility features are extremely important to many iOS users. That’s why Apple spent considerable time upgrading accessibility in iOS 7.1. The operating system now includes a bold font feature, reduced motion for animations, and the ability to modify button shapes, app colors and white points. Those who require the accessibility features will be quite pleased by what they find.

After downloading iOS 7.1, users should see a significant improvement in the operating system’s overall functionality. From opening apps to transitioning between programs to simply handling tasks, iOS 7.1 feels a bit quicker and more responsive than its predecessor. That alone might be enough to get users to download iOS 7.1.