All the little tweaks Apple added to iOS 8 beta 4

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iOS8

 

iOS 8 just got a little bit closer to completion for its launch this fall with the release of iOS 8 beta 4 this morning. Apple didn’t add any major new changes (unless you’re a hardcore lover of Control Center), but the new beta is full of tiny little tweaks that will make your iPhone feel like new when iOS 8 drops in September.

We’re still combing through all the new features Apple just added to iOS 8 beta 4, but there are already some big additions like the new Tips app, an improved Control Center, new Handoff settings and little tweaks galore.

Here are all the little features Apple added to iOS 8 beta 4:

Tips app

Tipsapp

Apple removed the Bug Reporter app that was available on the first three iOS 8 betas and replaced it with a new Tips app that gives you bite sized tutorials on how to use some of iOS 8’s lesser known features. Right now the app only has 7 tips, but that number should grow as iOS 8 nears release.

Bold text

brightnessslider

iOS 8 beta 4 has a menu for display & brightness that now includes a slider to increase text size or toggle on/off bold text, which requires a restart each time it’s toggled.

Live talk-to-text dictation

siridictate

When users compose a message with talk-to-text in Messages, Siri now dictates talk-to-text live as you’re speaking, so you know when she’s garbled a word like “areolas”. You can also find the Siri when using Siri, though it looks like it’s been there since at least iOS 8 beta 3.

siritexttotalkdictation

 

Blurry Control center

controlcenter

Control Center ditched all its lines in favor of more subtle icons that utilize dim sections to indicate button areas.

Contacts switcher

contactsswitcher

iOS 8 beta 1 added a Contacts switcher in the Multitasking view that has Recent contacts in the top, but now you can toggle of Phone Favorites and Recents.

Mail swipe options

mailswipeoptions
Apple added customized swipe gestures in the new beta that let you choose between Mark as Read, Flag, Archive, and none when you swipe right. Swiping left just gives you the options Flag, Mark as Read, and none.

HomeKit

homedataicon

The icon for Home Data received a nice update. You can see the new icon under Settings >> Privacy >> Home Data.

Messages options

messages

New options for Messages history was added in beta 4 that lets you decide to keep a video for 2 minutes or 1 year. Hopefully the next update adds a 30-day interval.

Slower animations

multitasking

The animations for multi-tasking have been slowed down just a tad, but you probably won’t even notice a difference.

Handoff settings changes

turnoffhandoff

Location-based app suggestions made an appearance with iOS 8 beta 2, but if you don’t want a Chase bank or Starbucks app icon to suddenly pop-up on your lockscreen while driving around town, you can now choose to turn them off altogether, or only get location-based suggestions for apps already installed.

Spot something in the new beta that we missed? Tell us about it in the comments, and checkout our other roundup of other new features add in iOS 8 beta 1, beta 2, and beta 3.

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