It had been some time since the last iOS release took place i.e. iOS 11.3.1. Now that the Apple’ World Wide Developer Conference is less than a week away, Apple has just released its latest version of its iOS operating system: iOS 11.4.
The iOS update had gone through rigorous testing and went through 6 beta phases. At the end of the day, this culminated in a product which solved various bug issues and has also brought out two new features to iOS; AirPlay 2 and Messages in iCloud.
These two features were already overdue, especially Messages in iCloud as it was pulled back the last minute before the original iOS 11 release. Finally, it is now back on board, though we expected that Apple would include it with its totally new release of iOS 12 later this September.
As for AirPlay 2, its an updated version of the Apple AirPlay, which offers multiroom audio. Not only this but now the Apple HomePods will also be capable of dual stereo Music Playback. Furthermore, your Apple TV shall also support AirPlay 2 now. On top of this, you can easily control it with your iPhone or iPad too.
Though the reason why you might want to update is the Messages in iCloud feature. This will mean that all your Messages are there on Apple’s Cloud Service i.e. iCloud. Thus, your messages shall be synced across devices, and if you delete one from one of them, that shall also delete it from your other iCloud devices as well. The best thing is that you would no longer to restore your iMessages from an iTunes Backup. Thus, you can easily setup a new iPhone on the Go with everything on the cloud these days.
Importantly, the Messages in iCloud are end to end encrypted, thus you need not worry about them being hacked. This also means that you would save up on some space as well since your old messages and attachments would be stored on the Cloud instead of your device’s local storage. Furthermore, your SMS shall also be backed up too along with the iMessages on your Apple iCloud account.
The update is for compatible iPhones and iPad and was released around 10 a.m PT Tuesday. Here are Apple’s Official Accompanying Release notes which tell a couple of other things about iOS 11.4 as well, and why you should upgrade it to it straight away.
Since this is a major update, rather than a minor one, and the next Apple Operating System isn’t going to be until September, we would advise you to update your compatible iPhones and iPads straightaway.