1Password 4.2 Brings 1Browser, Login, and Search Improvements

1Password for iOS, AgileBits’ excellent password manager, has been updated today to version 4.2, which brings some notable improvements for login management and 1Browser, the app’s built-in web browser for the iPhone and iPad.

On the iPad, Go and Fill bookmarks have been added to the browser, making it easier to quickly open a previously saved login and directly log into it using the (also new, and not iPad-only) auto-submit option for login filling. Bookmarks are available in a popover and they can be searched: in both bookmark and regular search, you can now expand search to all fields if you remember a piece of information of a specific item that doesn’t show up in regular search.

Bookmarks aren’t available on the iPhone’s smaller screen, but, both on the iPad and iPhone, login filling now uses the same sweet animation that was brought to the desktop extensions a while back. Combined with auto-filling and the aforementioned animation (which can be disabled in the new 1Browser settings), logging into websites with 1Password 4.2 is now a faster and more enjoyable process.

In my original review of 1Password 4, I lamented the lack of options for creating new logins from the embedded browser. While the app still won’t prompt you to save a new login, 1Browser for iPad does have the same strong password generator found elsewhere in the app, with the same amount of options to control repeated letters, pronounceability, and more. Two small touches that I particularly enjoyed while testing 1Password 4.2 were the smart clipboard detection when launching the app (1Password will ask if you want to open a URL in your clipboard) and the fact that the app will return to the Vault after closing the last 1Browser tab. I look forward to seeing if and how AgileBits will figure out a way to port the new 1Browser features to the iPhone.

Thanks to the latest updates, 1Password for iOS is reaching the same degree of functionality of the desktop app with browser extensions. In some areas, I actually prefer using 1Password for iOS: the URL scheme makes it extremely easy to find and open login items; 1Browser for iPad is a great tool; the new sharing options of version 4.2 include tappable 1Password links that you can send to your spouse or colleagues to let them easily add a shared item to their Vault.

1Password remains one of my must-have iOS apps that I use every day, and the additions of version 4.2 are welcome. The update is now available on the App Store.