We previously discussed the issues with iOS 7’s confusing lock screen, which sported a prominent up arrow and “slide to unlock” text sitting just above this arrow. This lock screen design gave the initial impression that you now slide up to unlock your phone, rather than the necessary flick of your thumb to the right.
From the initial iOS 7 beta:
As reported by MacRumors, today’s iOS 7 Beta 4 corrects these issues, with an updated lock screen sporting a right facing arrow.
Better still, Apple has prioritized the key function of sliding to unlock and prevented arrow fatigue by doing away with the up arrow in exchange for a flat bar to indicate access to the settings panel which slides up from below. Now, the only arrow on the lock screen is next to the action which gets you into your phone.
Finally, to make these interactions even easier for fumbling hands, the slide to unlock text now sits further away from the bottom of the screen, preventing any accidental activation of the settings panel or the camera when you’re moving your thumb to unlock the phone.
Here’s how these welcome improvements look: