iOS 7 Beta 3 Tidbits: New App Download Animation, Thicker Fonts, Safari Improvements - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 7 Beta 3 Tidbits: New App Download Animation, Thicker Fonts, Safari Improvements

Apple today released the third beta of iOS 7, which brings a number of improvements and bug fixes to the operating system. According to the release notes, double notifications have been resolved and AirPlay issues have also been fixed.

Several other minor enhancements have been bundled into the release, as noted by our forum members:

Redesigned Fonts - Fonts across a number of apps appear to have been tweaked to be thicker, using Helvetica Neue Regular instead of Ultra Light. This is most noticeable in the Messages app, where text appears to be bolded, but it can also be seen in the Weather app, the Notification Center, and the Settings menu. Panic co-founder @cabel has provided a GIF that demonstrates the differences.

notificationcenter
Safari - Safari has had the .com button removed and replaced with a simple period button. The .com, .net, and .org domain extensions can be accessed by holding down on the button.

Status Bar - The Status Bar, which provides information on cellular connection strength, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and battery life has had its size slightly increased for better readability on the lock screen.

thickerfonts
Lock Screen - When playing music, the lock screen will now display the time.

lockscreentime
Music App - The Music app has seen a slight redesign with new icons and rearranged controls. Ratings have also been re-added.

Podcasts - Apple's Podcasts app is now functional.

Calendar - In the monthly view, the Calendar app has been updated to display small gray dots on days where events are scheduled.

calendar
Siri - A number of MacRumors forum members have noted that Siri’s voice now sounds more natural.

New App Download Animation - When installing an app, iOS 7 users will see a new animation that does away with download bars in favor of a more organic circular download timer.

newdownloadanimation
Control Center - The clock located in the Control Center has seen yet another redesign, this time appearing in the original dark format that was removed during beta 2 in favor of a thinly outlined version.

controlcenterclock
Additional features in iOS 7 beta 3 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is likely to continue pushing regular updates for iOS 7, bringing minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system's public release, which is expected to come in the fall.

Related Forum: iOS 7

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

Sky Blue Avatar
166 months ago
are the icons still ugly?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
166 months ago
are the icons still ugly?

Never were.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jack97 Avatar
166 months ago
are the icons still ugly?


And the award for least original comment goes to...
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradl Avatar
166 months ago
I have to admit, the layout of IOS 7 does grow on you. Yes, it is a huge departure from IOS 6, but given time, it does look simpler and sleeker.

Keeping this up, it will look nice come GM and full release.

BL.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboy88 Avatar
166 months ago
Good before/after image of the interface w/bolder font:

Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
166 months ago
Mavericks now, please. :D
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)