Apple Seeds Third Beta of iOS 11.4 to Developers [Public Beta Available]

by

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming iOS 11.4 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second beta and over a month after releasing iOS 11.3, a major update that introduced several new features.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 11.4 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

ios114beta
The iOS 11.4 update introduces a new ClassKit framework for educational institutions, which supports new features announced at Apple's March 27 event.

For standard users, the iOS 11.4 update adds features that were originally present in the iOS 11.3 beta but removed ahead of release. It includes support for Messages on iCloud, designed to store your iMessages in iCloud rather than on each individual device, allowing for improved syncing capabilities. Currently, incoming iMessages are sent to all devices where you're signed in to your Apple ID, but there is no true cross-device syncing.

Messages on iCloud will allow you to download all of your iMessages on new devices, and a message deleted on one device will remove it on all devices. Older messages and attachments are also stored in iCloud rather than on-device, saving valuable storage space.

The update also offers AirPlay 2 features, with the Apple TV once again available in the Home app. With AirPlay 2, the same audio content can be played in multiple rooms on devices that support AirPlay 2, such as HomePod. Speaking of HomePod, there were initially signs of support for stereo sound, a long-promised feature, but stereo sound never worked in the beta and the mention was removed in beta 2.

For the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, there is a new (PRODUCT)RED wallpaper available, which is not available on iPhone X.

iOS 11.3, the previous update to iOS 11, introduced a new Battery Health feature for monitoring the status of your iPhone's battery, Business Chat for iMessage, which lets you communicate with companies directly in the Messages app, ARKit 1.5 with augmented reality improvements, new Animoji on iPhone X, Health Records from participating medical providers, and more.

Update: Apple has made a new public beta of iOS 11.4 available to its public beta testing group.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
Read Full Article • 109 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Read Full Article • 152 comments
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Read Full Article • 176 comments
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
Read Full Article • 95 comments
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
Read Full Article • 159 comments
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Read Full Article • 136 comments

Top Rated Comments

cmaier Avatar
cmaier
87 months ago
Looking forward to them dropping airplay 2 again and moving it to iOS 12.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
DocMultimedia
87 months ago
Looking forward to them dropping airplay 2 again and moving it to iOS 12.
Ugh. WTheF? Why can't Apple with their thousands and thousands of employees get Airplay 2 working? Do they need to build another spaceship to double their workforce.

Yes Apple, I'm waiting. Patiently. Somewhat.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
cmaier
87 months ago
Apple TV, which is the only other device besides the Homepod to support Airplay 2. I don't want to buy a Homepod, I want to use the speakers I already have. Except the only output A/V port from an Apple TV is HDMI. That's a problem for people who are looking to use their existing speakers with Airplay 2 and do not want to purchase a Homepod.

I would love for Apple to make a cheap dongle, like the Google Chromecast Audio (https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_audio?hl=en-US), so that multiple speakers in different rooms can play the same audio.

But I'm guessing Apple doesn't have the talent to get Airplay 2 working or build a device like this. It's horrendous at this point.
So you are just asking how to connect HDMI to regular speakers? The same way it's always been done. Either output HDMI into a receiver, or into a TV with audio outs.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Statusnone88 Avatar
Statusnone88
87 months ago
Looking forward to them dropping airplay 2 again and moving it to iOS 12.
Same with iMessage in iCloud. /s
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lax608 Avatar
Lax608
87 months ago
[doublepost=1525199159][/doublepost]
That cheap dongle you are looking for exists: it's called Airport Express, you can buy the old gen on eBay for less than $20 (I got one for $10), plug an optical cable into it ($5) and to your speakers and boom you now have Airplay compatible speakers.
Do we know Airplay 2 is coming to the AirPort Express?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcgm Avatar
mcgm
87 months ago
yeah to be clear, this beta does NOT include the HomePod stereo or multiroom function again - still MIA. doubt its coming honestly in 11.4 at this point
Thank you for a clear message that distinguishes between HomePod Stereo and mutiroom function.

Multiroom function is all I’ve been waiting for. If it’s possible to control and play music on multiple speakers, Apple TV and multiple Homepods via iTunes on the Mac - and control on the Mac via in the ancient remote app on the iOS device - I can’t see why it’s so hard for them carry over to iOS.

I’m hoping against hope that we’ll see it in the next beta, along with firmware updates for HomePod, and for Apple Express Routers to support Airplay2.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments