Everything New in iOS 11.2.5: Siri Audio News, HomePod Support, New Control Center Music Interface and More

Apple this morning officially released the iOS 11.2.5 update to the public, introducing support for the upcoming HomePod smart speaker, which is set to be released on February 9.

In addition to adding support for HomePod, the update also introduces several HomePod-related features such as Siri podcast-based audio news reports and a new music interface, along with bug fixes and security improvements. Check the video and post below for everything that's new in iOS 11.2.5.


Today's update introduces official support for podcast-based audio Siri news reports, a feature that first began rolling out on all devices last week.

When you ask Siri about the news of the day via Hey Siri or another hands-free method, the new feature allows the personal assistant to provide Podcast news from sources like NPR, Fox News, CNN, or The Washington Post.

While asking Siri about the news of the day will provide generic news updates from the aforementioned sources, you can also ask for more specific news about topics like sports, business, and music. Sports news provides podcasts from ESPN or NBC, business news offers podcasts from Bloomberg or CNBC, while music news offers Apple Music Beats 1 content.

sirisportsnews
Siri podcast news is available in the United States, Australia, and the UK, the three countries where the HomePod is launching in February. Siri news can be accessed on devices in other countries according to Apple's release notes for the iOS 11.2.5 update, but content will only be provided in English and the feature appears to be incomplete in unsupported countries.

The only significant outward-facing change introduced in iOS 11.2.5 brings a new layout for audio controls. When accessing the music widget on an iPhone or iPad, when you 3D Touch or press on the icon in the upper right hand side, all available audio playback sources are now listed as separate tiles.

controlcenterios1125newinterface
Tapping on one of the audio sources, such as an Apple TV, allows audio to be played on the device and controlled separately from the iPhone. Using this feature, you can listen to music on one device, like the Apple TV, without interfering with audio playing on the iPhone.

Today's update introduces new functionality for the VoiceOver accessibility feature in iOS devices, allowing it to announce playback destinations and AirPod battery level.

Other, smaller improvements and bug fixes were also included in iOS 11.2.5, addressing issues in Mail, Messages, and CarPlay. From Apple's official release notes:

- Addresses an issue that could cause the Phone app to display incomplete information in the call list
- Fixes an issue that caused Mail notifications from some Exchange accounts to disappear from the Lock screen when unlocking iPhone X with Face ID
- Addresses an issue that could cause Messages conversations to temporarily be listed out of order
- Fixes an issue in CarPlay where Now Playing controls become unresponsive after multiple track changes

The iOS 11.2.5 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible devices over-the-air using the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software update.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

Baymowe335 Avatar
94 months ago
6s here, runs beautifully with 11.2.5!
Can't be true! Every iPhone 6s is unusable and slow because every phone was impacted and has a defective battery.

Oh wait, you live in reality...sorry.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GTO Avatar
94 months ago
..... and it doesn’t include that throttling switch which i’ve been waiting for.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
e1me5 Avatar
94 months ago
6s here, runs beautifully with 11.2.5!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGuder Avatar
94 months ago
The control panel is still way too busy looking. I still prefer my iOS 9.3.5 control panel. No, still not updating.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
err404 Avatar
94 months ago
That sounds really interesting. I hope this makes Airplay functionally closer to to how Chromecast works. Meaning that casting content doesn’t completely take over your phone.
When I get home I want to try casting a video to the TV and watching a different video on my phone.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lyleberman Avatar
94 months ago
Weird...I have and even connected to my 4k ATV, and I don't see anything like this. The tiles and options to change output just don't show up for me. Tried playing audio from a few different apps on the phone and output to the ATV. It all works fine, I just don't get the extra options referenced in the article here.
Same thing for me. I have an Apple TV 4K and an Airport express hooked up to my stereo. No tiles. Just the same old (awkward) interface in the control center.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)