Apple releases iOS 6.1 beta 2 to developers

Apple has released the second beta of iOS 6.1 to developers, with Map Kit enhancements and Passbook improvements, alongside a new Apple TV software beta and a new preview of Xcode 4.6.

The iOS 6.1 beta 2 is known as build 10B510c, and is compatible with all iPads except the original, the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 3GS, and the 4th and 5th generations of the iPod touch.

The second beta arrived little more than a week after Apple released the first iOS 6.1 beta to developers, and an iOS 6.0.1 update to the public, bringing bug fixes and minor improvements to Apple's latest mobile operating system.

Apple Insider reports that "developers have said that the first beta of iOS 6.1 was relatively stable, but there some crashing issues did occur when using the camera's panorama mode".

The latest build of iOS 6.1 adds further improvements to the Map Kit framework that allows third-party developers to use Apple's Maps service to search for map-based addresses and points of interest.

Apple has also added a note to help beginners get to grips with Passbook, the virtual wallet that was introduced with iOS 6 in September. While Passbook is largely redundant in the UK at present, it looks set to be making its way into our lives, and British Airways has said that it wants to join Apple's e-ticketing scheme "as soon as we can".

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