Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 11.3 to Developers With New Animoji, Business Chat, Health Records, iCloud Messages and More

[routine_analyst]

This health app still looks like utter garbage. Wtf is up with the pastel colors as header bars surrounded by so much padding? It looks like a crappy built HTML page.

Kaiser already has ALL of this in their application... and I assume any other centralized medical chart favoring health organization will soon follow suit.

 

[gibbz]

initiate? like having the app installed? I really need more details on how this works and options of disabling this "feature"

See here (https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/240/ or https://developer.apple.com/library...ral/Conceptual/MessagesIntegration/index.html). It is a way to chat directly with a business using a link they provide. They aren't going to be initiating spam messages.

 

[harrisondavies]

Woop animoji limited to the X. I think not Apple. The app Supermoji gives me the same functionality, so explain why only the X.

 

[cambookpro]

Anyone have any screenshots of the new battery information in Settings?

Edit: Thanks to everyone pointing out, not available in this beta...

 

[varunsanthanam]

Are the new battery insights available on iPad? Specifically 10.5” iPad Pro? I’m not even looking to disable, I’m just looking for clearer information on the battery health of my devices.
[doublepost=1516820488][/doublepost]

initiate? like having the app installed? I really need more details on how this works and options of disabling this "feature"

You’ll need to initiate contact my sending a message. You’ll be able to disable contact by deleting the thread. I presume iMessage in the cloud will he needed for the feature to work at all.

 

[mariusignorello]

Theoretically any records using Epic's EpicCare should be able to integrate with HealthKit.

 

[Danbrown521]

New battery info isn't in this beta

 

[Ds6778]

This beta makes my 10.5 run like a champ. I had some jittery animations while multitasking on 11 until today. Impressed.

 

[stoopkidblues]

Woop animoji limited to the X. I think not Apple. The app Supermoji gives me the same functionality, so explain why only the X.

Eh same reason Force Touch only came to 6S (because “hardware” limited it from the 6). Sure it probably could be used on other devices (like the app you mentioned) but Apple has always had a habit of limiting features to the newest devices because: business and marketing.

I haven’t even used it and I have an X so it’s all advertising purposes. Have you SEEN the commercials lol

 

[stoopkidblues]

Anyone have any screenshots of the new battery information in Settings?

Not in the first beta apparently. Coming later versions

 

[chucker23n1]

Anyone have any screenshots of the new battery information in Settings?

It isn't included in 11.3b1. It'll come in a few weeks.

 

[cambookpro]

Not in the first beta apparently. Coming later versions

It isn't included in 11.3b1. It'll come in a few weeks.

Ah, didn't know that, thanks. Will look out for it then.

 

[chucker23n1]

Eh same reason Force Touch only came to 6S (because “hardware” limited it from the 6). Sure it probably could be used on other devices (like the app you mentioned) but Apple has always had a habit of limiting features to the newest devices because: business and marketing.

Errrrr. How would you implement 3D Touch without hardware support?

And while you can achieve some level of face tracking with a camera, which every iPhone since the 4 has had, the X adds infra-red and can thus make a 3D model of your face, making the tracking far more accurate. Hence Animoji working far better.

 

[1Mac7]

Anyone have any screenshots of the new battery information in Settings?

Its not in this beta, as mentioned in the article.

 

[stoopkidblues]

Errrrr. How would you implement 3D Touch without hardware support?

And while you can achieve some level of face tracking with a camera, which every iPhone since the 4 has had, the X adds infra-red and can thus make a 3D model of your face, making the tracking far more accurate. Hence Animoji working far better.

Yeah I guess bad example maybe I should’ve used AR that came with 6S and later but not 6? I’m grasping for straws lol but I’m just saying that some features are limited to newer devices not “exactly” because of hardware constraints but because Apple has to differentiate products somehow.

The 8 might not have the facial recognition like the X but we really are to believe they “couldn’t” implement Animoji? It could’ve been used on all the new 2017 releases but limited to X as just another selling point.

I get what you’re saying though

 

[chucker23n1]

Yeah I guess bad example maybe I should’ve used AR that came with 6S and later but not 6? I’m grasping for straws lol but I’m just saying that some features are limited to newer devices not “exactly” because of hardware constraints but because Apple has to differentiate products somehow.

Generally, that's fair. One example would be Siri — after Apple bought it, you needed the iPhone 4S or newer to run Siri. Before Apple had bought it, the iPhone 4S didn't even exist, yet Siri could be installed as a third-party app. There were technical reasons for requiring the 4S — much better performance, an improved mic, etc. — but obviously also marketing reasons of wanting to sell you a new device.

Still, I think Apple's approach is fine here. Your old phone still does get new features for free, just not all of them.

The 8 might not have the facial recognition like the X but we really are to believe they “couldn’t” implement Animoji?

They could've. But it wouldn't have been quite as good. The face tracking in Supermoji works noticeably worse than Animoji's does, and one obvious reason are hardware limitations.

So I think it's a bit of both: it's both that Apple didn't want to ship Animoji with kind of a "meh" overall experience (which would've been dissatisfactory and also killed the wow factor), and it's also that they totally wanted another bullet point to sell you on the X.

 

[McTool]

Anyone have any screenshots of the new battery information in Settings?

No. Because there is none as stated by Tim it will be in a later beta.
Wondering if some people just read the headlines and post a comment.

 

[stoopkidblues]

Generally, that's fair. One example would be Siri — after Apple bought it, you needed the iPhone 4S or newer to run Siri. Before Apple had bought it, the iPhone 4S didn't even exist, yet Siri could be installed as a third-party app. There were technical reasons for requiring the 4S — much better performance, an improved mic, etc. — but obviously also marketing reasons of wanting to sell you a new device.

Still, I think Apple's approach is fine here. Your old phone still does get new features for free, just not all of them.



They could've. But it wouldn't have been quite as good. The face tracking in Supermoji works noticeably worse than Animoji's does, and one obvious reason are hardware limitations.

So I think it's a bit of both: it's both that Apple didn't want to ship Animoji with kind of a "meh" overall experience (which would've been dissatisfactory and also killed the wow factor), and it's also that they totally wanted another bullet point to sell you on the X.

Agreed and whoa forgot all about Siri and the 4S. Coulda sworn I had it on my 4 back in the day but I guess it was a app download(or I upgraded and didn’t have to miss out lol).

But all good points and makes sense. I think Apple has always gotten a bad rep in trying to mediate which devices get what with future updates and how they should handle them due to aging devices/performance (looking at you battery performance update feature).

So it’s definitely a mix of both and at the end of the day Apple is a business so they need a revolving door of customers. ‍♂️

 

[chucker23n1]

I think Apple has always gotten a bad rep in trying to mediate which devices get what with future updates and how they should handle them due to aging devices/performance (looking at you battery performance update feature).

Right. I'd much rather they focus on performance.

My first iPhone was a 3G, and while it was amazing at the time, it really, really sucked hard to use it once 4.x shipped. And I couldn't downgrade, so I was basically screwed until I got a newer phone.

Given that Apple clearly still doesn't want to offer downgrades, presumably because of the software development and support complexity that would entail, I'd much rather they leave features out here and there but do make it feasible to use the newest OS.

So it’s definitely a mix of both and at the end of the day Apple is a business so they need a revolving door of customers. ‍♂️

Indeed.

 

[andresandiego]

Nothing really groundbreaking in 11.3 still no icloud messaging oh but we got new aniemojis lol

It appears you spoke too soon

 

[PurrBall]

Yeah no way businesses are going to use Messages for customer service without cloud based backup. I'd be interested to see the business-facing interface.

There is no business-facing interface-- the business' customer service platform integrates with Apple's API, so it appears like any other web chat interaction to the agent.

 

[Tonishal]

Overall animations feels more quicker and smoother on X. App switcher opening animations definitely faster then before.

 

[bigpoppa]

I no longer get T-Mobile Wifi Calling enabled in the menubar. Reset network settings, still the same.

 

[Ashton Cofer]

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 11.3 update to developers, one week after releasing iOS 11.2.5, an update that focused primarily on bug fixes and security improvements.

Registered developers can download the iOS 11.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

Apple this morning shared a preview of iOS 11.3, outlining all of the new features we can expect to see in the update.

iOS 11.3 will bring four new Animoji characters to the iPhone X, like a lion, bear, dragon, and skull, giving iPhone X users new characters to play with, and it reintroduces iCloud Messages, a feature that was removed from the initial iOS 11 release.

The software update includes improved ARKit tools for developers. ARKit 1.5 can recognize and place virtual objects on vertical surfaces and it can more accurately map irregularly shaped surfaces like circular tables. ARKit is able to recognize the position of 2D images like signs, posters, and artwork, integrating them into AR experiences. Museums, for example, can be filled with interactive exhibits or a movie poster can be brought to life. The real-world view through the camera when using AR also offers 50 percent greater resolution (1080p) in ARKit 1.5 and supports auto-focus.

Business Chat, a feature that first debuted in iOS 11, is officially launching in beta capacity this spring with support from businesses like Discover, Hilton, Lowe's, and Wells Fargo. You'll be able to have customer support chats with these companies right within the Messages app.

In the Health app, Apple is adding a new Health Records feature to make it easier for customers with a participating medical institution to access their records right on their iPhone, even when those medical records are spread across multiple providers.

Supported providers include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Penn Medicine, Geisinger Health System, UC San Diego Health - San Diego, California, UNC Health Care , Rush University Medical Center, Dignity Health, Ochsner Health System, MedStar Health, Ohio Health, and Cerner Healthe Clinic.

A later beta of iOS 11.3 will feature new, more detailed information about the health of a device's battery. The change comes following controversy over power management features implemented in older devices to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Those power management features throttle iPhones with degraded batteries at times of peak power usage to maintain stable performance.

The update should provide a lot more data about battery health, and there will also be an option to let customers turn off the power management feature entirely, though Apple does not recommend disabling it. The new features can be found in Settings --> Battery and are available for iPhone 6 and later.

Other new features included in iOS 11.3 include support for streaming unlimited music videos in Apple Music without ads, a new "For You" video of the day in Apple News along with improved Top Stories, HomeKit software authentication to make it easier for accessory makers to add HomeKit support into existing devices, support for Advanced Mobile Location (AML) to automatically send a user's current location when making a call to emergency services in supported countries, a new name for "iBooks," which is now just "Books," and an update to the App Store updates page, which now shows the version number and download size of all updates.

Today's beta is limited to developers, but Apple says a public beta will be released for public beta testers soon.

Article Link: Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 11.3 to Developers With New Animoji, Business Chat, Health Records, iCloud Messages and More

Any word on the possible dark mode that was rumored for 11.3?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Any word on the possible dark mode that was rumored for 11.3?

More like wishful thinking by some. There has never been anything credible on this front.

Pipe dream.