Apple releases iOS 10.1 with Portrait mode and other improvements
Apple on Monday pushed out the iOS 10.1 software update for iPhone and iPad. The release comes after more than a month of beta testing, and it includes various improvements and one major new user-facing feature: Portrait mode, which is exclusive to the dual-camera iPhone 7 Plus.
First introduced at Apple’s iPhone event in September, Portrait mode is a new setting in the stock Camera app that uses the 7 Plus’ wide angle lens to gather perspective data for a photo. This allows the handset to take photos with a depth-of-field, or ‘bokeh,’ effect with blurry backgrounds.
In addition to Portrait mode, iOS 10.1 also includes the ability to reduce motion while retaining the various iOS 10 iMessage features. The new toggle labeled “Auto-play Message effects” can be found in General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion. You’ll also see a new Replay option in Messages.
iOS 10.1 also comes with transit directions for users in Japan.
Rounding out the update is the usual stack of bug fixes and improvements. To install the update, open the Settings app and select General > Software Update. You can also grab the standalone version from our Downloads page and install via iTunes.
iOS 10.1 full release notes
Camera and Photos
- Introduces Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus that creates a depth effect that keeps your subject sharp while creating a beautifully blurred background (beta)
- People names in the Photos app are saved in iCloud backups
- Fixes an issue where opening the Camera app would show a blurred or flashing screen for some users
- Fixes an issue that caused Photos to quit for some users when turning on iCloud Photo Library
- Improved the display of wide color gamut photos in the grid views of the Photos app
Maps
- Transit support for every major train, subway, ferry, and national bus line, as well as local bus systems for Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya
- Sign-based transit navigation including layouts of all underground structures and walkways that connect large transit stations
- Transit fare comparison when viewing alternative transit routes
Messages
- New option to replay bubble and full screen effects
- Messages effects can play with Reduce Motion enabled
- Fixes an issue that could lead to contact names appearing incorrectly in Messages
- Addresses an issue where Messages could open to a white screen
- Addresses an issue that could prevent the report junk option from displaying with unknown senders
- Fixes an issue where videos captured and sent in the Messages app could be missing audio
Apple Watch
- Adds distance and average pace to workout summaries in the Activity app for outdoor wheelchair run pace and outdoor wheelchair walk pace
- Fixes issues that may have prevented Music playlists from syncing to Apple Watch
- Addresses an issue that was preventing invitations and data to appear in Activity Sharing
- Fixes an issue that was allowing Activity Sharing to update over cellular when manually disabled
- Resolves an issue that was causing some third-party apps to crash when inputting text
Other improvements and fixes
- Improves Bluetooth connectivity with 3rd party accessories
- Improves AirPlay Mirroring performance when waking a device from sleep
- Fixes an issue where playback would not work for iTunes purchased content when the “Show iTunes Purchases” setting is turned off
- Fixes an issue where certain selfie apps and face filters used with the FaceTime HD Camera on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus did not display a live preview
- Fixes an issue in Health where individual strokes are converted to separate characters when using the Chinese handwriting keyboard
- Improves performance of sharing websites from Safari to Messages
- Fixes an issue in Safari that caused web previews in tab view to not display correctly
- Fixes an issue that caused certain Mail messages to be reformatted with very small text
- Fixes an issue that caused some HTML email to be formatted incorrectly
- Fixes an issue that in some cases caused the search field to disappear in Mail
- Fixes an issue that could prevent Today View Widgets from updating when launched
- Fixes an issue where Weather widget sometimes failed to load data
- Fixes an issue on iPhone 7 where Home Button click settings would not appear in search results
- Fixes an issue that prevented spam alert extensions from blocking calls
- Resolves an issue that could prevent alarm sounds from going off
- Fixes an issue where audio playback via Bluetooth would cause the Taptic engine to stop providing feedback for some users
- Resolves an issue preventing some users from restoring from iCloud Backup
iOS 10.1 is compatible with iPad 4 and above, iPhone 5 and above, and iPod Touch 6G.
