A fifth and likely final beta build of iOS 11.4 arrived yesterday for those who are in the Apple Beta program. The update doesn’t bring any new features to the platform other than what has already been discussed but does bring a few fixes.
The update weighs in at 2.2GB, indicating that this is the full build and is likely a release candidate build. For those new to beta testing, release candidates are generally the build that a developer wants to release as the general availability (GA) release. In other words, they feel their work is done and barring a show stopping bug being found, this should be the build everyone sees when 11.4 is released.
As for when we can expect 11.4 to hit GA, that still remains a mystery. Given that WWDC is at the beginning of June, were iOS 12 is expected to be announced, 11.4 will likely be release prior to that event. Further, Apple usually likes to “soak” a build for a week at least before release so at the earliest, it would be next week. That, again, assumes nothing major is found wrong with this fifth beta build.
iOS 11.4 will be brining two new features to the mix when it is released: Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2. It also looks like HomePod will be picking up calendar support and there is a new Lightening Connector lockdown feature to prevent brute force cracking of iPhones.
