Apple iOS 7.1 is now live: A look at CarPlay, Siri improvements and other changes

Apple today introduced the iOS 7.1 update for iPhone and iPad. The latest update brings a lot of tweaks to the user interface and some general bug fixes. It also brings Apple’s CarPlay to iOS 7.

Here’s a quick look at all the changes in iOS 7.1:

CarPlay CarPlay which is available on select new cars in 2014, allows users to connect their iPhone while driving and puts it on their car’s built-in display.

It supports phone calls, music, maps, messages, and a few third-party apps. Currently cars from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have CarPlay. Manufacturers such as Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover will also use CarPlay in some 2014 models. Other manufacturers to have signed up include BMW, Ford, General Motors, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota.

Manual Controls for Siri This ensures that you can control when Siri should stop listening. Users can now hold down the Home button while they speak and let go when they’re done while giving a command to Siri. It also has new male and female voices for UK and Australian English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.

iTunes Radio Users can now create stations based on their favourite artists, songs. They can also buy albums by just tapping a button in Now Playing mode.

Calendar It will now display events in month view where earlier it was restricted to day view. Some new country specific holidays have been automatically added.

The iOS 7.1 update also makes HDR mode default on the iPhone 5s camera. Apple also says that TouchID fingerprint recognition has been improved and that a home screen crash bug has been fixed. FaceTime call notifications will automatically be cleared once you answer the call on another Apple device. iPhone 4 users will see improved responsiveness and performance, the company claims.