Days after Apple dropped iOS 11.3 on its adoring iPad and iPhone faithful, the firm has already released the first developer preview for iOS 11.4.
Available from today, iOS 11.4 includes two of the previous version’s most noted omissions.
Messages in iCloud is back after missing out on the final iOS 11.3 release. Whether it will make it into the consumer iOS 11.4 release remains to be seen.
Another previously previewed feature — the ability to pair two HomePod speakers to create stereo sound — has also returned.
However, as the feature requires an unreleased version of the HomePod firmware, the feature isn’t usable yet.
It also doesn’t appear as if the wider AirPlay 2 functionality is part of the beta, but it could arrive in a later version.
Apple’s first HomePod update released last week did not feature the flagship AirPlay 2 feature, which powers stereo pairing and wider multi-room networking.
The company is relying on this to sell consumers on owning more than one HomePod. It is also hoping to rival the current whole-home kingpin Sonos in terms of sound quality and functionality.
Still waiting?
It’s rare that long-promised features like Messages in iCloud and AirPlay are outstanding at this point in the release cycle. However, more recently, Apple has been focused on getting features right rather than rushing them out.
If the two outstanding features make it into iOS 11.4, it is highly likely to be the last major iOS 11 update before Apple moves onto iOS 12.
That firm will announce its new operating system at WWDC 2018, which takes place in June.
By: Chris Smith (Trusted Reviews).
Photo: YouTube.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.