Apple Again Rumored to Release iOS 7.1 in March

iOS7-smallA new report from 9to5Mac claims iOS 7.1 will indeed be released to all iOS users in March, representing the first major revision since iOS 7 was launched publicly in September of last year.

Sources note the next version of iOS 7 will continue with the visual improvements, minor tweaks and bug fixes reported in earlier beta versions seeded to developers.

While recent reports are pegging a launch sooner than later, reliable sources say that Apple is currently planning to ship iOS 7.1, the first significant update to iOS 7, in March. The iOS 7.1 update is said to not have any “secret features,” and it will basically be what we have been told to expect by the past five betas: some user-interface tweaks in the Phone app, an improved Calendar app, speed improvements, and numerous bug-fixes.

BGR originally cited a March release date for iOS 7.1 back in late December, but a follow-up report earlier this week seemed to hedge on that claim somewhat by noting that the update was expected in the "coming weeks." Slowing increments of build numbers from the developer beta versions suggest the software is nearing a public launch, but whether that date lands in late February or the early March is not clear.

Previous iOS 7.1 betas have included various improvements such as a new "Button Shapes" option in Accessibility, keyboard tweaks that indicate shift and caps locks, a new event list view within the Calendar app and refined icons for the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages app. The unreleased iOS in the Car feature has also been refined in the iOS 7.1 beta testing period, but it is unclear when the functionality will be made available to the public.

Details on features in past beta releases can be found in our previous beta posts: Beta 1, Beta 2, Beta 3, Beta 4 and Beta 5.

Tag: 9to5Mac
Related Forum: iOS 7

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Top Rated Comments

AustinIllini Avatar
152 months ago
iOS 7.0.3

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I love how even though nobody has a good track record of predicting minor iOS release dates, and all the BGR predictions that MacRumors loves have proven wrong so far (especially their Beta 3 predictions), MacRumors continues to publish these meaningless made-up stories. Shows how desperate people can get for clicks these days.

7.1 will be released when it is ready (based on beta 5, that won't be for at least a few more weeks).

It's "Macrumors" not "MacFacts"
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BeyondtheTech Avatar
152 months ago
Ugh, so it's at least four more weeks of Springboard resets, black screen issues, Safari crashes, and phantom emails. Yay.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stooovie Avatar
152 months ago
just throwing it out there but is this rapid one year release cycle really the best one?

it seems it takes half a year after the release to get over some of the major issues taken care of and then of course the day after the next os is released you might as well have a device from another company if you didnt upgrade.

to me it feels like they are chasing their tail.

its like you pay pretty high price for a device and get to be a beta tester for the 2-3 os-es it supports
yes, exactly my feelings. And the old adage "no one forces you to update" is false - Apple actively forces you with software updates requiring the latest OS. FCPX 10.1 and iWork apps require Mavericks - if you collaborate with other people on latest versions, you HAVE to update.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
numlock Avatar
152 months ago
just throwing it out there but is this rapid one year release cycle really the best one?

it seems it takes half a year after the release to get some of the major issues taken care of and then of course the day after the next os is released you might as well have a device from another company if you didnt upgrade.

to me it feels like they are chasing their tail.

its like you pay pretty high price for a device and get to be a beta tester for the 2-3 os-es it supports
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nozuka Avatar
152 months ago
did they improve the music app? that's really the only thing i liked better in ios6

ios 7 version sucks if you got alot of albums from the same artist or to just repeat one album from an artist instead of all of them or randomly.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WaxedJacket Avatar
152 months ago
I love how even though nobody has a good track record of predicting minor iOS release dates, and all the BGR predictions that MacRumors loves have proven wrong so far (especially their Beta 3 predictions), MacRumors continues to publish these meaningless made-up stories. Shows how desperate people can get for clicks these days.

7.1 will be released when it is ready (based on beta 5, that won't be for at least a few more weeks).

And here you are clicking...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)