Yesterday, Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 11.3 to developers on its paid channel. As is tradition, it followed up today with the first public beta, which is freely available to anyone who’s registered their iOS device with the public beta program.
Apple previewed the new features coming in iOS 11.3 yesterday morning, including a battery health monitor to help clear up confusion from the iPhone slowdown scandal. In addition, the update also includes new Animoji for Messages, a new version of ARKit and a Health Records feature that will make it easier than ever for iPhone owners to check their medical data at any time.
The new Animoji include a lion, skull, bear, and dragon, which brings up the total Animoji count to 16. There’s a new way for businesses to interact with customers through the Messages app, much like Facebook has introduced ways to communicate with businesses through the Messaging app.
Depending on your interest in AR experience, the arrival of ARKit 1.5 might be the highlight of iOS 11.3. In addition to horizontal surfaces, ARKit will now be able to recognize and place objects on verticals surfaces, like walls and doors. It can recognize the position of a sign or a poster, which Apple says can be utilized for interactive museum exhibits or bringing movie posters to life. Plus, the view from the camera now has a 50% greater resolution and auto-focus.
The most anticipated features of iOS 11.3 focus on the battery. Once the update has been applied, users will be able to go to Settings > Battery and check the health of their battery. Apple will also recommend if the battery needs to be serviced. A future version of the developer beta promises to bring a toggle that will let you disable performance limitations, which should arrive next month.
To get the public beta, you’ll first need to register with the Apple Beta program, which is free. Follow the instructions on the site to download the public beta profile onto your compatible iOS device, and then you’ll be prompted to download and install an update. If you don’t feel like downloading the public beta, MacRumors also has a good video showing off all the above features.
Wondering which devices are compatible with iOS 11.2 beta 1? Here’s the complete list:
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 5s
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad 5th generation
- iPad mini 4
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 2
- iPod touch 6th generation
