Apple Releases First Beta of iOS 11 to Public Beta Testers

by

Apple today released the first public beta of iOS 11 to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to download and test the update ahead of its fall release. iOS 11 has been available for developers since June 5, and the first public beta corresponds with the second developer beta.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 11 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device.

ios 11 beta
Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. Before installing a beta, make sure to create a full encrypted iTunes backup and be sure to install it on a secondary device because beta software is not stable and can include many bugs.

iOS 11 brings subtle design changes to the operating system, including a new Lock screen experience and a customizable, redesigned Control Center. Siri is smarter, has a more natural voice, and can do more, Messages features person-to-person Apple Pay, Notes has searchable handwriting and document scanning, and Music now lets you share playlists with your friends.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

A new Files app improves file management on iOS devices, and for the iPad in particular, there's a new Dock, an App Switcher, and support for Drag and Drop, all of which vastly improves multitasking on the device. An entirely revamped App Store is coming in the update, photos and videos take up less space, iMessages can be stored in iCloud, and developers are getting new tools like ARKit for creating impressive new augmented reality apps and games.

For full details on all of the new features included in iOS 11, make sure to check out our iOS 11 roundup. iOS 11 will be available for developers and public testers for testing purposes for several months ahead of a planned fall release.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
Read Full Article • 60 comments
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have Five New Features

Tuesday March 18, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said ...
Read Full Article • 77 comments
iPhone 17 Air Fanned Feature

First iPhone 17 Air Case Has Camera Bar, Camera Control Button Cutouts

Wednesday March 19, 2025 5:29 am PDT by
Serial leaker Sonny Dickson today shared an image of what he claims is a first look at a third-party case for Apple's iPhone 17 Air. "If you didn’t know an Air was coming, you'd swear it was a Google Pixel case," he said. Case manufacturers often obtain design specifications of upcoming iPhone models before their release by collaborating with Apple through official partnerships or...
Read Full Article • 45 comments
iphone 16 pro models 1

All Four iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Upgraded 24-Megapixel Front Camera and More

Monday March 17, 2025 7:50 pm PDT by
All four iPhone 17 models launching later this year will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according to analyst Jeff Pu. In a research note today with investment firm GF Securities, Pu shared a chart in which he reiterated that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with a 24-megapixel front camera. By comparison, all four ...
Read Full Article • 50 comments
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

iOS 19 to Have Some of the 'Biggest' Design Changes in iPhone's History

Sunday March 16, 2025 10:35 am PDT by
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...
Read Full Article • 158 comments
Windows Vista

Apple Might Be Having Its Windows Vista Moment, Says Analyst

Thursday March 20, 2025 6:52 am PDT by
Is Apple experiencing a "Vista-like drift into systemically poor execution?" That was a question posed by well-known technology analyst Benedict Evans, in a recent blog post covering Apple's innovation and execution, or seemingly lack thereof as of late. He is referring to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized when it launched in 2007 due to software bugs,...
Read Full Article • 150 comments
new magsafe charger

Apple Releases New MagSafe Charger Firmware

Tuesday March 18, 2025 11:33 am PDT by
Apple today released a firmware update for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods. The updated firmware is version 2A146, up from the 2A143 firmware that came out earlier this year. In the Settings app, the new firmware is version 136, up from 133. Apple launched the 2024 MagSafe charger alongside the iPhone 16 models, and it is able to ...
Read Full Article • 36 comments
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 and iOS 20 Must Include a Long List of Major Changes, EU Says

Wednesday March 19, 2025 10:26 am PDT by
The European Commission today announced a long list of changes that Apple is legally required to implement in future iOS 19 and iOS 20 updates. The announcement clarifies interoperability requirements that Apple is required to adhere to in the EU, under the Digital Markets Act, which has been fully enforced since March 2024. The changes will further open up the iPhone and its technologies to ...
Read Full Article • 368 comments
pebble smartwatches

Apple Restricting New Pebble Smartwatches From 'Being Awesome' With iPhone

Tuesday March 18, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Two new PebbleOS smartwatches were announced today by original Pebble watch creator Eric Migicovsky, revitalizing a Kickstarter-launched brand that had three years of mega popularity before it folded in 2016. Called the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2, the two smartwatches run a PebbleOS, which is based on the source code for the software that ran on the original Pebble smartwatch. After...
Read Full Article • 235 comments

Top Rated Comments

tkukoc Avatar
tkukoc
101 months ago
Have fun with the bugs kids.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rtr1985 Avatar
rtr1985
101 months ago
Very tempting to try on iPad Pro.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
TMRJIJ
101 months ago
Don’t mind me. Just putting this link here to make sure people backup their devices before complaining about bugs:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203282
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AndrewWx Avatar
AndrewWx
101 months ago
Not feeling ultra brave this time around - I am going to wait for B3 or B4
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
576316 Avatar
576316
101 months ago
I am shocked. I find OS11 far from being ready for a public beta.
Meh. I find that's what developers say when they're just mad they won't be part of an exclusive club anymore. ;)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tkukoc Avatar
tkukoc
101 months ago
Everyone who's saying stuff like this, is it really that much worse than usual? What are the biggest issues you've had? Everyone's being so vague.
Let see, data spike while on 4g/LTE.. so those who have limited data make sure you're watching that. Messages app crashing while displaying multiple photos attached to an imessage.. Messages app restarts iPhone, sending it into a loop (you have to do a certain sequence of things to have this happen.) Certain apps refuse to open (obviously due to the new file system and IOS changes so there's not much that can be done till dev's update their applications). WIFI connectivity issues that cause loss of connection, reverting back to 4g/LTE and auto joining becoming disabled. Multitasking closure of applications does not work, battery drain due to applications not properly being unloaded from memory. (They continue to run in the background and they show sometimes in the tasker.. other times you dump them.. think they are unloaded.. only for them to return after opening another app).. I can go on and on.. Basically these betas are memory drainers, filled with a lot of small bugs, 2 huge bugs and a lot of annoyances. This is why I keep preaching to those who like to brag about how they have access to betas to please wait.. save yourself the annoyances and issues.. Hopefully beta 3 fixes a lot of these issues and more. Trust me, there's so many more than those I listed. I've reported over a 150 bugs at this point. And yes, I know it's beta but these are not your typical betas. These are the new Apple file system, applications changed to 64bit, some interface changes, a bunch of under the hood changes that will be unveiled with iPhone 8.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments