iOS 7.1 Beta 3 Tidbits: Revamped Keyboard, Darker Icons, New Phone Look, and More

Earlier today, Apple released the third beta of iOS 7.1 to developers, which included both bug fixes and a number of visual changes that give several aspects of iOS 7 an entirely new look and feel. For example, the Phone dialer has been revamped with new buttons and several icons have had their color toned down, making iOS 7 less neon.

We've rounded up all of the visual changes that have been found in the iOS 7.1 beta thus far, creating an overview of what iOS 7 might look like in just a few months if the revisions make it into the final public release.

Keyboard: The keyboard in iOS 7 has been slightly revamped, adding a slight boldness to the font and a new design to the delete and shift keys. It also incorporates a somewhat darker, less yellow gray tone. Overall, the keyboard changes have the effect of adding contrast and making the letters easier to see.

ios71keyboard

iOS 7 keyboard on the left, iOS 7.1 keyboard on the right

Icons: The green color in the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps has been toned down and is now darker, especially at the bottom of the icons. This introduces a less neon coloration to iOS 7, cutting down on some of the operating system's brightness.

newios7colors

Darker iOS 7.1 icons on the top, brighter iOS 7 icons on the bottom

Phone: The Phone app has seen the biggest changes, with a renewed focus on simple, circular buttons. The standard incoming call screen with rectangular buttons has been replaced with a black background and two round Accept and Decline icons.

incomingcall

New incoming call buttons

The "Call" and "End" buttons visible on the dialer have also been replaced with circular icons.

phonedialer

iOS 7 dialer on the left, iOS 7.1 dialer on the right

Wallpaper: When selecting a new wallpaper, users can now choose to turn the parallax effect on or off.

Control Center: Control Center's brightness and volume sliders now maintain momentum when they are flicked, a new feature that fits in well with a previous bounce animation added in iOS 7.1 beta 2.

Shut down: The power off screen when shutting down the phone has a new look that does away with the red "slide to power off" and cancel tabs first introduced with iOS 7. The new design includes a power button icon at the top and a cancel icon at the bottom.

slidetopoweroff

Slide to Power Off in iOS 7.1

Accessibility: A New option has been added in the Accessibility's Contrast menu, allowing users to reduce iOS 7's white point. This feature joins both the "Button Shapes" and Darken Colors options that were added in an older iOS 7.1 beta.

Music: The Music app has new shuffle and repeat buttons that are more prominent, and iTunes Radio has a revamped "New" button.

musicios71

iOS 7 buttons on the left, iOS 7.1 buttons on the right

According to a recent report from BGR, iOS 7.1 may not make it to consumers until March, indicating that the software will see a lengthy beta testing period. Beta 3’s release notes indicated a number of known issues that remain with iOS 7.1, suggesting that the update is not yet ready for the public.

Related Forum: iOS 7

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...

Top Rated Comments

NYR99 Avatar
150 months ago
Not really digging the smaller 'call' button...

Everything else is ok though.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Polaroid Avatar
150 months ago
REALLY hate that shut off screen, very horrible to look at, looks like a cheap/rushed theme.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kwikdeth Avatar
150 months ago
get back to me when there's some news on stability and usability. seriously? a slightly different hue of green? unreal.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
teejaysyke Avatar
150 months ago
Ew at everything.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
150 months ago
those random big circles on the dialer and call screen give me OCD. seem so out of place and remind me of that horrible facebook home launcher on android ^^
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Millah Avatar
150 months ago
wow !

and nobody thought apple could innovate! :D


seriously though these changes are so minor it's a joke.

Apple needs to take a cue from Google and push larger changes on a more frequent manner.
Redesigning the entire operating system apparently isn't "big" enough. While Google's been sitting on Android 4.X for years now.

Yep, you're so totally right. Not saying 4.1-4.4 haven't included some neat features, but they've slowed down substantially since releasing 4.0. Mainly because they found a good design and didn't want to fix something if it wasn't broken. You know, kinda like Apple did from iOS 1-6. And now that they HAVE done a substantial overhaul with an entirely new design personality as well as some substantial and incredibly powerful new APIs, you're saying Apple isn't "pushing larger changes"

Lol.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)