When you look into the lion, the lion, he looks into you.
AppleIt's a little later than expected (I'd really been hoping to use a "My funny Beta-tine" joke...well, it was funny to me), but Apple has finally released iOS 11.3 Public Beta 3. Most likely, the delay was due to the emergency release of iOS 11.2.6, which was created to address the Telegu text message bug (seriously, guys - how many more characters are waiting like time bombs to go off in our apps?).
The third round of beta testing doesn't bring much new to iOS 11.3 than what we've already experienced. Of course, there were the new animojis and the return of Messages in iCloud that Public Beta 1 brought. Beta 2 included the much-anticipated Battery Health feature which, honestly, is a little underwhelming. I was hoping for something that had a little more real-time data on battery performance. While there are excellent apps like Coconut Battery that let you get detailed information on the physical state of your iPhone battery, they're not native to iOS.
Public Beta 3 doesn't improve on that, but does bring a host of bug fixes, including a major fix for WiFi dropouts that was popping up for some beta testers on PB 1 and 2. Other than that, it seems that Apple has settled into bug fix mode. Does this mean that iOS 11.3 will be released sooner than expected? With the marketing hype from last month putting a big target on this release, I wouldn't be surprised to see iOS 11.3 drop soon after March 1.
Wondering how to beta test iOS? Read my guide to get started.
iOS 11.3 Features So Far
Other than the Battery Health beta, what else has snuck into the iOS 11.3 Public Beta? It can't all just be animojis, can it?
- Messages in iCloud: This came out in Public Beta 1, and is still working great. Being able to maintain persistent Messages across all my Apple devices is fantastic.
- Face ID: If you have a face, you can use it to approve family purchases.
- USB: still no word yet on if the "connect an accessory via lightning connector to the device while unlocked or enter your device passcode while connected, at least once a week" security feature is worth its salt. Honestly, all of my iDevice accessories are Bluetooth, so I haven't had a chance to try this one out.
Major Release, Major Bugs (and Fixes)
Of course, into every Beta, a few bugs must crawl. And being a major release, iOS 11.3 has its fair share. Here are the biggest bugs and best bug fixes in Public Beta 3.
- Messages: Some Message threads may take longer to load.
- Skype: No longer crashes on launch or sign in.
- iPod Touch: iOS 11.3 is not supported for the 6th Generation iPod Touch at this time. Support will be added in a future release.
Get to downloading (make sure your device is plugged in or fully charged first) and see if Apple's solution to Battery-gate was worth the wait.
