iOS 7 Beta 3 Tidbits: New App Download Animation, Thicker Fonts, Safari Improvements

Apple today released the third beta of iOS 7, which brings a number of improvements and bug fixes to the operating system. According to the release notes, double notifications have been resolved and AirPlay issues have also been fixed.

Several other minor enhancements have been bundled into the release, as noted by our forum members:

Redesigned Fonts - Fonts across a number of apps appear to have been tweaked to be thicker, using Helvetica Neue Regular instead of Ultra Light. This is most noticeable in the Messages app, where text appears to be bolded, but it can also be seen in the Weather app, the Notification Center, and the Settings menu. Panic co-founder @cabel has provided a GIF that demonstrates the differences.

notificationcenter
Safari - Safari has had the .com button removed and replaced with a simple period button. The .com, .net, and .org domain extensions can be accessed by holding down on the button.

Status Bar - The Status Bar, which provides information on cellular connection strength, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and battery life has had its size slightly increased for better readability on the lock screen.

thickerfonts
Lock Screen - When playing music, the lock screen will now display the time.

lockscreentime
Music App - The Music app has seen a slight redesign with new icons and rearranged controls. Ratings have also been re-added.

Podcasts - Apple's Podcasts app is now functional.

Calendar - In the monthly view, the Calendar app has been updated to display small gray dots on days where events are scheduled.

calendar
Siri - A number of MacRumors forum members have noted that Siri’s voice now sounds more natural.

New App Download Animation - When installing an app, iOS 7 users will see a new animation that does away with download bars in favor of a more organic circular download timer.

newdownloadanimation
Control Center - The clock located in the Control Center has seen yet another redesign, this time appearing in the original dark format that was removed during beta 2 in favor of a thinly outlined version.

controlcenterclock
Additional features in iOS 7 beta 3 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is likely to continue pushing regular updates for iOS 7, bringing minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system's public release, which is expected to come in the fall.

Related Forum: iOS 7

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Launch Is Just One Month Out – Here's Everything We Know

Saturday August 10, 2024 5:00 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
macbook pro bb cyber

Apple's M3 MacBook Pro Gets Up to $1,000 Off In Major New Sales, Starting at $1,299 [Updated]

Sunday August 11, 2024 1:54 pm PDT by
Apple's M3 MacBook Pro is seeing multiple high value discounts on Best Buy and Amazon today, with up to $1,000 off select models. This includes a new all-time low price on the entry-level M3 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro at $1,299.00, down from $1,599.00, and a massive $1,000 discount on the high-end 16-inch model exclusively for Best Buy members. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best...
iPhone 16 Pro Right Side Feature

The iPhone 16 is Getting a New Button: Here's What It Can Do

Tuesday August 13, 2024 4:01 pm PDT by
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
iOS 18 on iPhone Feature

Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 2 and iOS 18 Beta 6

Monday August 12, 2024 2:32 pm PDT by
Apple is beta testing iOS 18 and the first update to iOS 18 concurrently, and we got the second betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today alongside the sixth betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15. Many of the changes in iOS 18.1 are focused on bringing the .1 betas in line with the standard betas, which recently received updates to Photos and Safari, while...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Thursday August 8, 2024 4:40 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2

Next Year's Slim iPhone 17 Could Be an 'iPhone Air'

Monday August 12, 2024 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's rumored iPhone 17 "Slim" could be positioned as an iPhone "Air" to boost sales, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained how the "fourth" model in the iPhone lineup since 2020 (the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus) has largely been a commercial failure. In the case of the Plus model,...

Top Rated Comments

Sky Blue Avatar
145 months ago
are the icons still ugly?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xmichaelp Avatar
145 months ago
are the icons still ugly?

Never were.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jack97 Avatar
145 months ago
are the icons still ugly?


And the award for least original comment goes to...
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradl Avatar
145 months ago
I have to admit, the layout of IOS 7 does grow on you. Yes, it is a huge departure from IOS 6, but given time, it does look simpler and sleeker.

Keeping this up, it will look nice come GM and full release.

BL.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboy88 Avatar
145 months ago
Good before/after image of the interface w/bolder font:

Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xmichaelp Avatar
145 months ago
Mavericks now, please. :D
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)