As we expected, Apple is finally rolling out its highly anticipated iOS 11.4 update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and the upgrade delivers a solid list of improvements including AirPlay 2. So if there is someone running iOS 11 on their iPhone or iPad should see the update available in Settings right now, and assuming you enjoy having the most up-to-date software, it’s probably worth the 20 minutes of your life to download and update.
iOS 11.4 is the company’s fourth milestone iOS 11 update and the upgrade will likely serve as the bridge between iOS 11 and Apple’s iOS 12 update.
Now that iOS 11.4 is live, it’s important to get familiar with the upgrade for your device. In this guide we’ll take you through the most important things to know about iOS 11.4 and its release right now.
Our walkthrough includes a look at iOS 11.4’s known changes, the iOS 11.4 downgrade, iOS 11.4 problems, and the iOS 11.4 jailbreak for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
iOS 11.4 Impressions
If you’re running iOS 11.3.1 on your device right now, the iOS 11.4 download and installation process should only take you a few minutes to complete.
The iOS 11.4 update is a lot bigger than its predecessor (iOS 11.3.1) and requires a 306MB download for the iPhone X if you’re running iOS 11.3.1. You can expect similar sizes for all iPhones and iPads.
If your device is connected to a fast Wi-Fi network, the iOS 11.4 download should only take just a few minutes to complete. It took less than three minutes to download on the iPhone X.
The installation process will take longer than the download. It took about six minutes to install on an iPhone X running iOS 11.3.1.
If you’re using an older version of iOS on your device, you’ll encounter longer download and installation times because you’ll need to download and install the updates you skipped along the way.
We’ve been using the iOS 11.4 update for a short time on the iPhone and iPad and here are a few quick observations about its performance:
Connectivity
- iOS 11.3.1 battery life is currently stable on the iPhone X and iPhone 6.
- Wi-Fi is working normally We’ve successfully connected our devices to Bluetooth devices including headsets and speakers.
- GPS and cellular data are working fine.
Apps
- Our core apps, a list that includes Twitter, Slack, Asana, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are working fine right now.
- First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar appear to be stable.
Speed
We haven’t seen any user lag on newer models like the iPhone X, but we continue to see occasional lag on older devices like the iPhone 6.
While most of you should install iOS 11.4 right now, others, especially those of you who own an older iPhone or iPad, might want to take a raincheck.
If you need early iOS 11.4 feedback, take a look at our reasons to, and not to, install the iOS 11.4 update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
We’re in the process of publishing iOS 11.4 reviews and you’ll find them at these links for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, and the iPad Air 2, iPad Air, and iPad mini 2.
