What’s new in iOS 10.1?
Apple has only recently let iOS 10 out into the wild, but now the first update is here. After a short beta period, iOS 10.1 is available to download for all.
But what’s new? Well, not a whole lot. Apart from one exciting feature for iPhone 7 Plus owners.
Portrait mode for iPhone 7 Plus
The biggest feature added in iOS 10.1 is a new portrait camera mode, designed to make the most of those dual sensors.
First shown during the big iPhone 7 reveal, the new portrait mode helps you capture those silky bokeh shots that you’d normally associate with DSLR or mirrorless cameras. The foreground stays in focus, while the backgrounds becomes all blurry, and it tends to look great.
This mode is exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus, though, because it uses both 12-megapixel sensors. Apple’s built-in ISP (image signal processor) scans the background and uses some clever machine learning tech to identify objects, like faces, in the foreground. Then the 56mm lens captures the pictures and the wider 28mm lens generates a depth map of the scene.
It’s a pretty nifty idea, but we’ve always found that these modes tend to sound much better than they actually are. The Huawei P9, for example, has a similar option and the results look far from natural and quite rubbish. Hopefully Apple can do a better job.
With the iOS 10.1 beta installed, the new portrait mode be found in the camera app. Just swipe through the carousel until you hit it – it’s right next to the panorama mode.
Anything else?
Nothing huge, but 'Bug Fixes' is of course listed so hopefully some of those annoying glitches will have been stamped out. You'll also now be able to use the nifty bubble effects in Messages with 'Reduce Motion' enabled and there's support for more transit directions if you live in Japan.
Where can I download iOS 10.1?
Like every iOS update, there are two ways to download it. The easiest is on your phone: Connect to Wifi, open up Settings and find the 'Check for updates' icons. It'll download and then install.
You can also plug your iPhone into an iTunes toting computer and install it that way.
