Apple Rolls Out A Ton Of Software Updates

Sure, software updates aren’t nearly as sexy as a new iPhone, but for faithful users of Apple AAPL products, these small software updates come with bug fixes and new features that, for some, are nearly as welcomed as new hardware. Here are the updates that Apple pushed to its users Monday.

iOS 7.1

By far the most notable, iOS 7.1 not only fixed some bugs that users have complained about since 7.0, it added some new features that are already getting positive reviews.

If you’re still using an iPhone 4, iOS 7.1 brought noticeable speed changes. A study by ArsTechnica found that the camera, for example, opens about half of a second faster with 7.1.

In addition, CarPlay was introduced along with improvements to Siri and the Touch ID system on the 5S.

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Visual changes include new phone icons like circular buttons, and the sliders that didn’t work smoothly in iOS 7 are now much improved.

Many users complained when Apple took away the split view on the calendar app that allows users to view a monthly calendar along with a list of appointments for the day underneath. That has returned in iOS 7.1.

For apps that use iBeacon technology, businesses can now push notifications to the phone without the app being open or if the phone is rebooted.

Many other small changes were included in 7.1 and so far, no major bug reports have been reported since the roll out.

Apple App Fixes

Apple also released updated versions of its Remote app, Logic Remote, Podcasts and GarageBand apps. Each of these updates addressed what Apple characterized as minor maintenance issues. The new Remote app includes the ability to control iTunes Radio on the Apple TV.

Apple TV

Even the Apple TV got a few new features Monday. Version 6.1 gives users the ability to hide channels from the vast array of apps that are now on the Apple TV screen. In the past, users could hide channels through the settings menu, but the new update allows for hiding directly from the home screen.

Simply holding down the select button on the remote will cause icons to jiggle similar to iOS.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker was long Apple.