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Hands-on video demo shows off more than 20 new features in iOS 11 beta 5

Published Aug 8th, 2017 6:50AM EDT
iOS 11 Beta 5 Download
Image: YouTube

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Apple has a new iOS 11 beta out for developers — don’t worry, public beta testers, you’ll soon get it too — which contains various stability improvements. On top of that, we have new user interface tweaks in iOS 11 beta 5 and new features, while an older feature has been temporarily removed.

Remember the iMessages iCloud sync feature that Apple mentioned back in June? Well, it’s not available anymore, at least not in iOS 11 beta 5, but it’s going to return in a future update. It’s unclear what happened there, but the feature hasn’t been canned.

What’s interesting is that Apple chose this particular iOS 11 beta to promote the Portrait mode out of its own beta. There’s a new splash page for it in the newest beta, but you’ll only see it as long as you rock an iPhone 7 Plus.

One other major feature concerns 32-bit apps. As expected, 32-bit apps are no longer supported in iOS 11, this beta release makes it official.

Other changes in iOS 11 beta 5 include slight cosmetic changes to the Settings and Camera apps, smaller glyphs in the Weather apps, and a new music-related interface in Control Center and the Now Playing Lock screen.

Spotlight Search now stays on top of the screen when you’re browsing widgets, the screen recording status bar is red instead of blue, and apps that use your location lost the blue banner of shame. You’ll also discover a new SOS settings page, and a new FaceTime ring when making a call.

iPad users get a new multitasking splash screen, and a new slide animation when accessing multitasking on iPad.

If you want to see some of these features in action, check out 9to5Mac’s short video below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.