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Apple Releases iOS 11.4 Public Beta 6 In Preparation For Launch Next Week

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One more thing...

Anthony Karcz

Did I say iOS 11.4 Public Beta 5 was the final release? I obviously meant it was almost the final release.

In preparation for next week's release of iOS 11.4, Apple has pushed out one last Public Beta version. This should be identical to the release next Tuesday (if they hold to their traditional release schedule).

There are no surprises in Public Beta 6, Apple didn't suddenly make iOS 11.4 interesting, that's not how this game works. It's likely there were just a couple of behind-the-scenes bugs that needed tweaking.

What's In This Release?

Here's what's in Public Beta 6 and what the general public can expect to see on their iDevices starting next week.

  • HomePod streaming and Apple TV multi-room streaming have been tweaked throughout the beta in concert with the beta software for each device. Homepod is also getting Calendar support as of Public Beta 3 (the better to compete with Google Home).
  • Messages in the Cloud was included in iOS 11.3, but still didn't make it to the public release. Why? No clue. The feature has been rock solid since it came back for me then and it's been stable all throughout iOS 11.4. Could they still pull it from iOS 11.4? Possibly. But it's still in Public Beta 6, so fingers crossed.
  • The other focus in iOS 11.4 has been on resolving music playback and other backend iOS issues. The only other new feature you'll see from a user perspective is, if you have an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, you'll get a new (Product) RED wallpaper.

What's Next?

Next month, the most likely scenario is that Tim Cook will unveil iOS 12 at WWDC. If we're lucky, there will be a very short lead time between the end of the conference and the Public Beta test. Fingers crossed that we can get our hands on the latest and greatest version of iOS before the beginning of July.

How Do I Start Beta Testing

If you want to try out Apple's Public Beta program, now is a great time to start. iOS 11.4, for all its lack of excitement, has been a very stable release overall. Hoping on late in the cycle, when the release has even more bugs fixed, is a great way to get used to the program.

Did you delete your beta profile after iOS 11.3 was released? Need to get signed up? Head over to https://beta.apple.com/ and sign in with your enrolled Apple ID (or create a beta account if you don't have one already) and follow the steps. They're fairly self-explanatory, but if you get stuck, check out my How To Install Apple Public Betas guide (to be honest, you should check it out anyway for helpful reminders of things to watch out for when beta testing).

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