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Apple launches public betas of iOS 11 and tvOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 13, 2023

Following the June 5 release of developer-only previews of Apple's four main software platforms at the Worldwide Developers Conference, the Cupertino giant today released first public betas of iOS 11 and tvOS 11.

You must enroll in the official Apple Public Beta Software Program (available at no charge) and download a special configuration profile via the website beta.apple.com to your iPhone, iPad, or the fourth-generation Apple TV.

Sign in with your Apple ID through the website to get started. iOS 11 public beta has the same features as iOS 11 beta 2. The same goes for the tvOS 11 public betas.

After installing a configuration profile (click “Enroll Your Devices”), restart your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or the fourth-generation Apple TV, then and use the built-in Software Update mechanism in the Settings app to download and install the public beta.

watchOS betas are not available to the general public.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ5pwZMPRxI

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“If you were testing a prior operating system, please re-enroll your device to start testing the next release,” the company notes.

TUTORIAL: How to unenroll from Apple Beta Software Program

Be sure the check out the official system requirements for iOS 11 before installing their public betas. tvOS 11 requires a fourth-generation Apple TV.

Will you be taking iOS 11 and tvOS 11 for a spin, do you think? If so, what features are you looking forward to the most, and why?

Tell us in comments!

Updated builds of iOS 11 and tvOS 11 betas now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2017

Apple on Monday issued a slightly revised build of iOS 11 beta 2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as an updated build of tvOS 11 beta 2 for the fourth-generation Apple TV.

The new builds appear on select devices only.

iOS 11 Developer Beta 2 Update 1, as it's called, has the build number of 15A5304j, up from the build number of 15A5304i in iOS 11 beta 2 which was seeded to developers five days ago.

According to the official release notes on Apple's Dev Center portal, iOS 11 Developer Beta 2 Update 2 resolves an issue preventing reverting to iOS 10 from iOS 11 beta.

To revert to an earlier version of iOS, follow the instructions shown in Apple's support doc.

As for the updated tvOS 11 beta, the new version has a higher build number of 15J5310h versus build number of 15J5310e for the original tvOS 11 beta 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ5pwZMPRxI

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The revised beta builds may also patch dangerous exploits while addressing performance issues on older hardware like iPhone 6.

iOS 11 cuts off 32-bit devices like the iPhone 4s/5/5c handsets.

The new builds are available over the air via the Software Update mechanism in Settings on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV. As mentioned before, they appear on select devices.

Build numbers for beta 2 of macOS High Sierra 10.13 and watchOS 4 have stayed intact. Public betas of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra 10.13 and tvOS 11 are coming later this month.

watchOS betas are currently unavailable for public beta-testing.

Watch new ARKit demos: Minecraft and measuring tape

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 26, 2017

The website madewitharkit.com dedicated to highlighting cool apps made with Apple's new ARKit framework, was updated today with a pair of new video demonstrations showing off some of the augmented reality possibilities coming to iPhone and iPad with iOS 11 this fall.

The first demo has the user selecting two spots in the real world, as viewed through an iPhone's lens, to calculate the distance between them, transforming the device into a working tape measure. That's a great example of the power of the ARKit framework.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7DYC_zbZCM

The app was built by Laan Labs and, like other ARKit-enabled apps, uses an iOS device's camera along with sensor data to precisely find horizontal planes in the real world, such as tables, floors and other objects.

You can beta-test the app by signing up at armeasure.com.

Measure distances with your iPhone. Just because you can. Clever little #ARKit app by @BalestraPatrick https://t.co/b2mXe2FS84 pic.twitter.com/pyoHp99Yts

— Made With ARKit (@madewithARKit) June 25, 2017

Laan Labs has other examples of proof-of-concept apps built using ARKit on their Twitter, like the following example of impressive 3D drawing in augmented reality.

https://twitter.com/laanlabs/status/878692051889655808

As for an AR-enabled Minecraft, we don't know if Minecraft creator Mojang is working on one, but that didn't stop developer Matthew Hallberg from recreating Minecraft in AR using the ARKit framework and the Unity engine.

By superimposing Minecraft building blocks on top of the real-world, and taking advantage of ARKit's super accurate tracking, the user is able to walk around their environment and place Minecraft blocks at arbitrary spots. “I love that you are able to place life size objects because the tracking with ARkit is so good,” Matthew said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFGx9QcE5Gk

Apple is also using ARKit tracking for an impressive virtual reality mode in Apple Maps on iOS 11. The Cupertino giant is even helping Ikea build an ARKit-powered app which will let you try out virtual furniture at home before purchasing it.

ARKit requires a device with an Apple A9 or A10 chip because those processors deliver “breakthrough performance that enables fast scene understanding and lets you build detailed and compelling virtual content on top of real-world scenes,” as per Apple.

How do you like the aforementioned ARKit demos? Are you looking forward to augmented reality-enabled apps, and why? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section.

Instagram testing private sharing feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2017

Photo-sharing service Instagram on Friday kicked off a small test for a new private-sharing feature. Called Favorites, it should roll out to all users over the next few months.

Instagram's product lead Robby Stein told The Verge that they've been working on the new private-sharing feature for more than a year.

Privately shared content is denoted by a green Favorites badge on the post.

By hand-picking followers for the new Favorites section, users can easily create a more limited group of the closest friends with whom they can privately share posts and Story updates.

Anyone not in the Favorites list won't be able to see your privately shared posts.

You'll be able to browse all the non-ephemeral posts you’ve shared to your Favorites over time by tapping a new Favorites tab on your Instagram profile.

According to The Verge:

No one gets notified when you add or remove them to the list. They’ll know they’re your favorite only when they see a green Favorites badge at the top of your posts. They can’t request to be added to your list through the app.

And if you remove them from your Favorites, they lose access to all of your private posts. If they visit the Favorites tab in your profile, it will appear to be empty.

There is currently no way to share Instagram posts with select friends only.

You can set your Instagram account to private at any time to personally approve follow requests from a handful of your closest friends, but that approach has many flaws of its own.

According to Stein, people with private accounts often approve hundreds of follow requests due to social pressures and are using Instagram less as a result. “People are trying to hack Instagram to create smaller audiences, and we’re trying to recognize that,” said Stein.

It remains to be seen if Instagram Favorites will come to all users. Given they've been working on this feature for more than a year, I'll be surprised should they decide to pull it.

Will you use the Favorites feature when it rolls out, and why?

Do chime in with your thoughts in the comments section!

Apple seeds fourth beta of iOS 10.3.3 and tvOS 10.2.2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 22, 2017

Apple on Thursday released a fourth beta of iOS 10.3 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as tvOS 10.2 for Apple TV. iOS 10.3.3 beta 4 (build number 14G5053a) and tvOS 10.2.2 beta 4 (build number 14W5751b) are now available to Apple's registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program through Dev Center.

To deploy them over the air, use the Software Update mechanism in the Settings app. Your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV must have an Apple beta configuration profile installed.

Both iOS 10.3.3 and tvOS 10.2.2 are bug-fix releases with no new user-facing features. They're probably the last point updates as Apple is currently beta-testing the next major versions of its platforms: iOS 11, watchOS 4, macOS High Sierra and tvOS 11.

Hands-on with iOS 11 beta 2: DND While Driving and other new features, changes & fixes

Andrew O'Hara ∙ June 22, 2017

Apple (somewhat surprisingly) dropped the second beta of iOS 11 to developers on Wednesday with a myriad of changes and bug fixes. While there doesn't seem to be a huge number of user-facing enhancements, there are still quite a few notable changes and new features in this beta.

A large number of prominent bugs have been fixed that have been plaguing users, like crashing when deleting a voicemail, manual screen brightness not staying set, 3D Touch on phone numbers and addresses not working.

Unfortunately, with all of those bug fixes are several new bugs and known issues.

For instance, an SOS alert may still be sent even though the user cancelled it. This is a good reminder this is an early developer beta that should only be run on secondary devices.

As for the new features, we have the initial implementation of the much touted Do Not Disturb While Driving mode that will lock your phone as well as send a custom auto-reply (customizable in Settings → Do Not Disturb) should someone text you.

Control Center can now be disabled inside of applications, like on prior iOS editions. And far from last, the Files app now has started to show external locations like Google Drive and Box.

New features and changes

This is what you probably wanted to know about iOS 11 beta 2.

CarPlay now has lane guidance in Maps Smaller speed in Maps To edit/add filters in Photos you now tap the edit button in the top right corner instead of the sliders icon Now Playing widget has been tweaked New phone placeholder icon when no album artwork present in Now Playing widget Audio source switcher is now available on Lock screen New orange color for the new Echo effect in Messages Do Not Disturb While Driving is enabled with extra options in Settings Control Center can be turned on or off while in apps New search options within Apple Music You can now select multiple items in Photos Bluetooth widget now works the same as Wi-Fi: instead of turning off, it will just disconnect from whatever is connected to it Notification Center pull down has a gradual blur New Share sheet extension: Save to Files app Safari has new experimental features in Settings Dictation is now available in Hindi New options in Settings to make notification banners permanent or permanent Built-in screen recorder boosts video capture resolution to 1080p

Take a look at our hands-on video to see all of these new features and more in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ5pwZMPRxI

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And here's a quick overview of the most important fixes.

Bug fixes 3D Touch data detectors are now working for phone numbers, addresses, etc. Screen brightness stays at set level YouTube search bar has returned More stable Bluetooth connections (Dexcom) Android Migration now works as intended Crashing when deleting voicemails is fixed Lock screen no longer rotates Long exposure photos are now higher quality than in first beta Wrapping it all up

As we conclude our tour of all the changes, fixes, improvements and new features in iOS 11 beta 2, feel free to tell us about your own discoveries and observations in comments or via tips@iDownloadBlog.com.

What's your favorite change in iOS 11 beta 2 thus far, and why?

Second beta of iOS 11 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2017

Apple today seeded a second beta of iOS 11 to its registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program. To download and install the update, use the Software Update mechanism on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, which must be running the previous beta and have an appropriate configuration profile installed (you can download it through Dev Center).

This second beta doesn't seem to come with new features, but rather looks like it is focusing on the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

The first developer-only beta of iOS 11 brought out a bunch of new features and platform technologies, including a major revamp for App Store, advanced multitasking features on iPad, drag and drop, a new Files app, AirPlay 2 with multi-room audio, new Siri capabilities and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoPcMPvL88

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iOS 11 also packs in many visual refinements across the system designed to make Apple's mobile operating system look prettier than ever. Some of the visual tweaks include bolder headlines across stock apps, a redesigned app drawer in Messages and much, much more.

If you spot new user-facing features, changes or important refinements in iOS 11 beta 2, be sure to ping us on Twitter or shoot us an email via tips@iDownloadBlog.com (attach any screenshots, if necessary) and we'll update the article with any relevant new information.

Videos: cool stuff made with ARKit

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 21, 2017

Eager to learn why Apple's new ARKit framework is such a big deal? Look no further than a new website which offers a hand-picked curation of some of the coolest stuff developers have made thus far with ARKit, via The Loop.

For the uninitiated, augmented reality experiences superimpose computer-generated imagery on top of live video feed of the real world. According to Apple, ARKit uses a technique known as Visual Inertial Odometry to accurately track the world around an iPhone or iPad by fusing camera sensor data with motion data.

“These two inputs allow the device to sense how it moves within a room with a high degree of accuracy, and without any additional calibration,” the company says.

The following videos offer a look at the capabilities of the ARKit framework.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMd0dIAEJuc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hvfpxaxGwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OV2mBbNtVk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xrVFDRJ8HQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4OeFjZCi9o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHJRExynkuI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdaWHv6hmJk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njQSiO2uj0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq2NChZ3c4E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HY868Jskrc

The ARKit framework uses computer vision to determine the layout of your surroundings and automatically find horizontal planes like tables and floors. It can track and place objects on smaller feature points and apply the right type of light to a virtual object in order to match the current lighting conditions in your room.

Ikea is working on an AR app in partnership with Apple that will let users try out furniture in augmented reality before buying it. Apple's WWDC 2017 keynote demos included an upcoming ARKit-driven game, called Wingnut AR, by director Peter Jackson's AR company.

If you like these demos, be sure to follow @madewithARKit on Twitter.

Google prepping new app for backing up your Mac to Drive

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2017

Are you a fan of Drive, the search giant's cloud-storage service? If so, a new app from Google will soon let you back up any folder(s) on your computer to Drive and keep them in sync.

This is welcome news because Drive's current desktop client does not allow for selective sync of any folders that don't live inside of the Google Drive folder on your Mac or Windows PC.

The forthcoming Backup and Sync app is better integrated with your computer than the existing client and will replace it on Wednesday, June 28.

According to the search firm, Backup and Sync is intended to “help everyday users back up files and photos from their computers, so they’re safe and accessible from anywhere”.

As mentioned, you'll be able to continually back up any items found in custom folders on your computer, like the Desktop, Photos, Documents and so forth.

Backup and Sync will replace Google's existing desktop uploader for Photos, too.

Basically, you could use the new app to back up and sync your entire Mac account's home folder to Drive and use Google's powerful search engine via Drive's web interface to quickly identify that needle in the haystack you were looking for.

However, you'll probably need to upgrade your cloud storage to keep your Mac safely backed up to Drive. Each Google account gets 15GB of free Drive storage versus Apple's 5GB free tier.

If you need more storage, you can upgrade to one of the paid Drive tiers:

100GB for $1.99 per month 1TB for $9.99 per month 10TB for $99.99 per month

And here are Apple's recently refreshed iCloud storage upgrades:

50GB for $0.99 per month 200GB for $2.99 per month 2TB for $9.99 per month

Google Drive for Mac and Windows is available via google.com/drive/download.

Google Drive for iPhone and iPad is a free download from App Store.

Do you use Google Drive? If so, are you looking forward to backing up your Mac to the Google cloud? If not, what's your preferred online service for storing files, documents and other data?

Tell us in comments!

IBM’s new Garage initiative aims to accelerate development of iOS enterprise apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2017

Building upon the Apple-IBM enterprise mobility partnership established three years ago, Big Blue (that's a nickname for IBM) today announced a new initiative to help accelerate the development of MobileFirst enterprise apps for iPhone and iPad.

Upcoming app development studios, called Garages, will soon go online in Shanghai, China and Bucharest, Romania, in addition to IBM's existing MobileFirst for iOS studio in Bangalore, India.

IBM's other app studios and Garages can be found in US cities Atlanta, Cupertino, Toronto and Chicago. Plus, the company has committed to establishing new app studios in Shanghai, China and Bucharest, Romania. Lastly, mobile enterprise apps designed by IBM can now be embedded with the cognitive capabilities of its Watson cognitive system.

Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, IBM Industry Platforms, said:

Four years ago, we made enterprise mobility a reality, and we’ve seen how transformative mobile can be. Today, companies are now reigning in mobile faster than ever, creating a critical need for powerful innovations that will reinvent how they do business. We’re combining the power of mobile with cognitive and analytics to continue to push the market forward.

IBM has officially named some of the clients adopting iOS enterprise apps for their own employees, such as Lufthansa Group, City Furniture, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines.

Since its introduction three years ago, the partnership between Apple and IBM has resulted in several billion dollars in signings with more than 3,800 client engagements supported by market-ready and custom iOS apps designed for professions across all industries, including store associates, flight attendants and field technicians.

Twitter revamped with dynamically updated Reply/Like/Retweet counts, Safari Reader support & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2017

Twitter today announced a major overhaul, making the app feel lighter, faster and easier to use with faster navigation via a new side menu, bolder headlines, revamped icons and more.

The new side navigation menu lets you quickly access your profile, accounts, settings and privacy. As a bonus, you can now add filters and stickers on your profile image, if you'd like.

Tweets now update dynamically with Reply, Retweet and Like counts so that you can easily see conversations as they’re happening, in real-time. The app now features support for opening links to articles and websites in Safari’s in-app viewer.

This lets you log in to websites using your saved Safari passwords and enjoy articles in the browser's Reader mode, all within the Twitter app.

New switches in Twitter's settings interface let you turn on increased color contrast, decided whether or not you'd like links to open in Safari's Reader View and more.

Accessibility settings are now in a more prominent location.

So fresh. So clean. So live.

Check out our new look.https://t.co/ClWbwi8CEH pic.twitter.com/nR27POQkEi

— Twitter (@Twitter) June 15, 2017

Here's an overview of the new features and design:

Profile, additional accounts, settings and privacy—all in one place. A new side navigation menu and fewer tabs at the bottom of our app=less clutter and easier browsing. You told us you loved this change on Android last year and we’re excited to now bring it to iOS. Links to articles and websites now open in Safari’s viewer in the Twitter app so you can easily access accounts on websites you’re already signed into (iOS only). We’ve refined our typography to make it more consistent and added bolder headlines to make it easier to focus on what’s happening. Also, rounded profile photos make it clearer to see what’s being said and who’s saying it. More intuitive icons make it easier to engage with Tweets—especially if you’re coming to Twitter for the first time. For example, people thought the Reply icon, an arrow, meant delete or go back to a previous page. We switched to a speech bubble, a symbol most know and love. We also made the icons lighter for more seamless interaction Tweets now update instantly with Reply, Retweet and Like counts so you can see conversations as they’re happening, live (not available on twitter.com and Twitter Lite).

The aforementioned changes are rolling out across twitter.com, Twitter for iOS, Twitter for Android, TweetDeck, and Twitter Lite over the coming days and weeks.

Twitter for iOS is a free download from App Store.

Facebook for iOS now lets everyone use animated GIFs in comments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 2, 2018

Facebook today announced that users of its mainland mobile app can now use animated GIFs in comments. This sought-after feature has been enabled for all people on Facebook globally.

“We know people love communicating with GIFs on Messenger and we’re also making it easier to use GIFs on Facebook,” said the social network. When making a comment in Facebook for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, tap the new GIF button to spice up your message with animations.

Additionally, Facebook rolled out some new and exclusive GIFs they’ve created featuring some of the Internet’s biggest stars, including DNCE, Logan Paul, Amanda Cerny, DREEZY, Patrick Starr, Violet Benson, Wuz Good, Brandi Marie and Landon Moss.

To use them, search #GIFparty when sharing a GIF on Facebook or Messenger or visit GIPHY.com/Facebook.

Since rolling out support for animated GIFs on Messenger back in 2015, users have sent nearly thirteen billion GIFs in the last year alone via the messaging app, or nearly 25,000 GIFs every minute. GIF sends on Messenger have tripled in the past year and New Year’s Day 2017 was the most popular day ever for GIF sends on Messenger, with more than 400 million GIF sends.

Facebook for iOS is available at no charge in App Store.