Apple surprised many developers with the sly release of the iOS 11.2.5 beta. This is the first launch since the Apple development offices left for the holiday season, but it appears they are back and not wasting any time getting content to beta testers.
The current beta is intended for developers registered with the Apple Developer Program, and the release is available as an over-the-air update or through the official IPSW download links.
The OTA update is available to all compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. Check out the changes below.
What’s New In iOS 11.2.5 Beta 3?
This latest update skips four potential updates to deliver users a sizeable improvement.
The 11.2.5 update feels like it had the Apple HomePod in mind, with Apple enhancing its digital assistant, Siri, to instantly stream a news podcast when asked about the news.
By default, the feature will give a news recap podcast by The Washington Post and lets users switch to different news outlets, including Fox News, NPR, or CNN. This update has HomePod written all over it, as the Apple device is said to use Siri for functions such as getting daily news briefings.
What’s even more interesting is the daily news briefing appear to be an entirely separate entity. These news clips don’t actually appear in Apple’s Podcast library despite playing in the Podcast App. While Apple Music Radio has a News and Sports feature, it is not included in that either.
The new feature is fairly similar to the Amazon Echo and Alexa device, which, when asked about the news, gives users the information in the form of a daily briefing. Alexa will read the user headlines and summaries from trending news topics, but it can be configured to hear exactly what the user wants from different news outlets.
This Siri news briefing feature will only appear in the latest beta update, 11.2.5, and not in any earlier version of the iOS 11.2 beta.
How To Get The Beta
Developers that currently have a beta configuration profile installed on their iOS device will simply need to do an OTA update. Follow the steps below to update your beta to the latest version.
- Go to Settings
- Tap on General
- Then, tap on Software Update
The beta software will then be prompted to update.
For those interested in the iOS 11.2.5 beta 3 IPSW files, Apple has them available at developer.apple.com.
