Mid-to-late April came with a slew of updates from Apple, not the least of which is news of the Apple iOS 7.1.1 released at last. In fact, it hasn’t even been that long since the iOS 7.1 hit the App Store – it came in early March and significantly improved on a host of features that most iPhone and iPad users had grumbled about. On the list of iOS 7.1 updates stood new visual improvements, CarPlay featured on the OS, better communication with Siri, and an improved Touch ID function. With the new Apple iOS 7.1.1 released, it looks like the focus this time was taking care of some of the most nagging bugs users had reported.
The Apple iOS 7.1.1 released update, which went live on April 22, made good on some reported rumors, which foretold that Apple will be taking care of some bugs. The official release notes for this latest update include “improvements, bug fixes, and security updates”. The over-the-air update includes the following enhancements:
– Better recognition of the iOS user’s fingerprint for Touch ID. Apple’s Mark Gurman himself tweeted that “Touch ID is now instant”. It’s interesting to note that, much like with other pioneering features that Apple has included in the design of its products over the years, Touch ID is also a case of ‘far from perfect’ when first released – but one which the company has worked continuously on and has proven it aims to render perfect.
– A bug fix, for an issue that affected the responsiveness of the touch keyboard.
– A bug fix, for an issue that affected Bluetooth-enabled keyboards, which occurred with simultaneous VoiceOver use.
The update is currently available for download, for users of the iPad 2 (or later versions), as well as for iPhone 4 users (or those with later versions of smartphones), plus for the fifth generation of iPod Touch devices. You can download it for yourself, via the Software Update menu in Settings.
Is the update worth downloading, after iOS 7.1?
Given that we saw Apple iOS 7.1.1 released only a month and a half away from the last major update, this may leave some smartphone, iPod and iPad users wondering whether or not they should download this latest addition to the seemingly endless roster. Our verdict: if you use the Touch ID and/or Bluetooth functions, then it’s probably a good idea to download the update. Also, remember that the iOS 7.1.1 comes with some security updates, which are always a good idea. You can check out the full list of security updates on the Apple Support website.
However, the most important aspect worth mentioning here is that the new iOS 7.1.1 released recently shines a light on its predecessor. It draws attention to how big an improvement the iOS 7.1 was. If you come away from this post with one piece of advice, let it be this: if you own any of the above mentioned devices and haven’t downloaded iOS 7.1 yet, it’s high time you did so. That’s because the update will effectively make your devices far more useable than before. It will solve some crash issues that you might have experienced during multitasking view, or while you were caught up in a web-browsing session on Safari. It also dramatically improves Siri’s role and TouchID and brings you the opportunity to see how CarPlay works first hand. CarPlay has been introduced as Apple plans to release it for certain supported vehicles and install kits later on in 2014.
When can we expect the next update?
According to most market rumors, now that we’ve seen the Apple iOS 7.1.1 released, we’re going to have to wait a while for iOS 8. Most commenters expect to see it unveiled at Apple’s yearly Worldwide Developers Conference, which starts on June 2. Most likely, the kickoff event is going to be a presentation on the iOS 8, followed by an announcement regarding the other products the company has in the works right now.