Apple Seeds Second Beta of iOS 11.4 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 11.4 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the first beta and three weeks 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 will support 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 and sync them across devices.

There's also support for 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 the HomePod, there are signs of support for stereo sound, but stereo sound is not currently available as it requires 11.4 HomePod software not available for developers.

iOS 11.3, the previous update, introduces 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: Mentions of the non-functional HomePod stereo pairing feature have been removed in iOS 11.4 beta 2, and Apple has added a new (PRODUCT)RED wallpaper for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These 100 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple has announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes a long list of new features and changes for iPhones. The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. Below, we have provided a high-level overview of 100 new features and changes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

Chuck Kostalnick Avatar
93 months ago
Béta 11.4.1 was a disaster for me.
I'm sure it was a disaster! They haven't even gotten 11.4 out the door and you're running 11.4.1. ;)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imacken Avatar
93 months ago
So, it seems like I didn't misunderstand iCloud messages as I said earlier in this thread in reply to another poster.
Think about it like this, Messages in the Cloud is like IMAP compared to POP email.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
93 months ago
OK - well I do. It has been doing those things ever since I got my iPhone X. None of that is new. Maybe it's because of Digits, but all my messages already sync across all my devices.

And I don't understand the date structure you listed. I can't have it until November 1st to the 3rd?
Right now, your iMessages are delivered to any current device where you are signed into iCloud, but they aren't stored in iCloud. So if you get a new iPhone or iPad, your old messages aren't synced there automatically. With Messages on iCloud, your messages are synced to iCloud and will download on all of your devices including new devices. Storing iMessages in iCloud allows for a better syncing system and it'll free up some on device space.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
93 months ago
Yeah - those aren't really things I have value for. All I care is that notifications go away across the platform, and it already does that. Once I have seen a message I very rarely want to see it again. If I do I add it to my calendar or save the picture.
Well, that's you. I would be very happy to be able to offload to iCloud the several GB of iMessage attachments sitting on my phone, and still be able to get at my message history from any of my Apple devices.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
93 months ago
I'm not either. I uninstalled and re-installed the beta profile. o_O
Because I have the dev beta installed, I rely on tips to know when the iOS public beta is out. I received a screenshot of the public beta available on an iOS device and I see mentions on Twitter, but I've updated the post to remove the mention of the public beta until it's widely available since a lot of you can't see it. Let me know when it pops up and I'll update the post again.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eoblaed Avatar
93 months ago
How is this different than what happens now? I get all my messages across all my devices, and if I read them on one device they are marked read and the notification goes away on my other devices. What is this new messages on iCloud adding? The ability to read them when I don't have any of my devices?

That sounds like a security nightmare for a fairly niche benefit.
Current behavior depends on at least one active device being able to update other devices when they ask for it. Things can get a bit out of whack if a device has been offline for a long time, or if you only have one device, or any number of other scenarios. The current model works ok-ish most of the time for most people, but there are quite a few cases where it can get confused, not update appropriately, etc.

Centralizing the history of your conversations in a spot that will always be accessible, even if you trash all your current devices not only provides a consistent, complete way for devices to get updates rather than the comparively messy way it does it today, it also saves your chats in perpetuity.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)