Apple has officially seeded the most recent beta of iOS 11 to developers, which comes with several new features and tweaks to existing functions. Following iOS 11 beta 3 earlier this July, Beta 4 carries the most significant changes in a beta release thus far.
As with all betas, things in the most recent release are still quite a bit unstable, so it's highly recommended not to install it on a primary driver lest you want the device to become riddled with bugs and performance issues. That being said, treat iOS 11 beta 4 as a teaser for the eventual stable version, out this September.
Here's everything new in iOS 11 beta 4:
iOS 11 Beta 4: Updated Icons
The newest releases revamp some icons, including for Reminders, Notes, and Contacts. Some icons may be "wrong" for some, as in a Reminders app with the bullets on the other side. This is actually intended for languages who read from right to left, so it's not really much of a bug, but it should be fixed by the time Apple releases the next beta.
iOS 11 Beta 4: Disable Auto-Join Wi-Fi
iOS 11 beta 4 brings a much-needed feature for iOS: the ability to disable auto-joining Wi-Fi networks, especially if those networks deliver poor connections. Apple didn't highlight this wee improvement, but beta testers promptly noticed it, anyway.
This is useful for those who travel and use public Wi-Fi networks a lot because now they can setup iOS in a way that it prevents the device from joining poor networks by default. To do this, simply toggled on the "Ask to Join Networks" option.
iOS 11 Beta 4: Improved Notification Center
It's now possible to swipe left on a notification from the lock screen to bring up a couple of options: "view" or "clear." Tapping either will prompt a Touch ID unlock screen to open the app. In addition, swiping to the right will open a notification, and a full swipe to the left clears it entirely.
There are several more minor additions to this beta release, including a slightly revamped Wi-Fi icon on the status bar, changes to what the Capacity shows in the "About" section, updated AirDrop settings, and the ability to pull downward to refresh the App Store.
iOS 11 beta 4 is currently only available to developers, but Apple is expected to roll it out as a public beta later this week. Check out our article if you want to learn how to sign up for the public beta releases.
Are you a developer? Have you tried iOS 11 beta 4? Feel free to tell us your experience with the software update in the comments section below!
