iOS 7 beta for Developers

Reimagine your apps on iOS 7. Download the SDK today and take advantage of the new multitasking APIs, dynamic motion controls in UIKit, AirDrop, Sprite Kit, enhanced video APIs, new features in Game Center and Map Kit, and so much more.

Design and Develop for iOS 7

User Interface

Elevate the content of your apps and make your user interface come alive on iOS 7. Adopt the new design to simplify and revitalize your app with clarity, translucency, and depth. UIKit allows you to incorporate realistic motion and transitions with new APIs that enable your user interface to respond to every touch and swipe by following the behaviors and physical constraints you define. Take advantage of powerful new text layout tools and dynamic type that respect the design principals of iOS 7.

• iOS 7 UI Transition Guide
• iOS Human Interface Guidelines

AirDrop

Share photos, documents, URLs and other types of data with multiple devices nearby by adding AirDrop support to your app. By simply adding the Activity sheet, all the details of sharing your content peer-to-peer is handled for you—no network or setup required. And with Wi-Fi peer-to-peer technology you can use the same underlying technology to directly connect with multiple devices nearby, and let your users easily share information with each other.

• What’s New in iOS 7

Multitasking

Keep the content of your app up-to-date by adopting the new multitasking APIs in iOS 7. The new services allow your app to update information and download content in the background without draining the battery unnecessarily. The updates can happen at opportunistic times and are intelligently scheduled according to usage, so your app can update content in the background just when your users need it.

• What’s New in iOS 7

Games

Create new immersive experiences using the latest game technologies in iOS 7. Develop high-performance 2D games with the powerful new Sprite Kit framework, which combines everything you need to animate sprites, simulate physics and create beautiful particle systems all in one easy-to-use set of APIs. Hand the controls over to your users by adding support for upcoming MFi game controllers to your game. And the re-designed Game Center adds more modes for turn-based games and more leaderboards, as well as allowing you to authenticate players, and securely transmit game scores and achievements.

• Game Center Programming Guide
• Game Controller Programming Guide

• Sprite Kit Programming Guide

Camera, Photos, and Video

Let your users capture and compose photos and videos just the way they want. Capture video at 60fps, so you can replay dramatic scenes in slow motion. Get a closer look by directly controlling the zoom level of the camera. Create video effects and transitions by combining multiple video tracks using the custom video compositing APIs. Scan and recognize barcodes with the camera.

• What’s New in iOS 7

Accessories

Enhance your apps with support for new types of accessories. Location beacons are a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence. Location beacons will provide apps a whole new level of location awareness, such as trail markers in a park, exhibits in a museum or product displays in stores. Other new features include the ability to setup and configure Wi-Fi accessories, such as AirPlay speakers, directly from iOS. And iOS 7 works with more Bluetooth LE profiles, including time, notifications, keyboards, and stereo sound.

• Game Controller Programming Guide
• Core Bluetooth Programming Guide

Inter-App Audio

Now your apps can make beautiful music together. With Inter-App Audio, apps can register their audio streams to share with other apps. For example, a series of apps could publish audio streams of instrument tracks while another uses the combination of these streams to compose a song. Inter-App Audio also provides for MIDI control of audio rendering, remotely launching other registered Inter-App Audio apps and more.

• What’s New in iOS 7

Map Kit

Take your apps in new directions with the new features of Map Kit. iOS 7 introduces directions APIs, enabling you to guide users to their destinations from within your app. Allow your users to rotate and move around the map in 3D using updated views and controls. And you have even more control of overlays, making it possible to place them at different layers or replace portions of the map altogether.

• Location Awareness Programming Guide

Device Support for iOS 7 beta

iOS 7 beta supports iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPod touch (5th generation). Support for iPad 2, iPad with Retina display, and iPad mini is coming later this summer.