Prarthito Maity Tech 11.02.2012 10:Nov AM EDT

iOS 6.1 Beta Released For Developers

Apple, straight after revealing iOS 6.0.1, already has a new version of iOS ready for the developers. Per reports, Apple is pushing out iOS 6.1 for developers with some new but unknown features.

The Cupertino-based company, on Thursday, provided developers with a prerelease version of its forthcoming iOS 6.1 update. The new version is said to feature improvements to Apple-based Maps application programming interface, alongside a beta of Xcode 4.6.

The iOS 6.1 beta, as of now, has not been detailed properly but more information is expected in the coming weeks, and the details are expected from the developers themselves who will be working with them upon release.

Currently, both iOS 6.1 and Xcode 4.6 are available to download from Apple's developer website. Fans and developers familiar with the iOS beta version have indicated that it is identified as "Build 10B5095f." Moreover, the iOS 6.1 beta is available for the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, fourth, third, and second-generation iPads, and the fifth and fourth generation iPod touch.

However, the iOS 6.1 beta is not compatible with the iPad mini and new fourth-generation iPad, which is now available, and is not being offered in Apple’s developer website.

As mentioned earlier, the only major new addition to iOS 6.1 is said to be "Map Kit Searches" which is a part of the "Map Kit" framework. What this does is that it now lets developers search for map-based addresses and points of interest.

Apart from that, a new class labeled "MKLocalSearch" is also said to offer map-based content using a natural language string. This is set to allow users to enter place name information or segments of an address to return applicable information.

The new Xcode 4.6 beta, on the other hand, per an Apple Insider report, has been labeled as "Build 4H90b," and it includes the iOS 6.1 beta SDK, alongside Mac OS X 10.8 SDK. It is to be noted that the pre-release version of Xcode includes the Xcode IDE, iOS simulator, and all other required tools and frameworks for building OS X and iOS applications.