Apple released the fourth iOS 10 and watchOS 3 developer betas this week. Both releases contain minor changes and noticeable performance improvements when compared to the second developer betas. Now that we have spent some time with both, here are our findings.
iOS 10 developer beta 4’s main highlight is performance improvements. On an iPhone 6 Plus, it feels as fast, if not faster, than iOS 9. Apps and folders are very quick to launch and close, and app switching is also faster.
Here are all the changes we have found in this update.
- Apple’s newly announced diverse Emojis are present in this update with a gradient filled redesign for all emojis. Gone is the flat look.
- A new intro for control center which we noticed that it says ‘iPhone controls’ even on the iPad.
- Day and date widget is back in the notification center. Oddly, they are only visible if you swipe down from the home screen to access Spotlight search and then swipe right to access widgets. No such issue on iPad.
- App switcher performs much better now.
- Some iOS 9 era wallpapers have been removed, likely due to new ones on the way.
- New key press sounds for the space bar, backspace, enter and other function keys.
- Haptic feedback when lock button is pressed is gone.
- 3D touch performance is improved in third-party apps.
- Expandable notifications show a small drag handle at the bottom.
- Popularity stars for songs return to Apple Music.
watchOS 3 developer beta 3 gave us some tough time in the beginning in the form of crashes and restarts but after that, it has been very stable. Performance is better than beta 2. The only minor changes we found are:
- Scribble, emoji, digital touch and dictation buttons are now blue for iMessages and green for text messages. Dismiss button has moved to the end of quick replies list.
- Updated Workout app buttons
Bonus: macOS 10.12 Sierra has also gotten into the new diverse and redesigned emojis game.
We will update this post if we find any more changes in Apple’s latest beta releases.
