Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of iOS 11.3 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 11.3 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fourth beta and three weeks after the release of iOS 11.2.6, an update that addressed a bug causing iPhones and iPads to crash when a character from the Indian language Telugu was rendered improperly.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 11.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.


iOS 11.3 is a major update that introduces a long list of new features, like Messages in iCloud for saving space and syncing messages across devices, and ARKit 1.5, a new version of ARKit able to more accurately map irregularly shaped surfaces, recognize images, and place objects on vertical surfaces like walls.

There are four new Animoji on the iPhone X (dragon, bear, skull, and lion), and in the Health app, there's a new Health Records feature that aggregates all of your medical records in one easy-to-access place.

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As of iOS 11.3 beta 2, the update includes a new "Battery Health" feature that's designed to provide iOS users with more information about their batteries.


Battery Health offers details on maximum battery capacity and peak performance capability, and for devices with degraded batteries, it provides information on if and when a device is being throttled with performance management features. It also provides a way for customers who do have a device with a degraded battery to turn off performance management all together.

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By default, iOS 11.3 disables performance management on the iPhone, and the feature is only re-enabled once a device experiences an unexpected shutdown.

Early betas of iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3 included support for AirPlay 2 features, allowing audio to be played to multiple Apple TVs, but these features were removed in iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3 beta 3.

Other features in iOS 11.3 include a "For You" section in Apple News that displays the top videos of the day, support for Advanced Mobile Location (AML) for more accurate location when placing an emergency call in a supported country, more information about app size in the Updates tap in the App Store, software authentication for HomeKit, and a new Privacy screen and icon that will show up whenever Apple asks you for info.

The privacy screen is reflected in several new splash screens that pop up when you first open apps. The App Store also now lets you sort reviews by most helpful, most favorable, most critical, and most recent, a handy change for better finding the app info you're looking for.

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Business Chat, which will let you interface with businesses like Wells Fargo, Delta, Hilton and Lowe's right in the Messages app is coming when iOS 11.3 is released, and improvements to Apple Music will bring better support for music videos.

iOS 11.3 will be released to the public in the spring. Spring kicks off on March 20, so the update will be in testing for at least another couple of weeks.

Update: There's also a new beta of iOS 11.3 available to public beta testers.

Related Forum: iOS 11

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Top Rated Comments

ACST Avatar
92 months ago
If an iPhone is crashing because of a worn out battery, it's much better to prevent a future crash by throttling (or replacing the battery) than crashing repeatedly. Crashes can corrupt files.
Apple knew that, but general public is dumb and think they want the choice (although there are valid reasons of wanting to have the actual choice, though not for the dumb general public).
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
92 months ago
If an iPhone is crashing because of a worn out battery, it's much better to prevent a future crash by throttling (or replacing the battery) than crashing repeatedly. Crashes can corrupt files.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Casfin Avatar
92 months ago
maybe they can fix the damn out of order imessages.

nah...tweaking emojjis is top priority.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iOS Geek Avatar
92 months ago
So am i reading this correctly you can turn off the power management feature but it will reenable every time your phone shuts down unexpedly seems kinda annoying to have to turn it back on all the time?
I'd say its to save face. Honestly, in my opinion, giving a bunch of people who don't fully understand the reasoning why the throttling is done...the option to disable it...was the wrong move. They don't seem to care about why it was done. Just that it was. Which means they don't have a full grasp of the issue it prevents. Because now, people will turn it off seeing it as just an annoyance and then proceed to complain that their phone repeatedly shuts off. End result? They complain anyway. As someone who understands why the throttling happens...I think a "slower" phone...is a much smaller price to pay than one that shuts down constantly and can ruin data. Given a choice...I'd take the throttled phone, no questions asked. I think that when they see the alternative (repeated shutoffs at REALLY bad times)...they'll realize the throttling is a much better alternative. I would rather my phone slow down while I'm completing an important task, than have it shut down completely during that same task.

Giving people the choice is pretty much a double edged sword for Apple. They will not win either way. People complain that their phones slow down, so they turn off the throttling. Phone shuts down because throttling is off...people will complain. Apple pretty much loses no matter what.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WilliamG Avatar
92 months ago
maybe they can fix the damn out of order imessages.

nah...tweaking emojjis is top priority.
Yeah Messages is a bit of a mess. And Apple still hasn't fixed the keyboard overlapping the last message at times, too. Drives me nuts on a daily basis.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
albert421 Avatar
92 months ago
Why an hour early?
No. It’s the right time. Day light saving adjustment just happened this weekend.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)