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Apple seeds iOS 7 beta 5 to developers: Tweaks to icons, Control Center, more

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.08.12 AM

A little over a week after iOS 7 beta 4, Apple has seeded iOS 7 beta 5 to developers. It is available over-the-air via Software Update. The previous beta brought several minor interface and performance tweaks to the operating system and beta 5 will likely continue doing that.

A new Apple TV seed is also available:

You can now use an iOS 7 device to set up an Apple TV after restoring or resetting all settings. (iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are not supported.)

A new Xcode 5 preview has also been issued to developers.

We will continuously update this post with discovered changes. If you find anything new, you can let us know at tips@9to5mac.com.

– All Settings icons redesigned (left is new) :

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.28.37 AM

– More Yahoo presence:

Unknown

– New Twitter icon in share sheet:

BRAIRB-CAAEvSNR.png-large

– Can now disable Control Center while in apps:

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.34.57 AM

– Major performance improvements across the system

– Camera swipe access from Lock screen is easier

– New slide to power off design:

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.42.41 AM

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxH2vimrgSI

– New in-call icons:

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.44.58 AM

– New option to pull down on a banner

Screen Shot 2013-08-06 at 10.46.44 AM

– Some transparency, blur, UI animation changes across the system.

– Can access icons in a folder during animation

– Some blurs and effects disabled on iPad mini (likely to improve performance)

– Users can now bring back “on/off” labels on switches. Enable in Accessibility.

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Comments

  1. Matt (@matt3224) - 11 years ago

    I wonder where the 5th Mavericks beta is. Thoughts?

    • aaeerr - 11 years ago

      Probably will be released later today to make downloads faster

    • jdfwarrior - 11 years ago

      Been wondering the same thing. Although, it has been pretty dang stable. I haven’t seen a lot that needs to be tweaked.

  2. Nicholas Zahn - 11 years ago

    I prefered the simple blue icons. The new icons look like buttons, which they are not.

  3. Malik Trey - 11 years ago

    oh no…..bad settings icons now :-(

  4. Malik Trey - 11 years ago

    iff u have an longer carrier name… it will be animated

  5. Well this is a surprise

  6. pateljj04 - 11 years ago

    Now when the phone boots the background is white with black apple logo at least on a white iPhone.

  7. Chris (@rollininmygrave) - 11 years ago

    When you are playing music and you turn off the screen and then back on, tapping the little | that represents where in the song you are is easier to get a hold of and move back and forth. Also, tapping above the album art on the lockscreen no longer makes it shift to the right (hint to tell you to swipe to unlock) so if you miss the back or pause button (as I did) then it doesn’t mistake it for you wanting to unlock your phone.

  8. ipodfreek - 11 years ago

    Wallpaper zoom is still screwed. It blows up whatever pic you use and forces most of it out of frame.

  9. weztimonial - 11 years ago

    On Off switches found in accessibility

  10. Bruno Ricardo - 11 years ago

    skype is not crashing anymore when tapping on the Recent tab :D

  11. David Hutchinson (@dahuk) - 11 years ago

    No more Slide to Unlock lock sound.

  12. Colin Arndt (@jugney) - 11 years ago

    It seems very un-Apple for the power off slider to just be slapped on top of the home screen icons, without blurring or fading them out or anything.

  13. New software update screen: White background and black Apple logo. Reverse of before

    • aaeerr - 11 years ago

      The colors depend on what color your phone is. On my black iPhone 5 it is a black background with with Apple Logo

    • kushsolitary - 11 years ago

      It’s black for black iPhones and white for white ones! :)

    • David Ferguson - 11 years ago

      If you’re referring to the installation screen.. it isn’t always like that. The tweet shown in the article says its dependent upon your device color. That isn’t right either. The installation screen is black with the white logo in my white iPad Mini

    • tommycooper10 - 11 years ago

      I think it may only be that way on the iPhone 5 as my white 4S still sported a white logo on black background.

  14. ipodfreek - 11 years ago

    Was this here before? You can specify which apps can use cellular? If it was there, I don’t know how I missed it.

  15. Johnny S. (@JXChain) - 11 years ago

    The blurs are also disabled on iPad 3.

  16. I especially like the white background with soft shadows.

  17. Update is much faster than b4

  18. Alex Yamil - 11 years ago

    option to pull down on a banner was available on b3 but buggy

  19. The white background is harsh shadows that look as if on the surface there is dust or debris.:))

  20. clarkberryman - 11 years ago

    Can you get on the horn to someone at Apple and recommend that the Control Center be customizable? I am not a Calculator “power-user!”

  21. white background and the letters, systemic bias, and therefore it is difficult to focus on..

  22. Has anyone else got problems with this new beta and the iPad 2? It’s telling me to connect to iTunes and when I do. It’s in recovery mode.

  23. Pete Pongsudthiraks - 11 years ago

    Your contact’s last name initial is now omitted on iMessage.

  24. Pete Tomasino (@peteyyt) - 11 years ago

    Messages now uses just the contact’s first name in the compose box. In Beta 4, it used first name and last initial. Betas 1-3 used first and last. I prefer original way.

  25. Michael John - 11 years ago

    Has anybody notice that you cant install new apps from the app store?

    • pavment - 11 years ago

      From Release Notes:
      Known Issues

      App downloads can get stuck in the “Waiting” state.

      Workaround: Reboot your device once or twice to resolve the issue and allow subsequent downloads to continue.

  26. beyondthetech - 11 years ago

    Yay, you can finally lock down cellular usage for apps in Restrictions, parents rejoice on Wi-Fi-only for Netflix, YouTube, Safari, SlingPlayer…

  27. 1) Skype finally works again on iOS. b1-3 it would crash, b4 i could call but no messaging. b5 it seems to work completely. yay!

    2) Everything seems to respond much faster.

    3) The color specific install screen (white for white iphones, black for black) could def point to multi-colored iphones. (red screen for a red phone, for example)

    4) in any of the previous beta releases, has anyone had the problem where spell check randomly shuts off and mid typing the “shake to undo” modal appears? does that seem to be corrected in b5?

  28. mike c (@michaelclagett) - 11 years ago

    The lock screen now gives you a % charged number when the device is plugged in.

  29. Krystian Łazowski - 11 years ago

    all the blurs removed on iphone 4

  30. tenormasta - 11 years ago

    No unlock sound? Wha?!

  31. Finally the iPod controls work from the earbuds remote!!!!

  32. Dashaun Shepherd - 11 years ago

    I want my double click music controls on the lock screen back its been missing since i upgraded

    • Steve Grenier - 11 years ago

      They are there by default when music is playing. If not, they are accessible via Control Center.

  33. Can’t play/pause, forward/back on the music controls in the lock screen and control pull up menu

  34. qch123 - 11 years ago

    Panorama wallpaper stopped working after beta 5 update

  35. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 11 years ago

    ios 7 still feels slow. They improved things a bit by acknowledging that you tapped an app while the unlock and folder animations were still going, but my friend on an iPhone 4 running ios6 can unlock and launch an app faster than my 4s running beta 5.

    The fade in animation that the screen does, really annoys me. I wonder if it’s because of the motion thing, like the phone needs time to figure that out instead of just turning instantly on… I really hope they work this out. Those milliseconds of animation all add up to make the thing feel like a slug.

  36. Letian Yang - 11 years ago

    Notification Center’s today view only has destination left, where are other sessions???

  37. newmac (@newmac) - 11 years ago

    Much nicer call screen interface…

  38. Omar Negron - 11 years ago

    Finally I can change the time for new Calendar appointments.

  39. And it slowly removed and re-added all of my Gmail… weird…

  40. I really wish they’d get rid of the giant slab of blurriness behind the dock apps. It’s been six years Apple. Six years I’ve known that those apps are in the dock. I don’t need a fifth of my screen taken up with a huge blurry bar to visually make them distinct from the rest of my icons. It looks bad. It looks terrible. With all the layer and minimalist ridiculousness they’ve talked about that is one layer that does nothing for the UI, it does nothing for the end user and gets in the way of that fancy parallax effect. It’s BAD design and it really needs to go.

    • dorisallplus - 11 years ago

      Don’t forget that there are new users to the iOS environment. Plus, other than for practical reasons, esthetically it is nicer to have difference between the regular and dock apps.

  41. Oh, and we went from 12 apps presented when you opened a folder to 9 apps with pages. That’s better how again? I had 12 apps in a folder, and now I’m FORCED to use pages because they decided to reduce functionality from before and added a feature I didn’t really need. So now instead of having a full folder that I can open apps in two taps, now it takes two taps and a swipe to get to my apps. Why does Apple introduce things and gimp them at the same time? It makes no sense.

    • rettun1 - 11 years ago

      When viewing a folder from the outside, it’s three by three. Now when you open the folder it’s three by three two. Makes sense to me.

  42. pmnordkvist - 11 years ago

    The ONE thing I really, really miss in iOS7 is a direct linkt to Settings from Control Center. I would replace the Calculator or Flashlight any day of the week.

  43. Google+ works for me now!

  44. Panorama wallpapers live on my iphone 5 is still working

  45. Yug Gupta - 11 years ago

    There is one problem that I noticed with this iOS7 beta 5, and that is when you slid the lock to unlock the phone then lock sound is not coming.

  46. Srikanth Vanama (@kanths) - 11 years ago

    A new addition:

    In control center, while some music is being played, hit the song title/artist-album name and it directly takes you to music app.

    Works only on homescreen or inside any app. Doesn’t work on lock screen.

    :)

  47. The Yamanator - 11 years ago

    SKype now works properly with iOS7 Beta 5 :)

  48. Tom Rudderham - 11 years ago

    When sharing multiple images from a Collection in the Photos app, the thumbnails are now considerably smaller:
    http://iosguides.net/ios-7-beta-5/

  49. pedrofer8290 - 11 years ago

    Also the AirDrop icon has no animation in this beta :(

  50. I’m still being asked to log in to wordpress in order to post a reply. Is it just me? Happens on my PC in Chrome and my Mac in Safari, so it doesn’t seem to be a browser issue.

  51. Ferdinand Aphrodisiac Lim - 11 years ago

    Now, when the name is too long in messages (i.e. an unsaved iMessage email), the < Message is cut into only < left..

  52. The lock screen wallpaper is dimmed on the top and bottom just like iOS 6. God Noooooo!!!! :(

  53. Beacher (@beacher73) - 11 years ago

    I liked the beta 1-4 settings icons better. I found it looked much cleaner…..oh well.

    • JP - 11 years ago

      I don’t know. I thought so too at first glance but now I am a bigger fan of it.

  54. czmeteo - 11 years ago

    Anyone notice the numerious quick links at the bottom of the App Store Featured section? These include IAPs, Parents Guide, New to App Store, Apple Apps, Editors Choice, Hall of Fame, Free Apps, Newsstand, and Collections.

  55. gpy (@gpy) - 11 years ago

    I want my “fast” share buttons (to Twitter and FB) in Control Center baaaack!!!!!!

  56. dusstin - 11 years ago

    Still waiting for VPN per app support!

  57. Ahmed Abd El Wahab - 11 years ago

    I have white iPhone 4S, Boot screen is black with white apple. not as you are speaking,

  58. zackpsimpson - 11 years ago

    CAN ANYONE HELP ME? In iOS 7 betas 1 and 2, there was an option to toggle the Messages app on and off under Cellular in the Settings, and from beta 3 through 5 they removed that option. I had it turned off when I updated my software, and they moved Messages to system services, where I can’t turn the option back on! I can iMessage over cellular, but I can’t send or receive pictures over cellular unless it’s a text message. I NEED HELP :(

    • The Yamanator - 11 years ago

      Check that your iMessage (and Facetime) is activated?

      • zackpsimpson - 11 years ago

        They are both activated, and both work fine on Wifi. What confuses me is that although cellular data for Messages is disabled (that’s the alert that displays every time I try to send media on iMessage over cellular), I can still use iMessage over cellular. It’s like it’s half-disabled, and that they took away the ability to re-enable it.

      • The Yamanator - 11 years ago

        I see what you mean… oops… you shouldn’t have disabled it over cellular coz it doesn’t use that much data.. now you can either revert to iOS 6 to change it, or seek a dev’s help, or wait till iOS 7 is finally released next month to the public so you can call Apple care and ask for help…

    • Try resetting your network settings. Just a thought. Your situation sounds pretty crummy.

  59. ageramash - 11 years ago

    Hmmm my iTunes store app on beta 5 is crashing continuously. It doesn’t even open. ( click app and crashes instantly). Anyone experiencing this?

  60. Ayoob Shareef - 11 years ago

    Want Cellular Data Switch in Control Center….

  61. JohnnyWhite (@tHoj101) - 11 years ago

    The first time I turned off my device running iOS 7 I said, wow – that was the best ‘slide to power off’ animation I’ve even seen. And it’s toast, already. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppllllleeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

  62. IFV (@NachoVogel) - 11 years ago

    Cannot turn my iphones on !
    I upgraded on both iphones and worked fine. Then i turn off and when I turn on again I get stuck at the apple logo please help !

  63. Twitter was working fine with the new beta until I updated the Twitter app right after. Oh well.

  64. Now, Slide unlock sound is gone. Only lock sound is present….!

  65. ichbineinschintzel - 11 years ago

    Siri no longer answers the question “where can I hide a body” !!

  66. Why must I go into the settings to connect to nearby bluetooth devices? Slap that in the airplay list within the control center, Apple!

  67. Fix in the Music App. before when you showed the rating in the view of the album you would see a black bar bug kind of animation. in beta 5 its all smooth :)

  68. Turn PASSCODE OFF feature is not working … i.e. you can not turn your passcode off after this update, also the click sound of UNLOCK phone is gone.

  69. gpy (@gpy) - 11 years ago

    Not sure if this was already or not in the Map app… but if you Zoom Out the map at the maximum, you will get a FANTASTIC and STUNNING picture of daylight and night lights on the major regions of the world with the picture of lights highlighting the major cities in the world.

  70. Is the iTunes app crashing for anyone else?

  71. Atman Shah - 11 years ago

    BEst ones

  72. Nirmal Dhandapani - 11 years ago

    No one has found this so far. I guess no one uses it a lot. Anyways in beta 5 there’s another new improvement I found. The lyrics in the Music app were badly aligned in the past betas but has been adjusted in beta 5.

    • ipodfreek - 11 years ago

      Where are the lyrics? I can’t find them. I have one song that I put the lyrics in, but can’t figure out how to see them in the Music app.

      • Nirmal Dhandapani - 11 years ago

        When you are in the “Now Playing” screen, just touch the album artwork once and you’ll see the lyrics.

  73. Ben Gunter (@bgunter98) - 11 years ago

    No one else said anything about this…THEY RUINED iOS 7 WITH BETA 5…They took the color out of control center, darkened notification center…AND NOW MY IPAD CRASHES…IT NEVER CRASHED BEFORE.

    • drummertist - 11 years ago

      According to your screen name, you were born in 1998. You’re too young to be using and complaining about a BETA OS. What an idiot.

      • zackpsimpson - 11 years ago

        I don’t think he realizes he accidentally turned on his “Increase Contrast” turned on in his Settings…

  74. Erik Abrahamian - 11 years ago

    FIND IPHONE app crashes almost all the time. Can’t see detailed location on the map.

  75. Cyberdog Leon - 11 years ago

    Where can I get this without being a developer?

  76. Soufiane Dada - 11 years ago

    On iPad, I don’t know why there is a shortcut to the camera on the lockscreen! I get that on the iPhone but on my iPad I’d like to be able to put another shortcut to an app I use on a daily bases. Makes more sense right?

  77. Brad Meiser (@bradmeiser) - 11 years ago

    When dismissing groups of notifications in notification center, the animation is much smoother than it was in previous betas.

  78. Štěpán Pazderka - 11 years ago

    I hope they will finally speed up home screen animation from locked device

  79. Nono Sierra - 11 years ago

    When you turn off and then turn on it takes forever to load the iPad now. Lots of problems with this update now not seen in the 4th version.

  80. tr1bbey - 11 years ago

    Bringing it to you guys first if it hasn’t been seen but on beta 5 when an app is updated there is a blue dot next to the app to show it’s been updated not sure if this was In previous betas but this is my first time seeing it

  81. thebums66 - 11 years ago

    iOS 7 b5. If I have music playing while the phone is locked, when I unlock it the music skips for a split second almost as if it was anticipating playing the unlock sound that no longer plays when I unlock my device. Also, if I have recently watched a video in safari, leave to start music, then reopen safar,i the music stops even if I don’t go back to the page where I viewed the video. You have to kill safari first, restart the music then open safari.

  82. Peter Bentson - 11 years ago

    Loving IOS 7, Still would love to see them bring back tap to tweet and tap to facebook post in notification center. And the more and more I use IOS 7 it still feels like its missing that wow factor. It need something, like more customization or something. For example widgets, something of a android/windows titles mix with a color changing apple to access the rest of the apps.

  83. richbitch626 - 11 years ago

    I love everything they’re doing. My only problem is & has been from Beta 1 is that iTunes Radio 95% probably more of the time only plays edited music. Even when you select to play explicit content in the settings of it it still only plays edited music & when you go to buy that song it the edited version. They need to fix this cuz it’s annoying. I have iTunes Match so it’s add free & I really like it more than Pandora & the rest my only gripe is the edited music they stream. I want to list to foul language & when I wanna buy a song I want it to be the explicit content not edited. Idk if they can change that or if there’s a way around it but it irritates me when I’m cruising listening to it & out of 100 songs only one will be explicit & the rest all edited. Smh!

  84. Chibs Hong Lee (@chibdo) - 11 years ago

    It would be nice to have AirDrop on the iPhone 4 and 4s as well. Not everyone wants to upgrade to the iPhone 5, especially since most accessories before now have the 30 pin connector.

  85. I still wish they bring back Helvetica Neue

  86. Korean Gossip - 11 years ago

    Where do you download it? As private or developer? I don’t find a download bottom