Apple today released the first public beta of iOS 11 to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to download and test the update ahead of its fall release. iOS 11 has been available for developers since June 5, and the first public beta corresponds with the second developer beta.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 11 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device.
Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. Before installing a beta, make sure to create a full encrypted iTunes backup and be sure to install it on a secondary device because beta software is not stable and can include many bugs.
iOS 11 brings subtle design changes to the operating system, including a new Lock screen experience and a customizable, redesigned Control Center. Siri is smarter, has a more natural voice, and can do more, Messages features person-to-person Apple Pay, Notes has searchable handwriting and document scanning, and Music now lets you share playlists with your friends.
A new Files app improves file management on iOS devices, and for the iPad in particular, there's a new Dock, an App Switcher, and support for Drag and Drop, all of which vastly improves multitasking on the device. An entirely revamped App Store is coming in the update, photos and videos take up less space, iMessages can be stored in iCloud, and developers are getting new tools like ARKit for creating impressive new augmented reality apps and games.
For full details on all of the new features included in iOS 11, make sure to check out our iOS 11 roundup. iOS 11 will be available for developers and public testers for testing purposes for several months ahead of a planned fall release.
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Top Rated Comments
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I am shocked. I find OS11 far from being ready for a public beta.
Meh. I find that's what developers say when they're just mad they won't be part of an exclusive club anymore. ;)
Everyone who's saying stuff like this, is it really that much worse than usual? What are the biggest issues you've had? Everyone's being so vague.
Let see, data spike while on 4g/LTE.. so those who have limited data make sure you're watching that. Messages app crashing while displaying multiple photos attached to an imessage.. Messages app restarts iPhone, sending it into a loop (you have to do a certain sequence of things to have this happen.) Certain apps refuse to open (obviously due to the new file system and IOS changes so there's not much that can be done till dev's update their applications). WIFI connectivity issues that cause loss of connection, reverting back to 4g/LTE and auto joining becoming disabled. Multitasking closure of applications does not work, battery drain due to applications not properly being unloaded from memory. (They continue to run in the background and they show sometimes in the tasker.. other times you dump them.. think they are unloaded.. only for them to return after opening another app).. I can go on and on.. Basically these betas are memory drainers, filled with a lot of small bugs, 2 huge bugs and a lot of annoyances. This is why I keep preaching to those who like to brag about how they have access to betas to please wait.. save yourself the annoyances and issues.. Hopefully beta 3 fixes a lot of these issues and more. Trust me, there's so many more than those I listed. I've reported over a 150 bugs at this point. And yes, I know it's beta but these are not your typical betas. These are the new Apple file system, applications changed to 64bit, some interface changes, a bunch of under the hood changes that will be unveiled with iPhone 8.