Paul Morris·

iOS 11.2: Will There Be Beta 6? Or Will Apple Release Final Version Now?

Apple recently released yet another version of iOS 11.2 for developers and testers to put through its paces. That release means that we have now had five pre-release seeds of iOS 11.2 seeded to developers and public testers in order to put the platform through its paces and get it ready for a public release.

While those testers are seeing exactly what’s changed, what’s been fixed, and what’s still broken with iOS 11.2 beta 5, we are starting to ask ourselves if Apple will go beyond what we already have with a sixth and seventh beta release? Or will the Cupertino-based company’s next release be the final public version of iOS 11.2?

Developer and tester feedback seems to suggest that iOS 11.2 is in a very good position. Yesterday’s release was Apple’s fifth pre-release seed of this particular version of iOS 11.2, with five releases actually being quite a high number for this type of release, albeit a version of iOS with some notable inclusions. That feedback, along with rumors of Sports section going live in TV app in first week of December, and the fact that Christmas holidays are just around the corner – all this has left us in a fairly confident position to predict that yesterday’s fifth seed will actually be the last in this particular process, meaning that the next release, in our opinion, will be the full and final release of iOS 11.2.

If that is the case, then we would expect the final over-the-air (OTA) and IPSW links to be made live sometime during the middle of next week, on or around December 4th mark. That would give Apple and its engineers approximately seven days to analyze and act on any feedback and analytics which have been given back from the fifth pre-release seed and put the necessary fixes and improvements in place.

Once the switch has been flicked so-to-speak, anyone with a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch would then be able to download iOS 11.2 as an over-the-air update or as an executable IPSW file for a fresh iTunes install.

From a functionality perspective, compatible device owners can expect to get a version of iOS complete with Apple Pay Cash support, faster 7.5W wireless charging through a compatible accessory, and a more concise Bluetooth and WiFi toggle experience through the Control Center, along with other tweaks and changes here and there. iOS 11.2 also introduces some smaller refinements on the UI side as well as bug and security fixes throughout.

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