Although we just recently saw the release of iOS 11.3, beta testers are already hard at work testing the successor to this operating system. iOS 11.4 beta 5 release today, and the patch notes give us a sense of what is changing with this release.
The iOS 11.4 Beta 5 is available for download via an OTA update, and while the betas are often only on the Apple servers for a short amount of time, we do have an idea at this point of what is going to be tested with this release – and perhaps even a plan of attack for the company moving forward.
It’s important to note that since the iOS 11.4 beta 5 released just a few minutes ago, the patch notes that we’ve gathered up are likely just the surface of the changes that have been made over the course of the beta testing process.
Essentially, it’s looking as if the patch notes for iOS 11.4 beta 5 are more of a collection of things that the company is aware is broken rather than any sweeping new updates or fixes. So if you’re looking for a stable beta to play around with, beta 5 may not be your best bet. If you’d like to install a beta to get a taste of the new operating system, make sure you take a look at the patch notes to make sure the bugs are something you’re comfortable dealing with.
The excerpts of the patch notes included below are very technical, but give a sense of some of the problems developers will run into and how you might be able to address them. The full patch notes can be found on Apple’s developer profile.
Foundation
ClientsofNSURLSessionStreamTaskthatuseanon-secureconnectionfailtoconnect when an error occurs during PAC file evaluation and the system is configured for either Web Proxy Auto Discovery (WPAD) or Proxy Automatic Configuration (PAC). A PAC evaluation failure can occur when the PAC file contains invalid JavaScript or the HTTP host serving the PAC file is unreachable.
(33609198)
Workaround: Use startSecureConnection to establish a secure connection.
Vision
Facial landmarks identified by the Vision framework may flicker in temporal use cases such as video. (32406440)
Xcode
Debugging a disabled Messages extension may cause Messages to crash. (33657938)
Workaround: Before starting the debug session, enable the extension by tapping the More (…) button to show the list of apps, then tapping the Edit button, and then tapping the switch to turn on the extension.
After a simulated iOS device starts up, it’s not possible to pull down the Lock screen. (33274699)
Workaround: Lock and unlock the simulated device and then reopen Home screen.
One other major issue that people are noticing with iOS 11.4 beta 5 is related to music playback, which Apple has stated: “In certain circumstances playback may get stuck at the end of the first track.”
There aren’t too many new features being introduced with iOS 11.4 beta 5, and it appears as if this is going to be another instance of further refinement to systems like AirPlay 2, Messages on iCloud, and HomePod Stereo-pairing. ClassKit framework APIs were also made available in the last beta.
Hopefully, as we get closer to the full retail release, we start to see beta updates that have fewer issues than iOS 11.4 beta 5. It’s a testing process so it’s reasonable to expect there to be problems – we just hope everything gets ironed out easily enough to make sure features like AirPlay and Messages on iCloud make the cut instead of being removed like they were with iOS 11.3
