Apple Releases First iOS 10.1 Beta to Public Beta Testers With Portrait Mode for iPhone 7 Plus

Thursday September 22, 2016 10:13 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 10 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, just under two weeks after releasing iOS 10 to the public and one day after providing the iOS 10.1 beta to developers.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 10 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.

Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas are not stable and include many bugs, so they should be installed on a secondary device.

iphone_7_plus_dual_camera
iOS 10.1 introduces a "Portrait" mode for the iPhone 7 Plus, which was first shown off when the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus debuted on September 7. Portrait mode is designed to mimic the kind of shallow depth of field images that can be taken with a high-end DSLR, with a front subject that stands out over a blurred background.

The two cameras in the iPhone 7 Plus capture images, which are scanned by the built-in image signal processor. Machine learning techniques are use to recognize people and/or foreground images, keeping people and main objects in while applying an artful blue or "bokeh" to the background.

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Portrait mode is an iPhone 7 Plus-only feature because it requires two images to create a depth map. iOS 10.1 also likely includes bug fixes and behind-the-scenes updates to address issues that have popped up since release.

iOS 10 offers features like a redesigned Lock screen, a Siri SDK to allow third-party apps to integrate with Siri, and a completely overhauled Messages app with stickers, a full App Store, Digital Touch, Bubble Effects, and more. Other new additions include a dedicated "Home" app for HomeKit users, new facial and object recognition capabilities in Photos, and redesigned Maps and Apple Music apps.

Related Forum: iOS 10

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Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety

130 months ago

Let's see how funny you are when Galaxy S8 comes out this fall?

People were also saying "wait until the Note 7 is released. It's gonna destroy the competition."

As far as I recall, it only destroyed hotel rooms.

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

fs454

130 months ago

This bolka effect its nothing new to smartphones. Galaxy S7 already surpassed the DSLR by having a fast autofocus

Ah, how could I forget!! Does anyone want to buy my 7+ 128GB? I need to buy an S7 now.

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

ZCT

130 months ago

This bokeh effect its nothing new to smartphones. Galaxy S7 already surpassed the DSLR by having a faster autofocus

HA HA HA HA!

Nice one.

If you think that ANY smartphone has come close to ANY half decent DSLR, then you know nothing about photography or physics.

As for 'surpassed' sure. And let me guess, it also transforms into a space ship and can fly you to the moon? I'll join you there for cocktails this evening.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

WiseAJ

130 months ago

Is there anything else new in 10.1? Sounds like its only a useful update for those of us that have 7 Pluses.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

keysofanxiety

130 months ago

I have to say that I'm massively impressed with Apple's recent commitment to software QA and stability. I don't remember so many betas and GMs being thrown about before release.

Plus the more devices out there, the more bugs people will encounter. Apple's growth over the last 5 years has been exponential.

They've learned a lot from buggy disasters on launch date. iOS 7 and OS X Lion immediately spring to mind.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mlochowitz

130 months ago

It's not perfect, but I'm sure it will improve over time. As it is, since you get both the original and depth mapped image you can open them as layers in Photoshop and clean them up using a layer mask. Here is an example of the original off the camera and a 30 second 'fix' in Photoshop. This was just a test snapshot.

[doublepost=1474584777][/doublepost]Here is another example of an image straight off the phone. It's not bad, you have to understand how the camera/software is going to react and what the limitations are but it opens a lot of possibilities. This is a pretty easy shot that looks much better having the subject isolated. Can I find fault? Yep, but I still think it's a lot of fun and I can't wait to see how far they can push this.