iOS 7.1 beta includes revamped iOS in the Car feature

Earlier today, iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith shared screen shots of iOS in the Car running in the iOS simulator for iOS 7.0.3. While he was forthcoming with screen grabs and even a short video, he declined to share instructions on how to enable this mode as it is reportedly difficult in iOS 7.0.x builds. MacPaw developer Denis Stas started poking around iOS 7.1 beta 2 and discovered the latest beta of iOS 7.1 opens up iOS in the Car, making it easier to enable the feature in the iOS simulator.

MacPaw developer Denis Stas not only posted screen shots of the iOS 7.1 version of iOS in the Car, he also detailed how he enabled the mode in the beta 2 software. Stas lists the following three steps to get iOS in the Car up and running on your Mac.

• Get Xcode 5.1 DP2 (it was tested with DP2, and doesn’t seem to work correctly with other developer previews)
• Clone https://github.com/zyafa/iOSCar
• Build & Run cloned project and carefully follow instructions

This preview is only available to developers who have access to iOS 7.1 beta 2 and Xcode 5.1 DP2. Stas cautions users that iOS in the Car is unstable and accessing it this way is not officially supported by Apple.

Apple apparently is making progress on the software as the iOS 7.1 version of iOS in the Car features a different design than the iOS 7.0.3 version. The latest version has a polished feel that’s more in line with iOS 7. It’s rumored that development of iOS in the Car has been slower than expected due to internal organizational issues within the company. Though developers can preview the software, it is not clear when Apple will officially release it publicly.

Posted by Julie on Jan 29, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

Apple patches another exploit used in evasi0n7 with iOS 7.1 beta 5

evasi0n7, the iOS 7 jailbreak, exploits a number of vulnerabilities in iOS to jailbreak the iPhone or iPad. Apple patched some of these vulnerabilities in iOS 7.1 beta 4, and it continues to do so in the recently released iOS 7.1 beta 5.

According to iH8sn0w, developer of p0sixspwn, Apple has patched a vulnerability in chown that was used by evasi0n7 to gain access to a filesystem path that is otherwise protected.

Apple fixed the chown vuln that appeared in iOS 7 (http://t.co/65wfTkCKML) and used by evasi0n7 by checking to see if its a symlink again

— iH8sn0w (@iH8sn0w) February 4, 2014

… and their solution was to use lchown.

— iH8sn0w (@iH8sn0w) February 4, 2014

In iOS 7.1 beta 4, Apple had fixed a kernel exploit used in evasi0n.

evad3rs had released a new version of evasi0n7 to add support for iOS 7.1 beta 3, but they didn’t release a version for iOS 7.1 beta 4 and it doesn’t look like they’ll release an update for iOS 7.1 beta 5 either. MuscleNerd had earlier said that they evad3rs team won’t comment on whether exploits have been closed or not in iOS betas.

.@OpTicK1LLa evasi0n7 was already partially fixed in the last beta by patching the kernel exploit.

— iH8sn0w (@iH8sn0w) February 4, 2014

While we hope that the evad3rs team has some exploits in reserve in case current ones get burned, you should avoid upgrading to iOS 7.1 when it is released if you want to keep your jailbreak.

Posted by Jason on Feb 04, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

Here’s what’s new in iOS 7.1 beta 5

Apple earlier today seeded iOS 7.1 beta 5 to developers of its iOS developer program.

Here’s what’s new in iOS 7.1 beta 5:

• Apple has made some changes to the Shift and Caps Lock key in the keyboard in beta 5:

Shift enabled (left), Shift disabled (middle), Caps lock enabled (right)

• iOS 7.1 beta 5 adds new natural-sounding Siri voices for English (Australia), English (United Kingdom), Japanese, and Chinese (Mandarin – China).

• iTunes Radio has a new “Buy album” button in addition to the button that lets you buy the individual song:

• The button to toggle list view in the inbuilt Calendar app has been made bolder:

• Apple has patched another exploit used by evasi0n7 in iOS 7.1 beta 5. Check this post for more details.

• Apple has renamed the option to disable the parallax effect in wallpapers as “Perspective Zoom” instead of “Motion.” Thanks Robin for the tip!

Features and Improvements in previous iOS 7.1 betas:

Here are some of the new features and improvements that have been discovered in the previous beta versions of iOS 7.1:

• iOS 7.1 beta 1
• iOS 7.1 beta 2
• iOS 7.1 beta 3
• iOS 7.1 beta 4

We’ll keep on updating this post as we find more changes. If you find anything new that hasn’t been mentioned here then please send us an email to tips@iphonehacks.com or post them in the comments below.

[via MacRumors]

Posted by Jason on Feb 04, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

iOS 7.1 to launch in the coming weeks

According to BGR, Apple may be close to releasing iOS 7.1. The company will allegedly not release another beta version to developers and will jump right to the gold master version. There is no tentative date for the release of the gold master other than soon.

Earlier reports from BGR suggested iOS 7.1 would land in March, but the latest information from the blog suggests the March date was farther away than expected.

We have learned that Apple will most likely not release another iOS 7.1 beta for download, meaning that the public release of the software should be available sometime in the coming weeks. One of our sources pegs the release happening in early March, though that does seem far away for us. We expect a gold master build to be available before iOS 7.1 makes it way into general customers’ hands, though there is currently no hard date for that.

iOS 7.1 is expected to fix a handful of problems with bug crashes and slowness in the OS. Apple also reportedly is tweaking the UI to make it more consistent across apps. Apple released beta version 5 of iOS 7.1 today with a handful of minor improvements in the keyboard, calendar and more.

Posted by Julie on Feb 04, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

Apple plans to release iOS 7.1 in March

Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac reports that according to “reliable sources,” Apple plans to release iOS 7.1 in March.

It was initially reported that Apple will release the next major update for iOS 7 in March. But after the release of iOS 7.1 beta 5, it was speculated that Apple may release it in February.

Gurman has an excellent track record when it comes to Apple related rumors. He also notes that iOS 7.1 won’t include any hidden or secret features, and will primarily focus on UI tweaks and bug fixes.

He also speculates that Apple could showcase some of iOS 7.1 features at a media event in March, where it could unveil the next generation Apple TV. According to rumors, the next generation Apple TV come with integrated Airport Express and TV-Tuner. It could also come with a “revamped OS” that’ll be able to run its own apps and games rather than relying on iPhones and iPads via AirPlay.

Here’s the new features and improvements that we have discovered so far in the five beta versions:

• iOS 7.1 beta 1
• iOS 7.1 beta 2
• iOS 7.1 beta 3
• iOS 7.1 beta 4
• iOS 7.1 beta 5

Apple has also patched exploits  in iOS 7.1 which will break the evasi0n7 jailbreak.

[via 9to5Mac]

Posted by Gautam on Feb 07, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

iOS 7.1 to fix issue with geolocation in force-closed apps

According to developers, the iOS 7 has a troubling issue with geolocation in which location-based apps lose their ability to track GPS coordinates when force-closed by a user. In the latest iOS 7.1 beta, this issue has been resolved, allowing applications to remain location aware even when closed by a user, says a report in MacRumors.

This forced shutdown of location services allegedly has been an issue for developers since the release of iOS 7 last fall. More than an inconvenience, this issue has damaged the ratings and review scores of location-based apps as users leave negative reviews when the app suddenly stops tracking location without any apparent reason.

MacRumors spoke to Life360, a service with an accompanying iOS app that lets users track family members using geolocation, about this issue. The blog obtained a letter that the Life360 team and other developers sent to Apple to explain the effect on their app performance and reviews.

“Dear Apple iOS Development Team,

We are a group of Apple developers who rely on iOS geolocation services for core parts of our businesses. iOS 7 was hugely exciting to us, as new features such as Location Beacons, Background Networking, and Multi-Peer Connectivity give us the ability to do things we never thought were possible.

In previous versions of iOS, if a user killed an application in the app switcher, developers were still able to get geolocation in the background. With iOS 7, once a user kills an application, all processes are terminated until the user manually restarts the app. We appreciate the intent behind this change, which we realize was done to give users more control over what is running on their phones, but it has caused major unintended consequences. … Many developers who rely on background geolocation have seen their app ratings fall by over 3 stars.”

According to Life360, the developers noticed a change in iOS 7.1 beta 5 that changed the way iOS handles geolocation in force-closed apps. In this latest beta, the location services component of the app continues to run in the background even though the app has been closed down.

Some users may not like this change as those who take the time to use the force-close method of shutting down apps, do it deliberately because they don’t want the app running in the background. These power users may be perturbed that a part of the app is always running and can’t be turned off without shutting down location services in the settings.

Additional details will be made available once iOS 7.1 is made available publicly. The final release for the iPhone and iPad is expected to debut in March. It will likely contain a handful of UI tweaks that bring consistency across the OS, bug fixes and performance improvements.

Posted by Julie on Feb 11, 2014 - iphonehacks.com

iOS 7.1 may be released in mid-March; may include improved Mobile Device Management options

It has been speculated that Apple will release iOS 7.1, the next major update after iOS 7 in March.

AppleInsider now reports that according to their “unverified source,” Apple will release iOS 7.1 on March 15th.

It seems highly unlikely, as March 15th is a Saturday, and Apple seldom releases an update over the weekend. AppleInsider claims that according to their source, iOS 7.1 will also include improved Mobile Device Management (MDM) options that will make it easier for organizations to manage large number of devices.

An unverified source reported to AppleInsider that Apple is working with a select few MDM vendors and institutional clients on efforts to improve iOS managed deployment, and that those improvements are currently set to ship as part of iOS 7.1 in mid March. [..]

[..] he source stated Apple’s iOS 7.1 would include “over-the-air supervision, allowing iOS administrators to fully manage devices without the need for the much maligned Apple Configurator,” allowing organizations to instead deploy iOS devices via an MDM server. 

The report notes that the improvements will also prevent students from bypassing restrictions configured on iOS devices issued by schools. This issue was raised as a concern by school authorities after students of Los Angeles Unified School District bypassed content restrictions on their school issued iPads.

Based on the beta versions released so far, iOS 7.1 will also include several tweaks and improvements to the user interface. You may click the appropriate link below to find out the new features and improvements that we have discovered so far in the five beta versions of iOS 7.1:

• iOS 7.1 beta 1
• iOS 7.1 beta 2
• iOS 7.1 beta 3
• iOS 7.1 beta 4
• iOS 7.1 beta 5

Apple has also patched exploits  in iOS 7.1 which will break the evasi0n7 jailbreak.

[Via AppleInsider]

Posted by Gautam on Feb 18, 2014 - iphonehacks.com