iOS 11.4 officially released: AirPlay 2 and cloud information
On May 30th, Apple officially released the iOS 11.4 operating system. Update pushes are currently available. This iOS 11.4 update focuses on updates to media and entertainment features, especially the AirPlay 2 multi-room audio and HomePod stereo combination capabilities, as well as the iCloud cloud “information”, as well as bug fixes and improvements.
Before the official version of iOS 11.4 arrived, up to six test versions had been released. With several subsequent updates, most were BUG fixes, indicating that it was not far from the official version and that WWDC 2018 was less than a week away. It will be released on iOS 12, it is indeed time to release the official version of iOS 11.4 update.
About update iOS 11.4, the Apple official content display, first iOS 11.4 also brings in top 2 player function, so that “the multi-room audio system.” Playback 2 is one of the important features of iOS 11.4 upgrades, allowing users to push any audio content to multi-room, multi-speaker devices, including music, blogs, and video and audio, anywhere in the home. For example, use the AirPlay 2 feature of iOS 11.4 devices to play your favorite audio on HomePod and Apple TV in different rooms or other speakers that enable AirPlay2.
Apple said that Air 2 is the most advanced and easy-to-use wireless multi-room audio system, and iOS 11.4 will “allow users to use iOS devices, HomePod, Apple TV or let Siri, use air to play 2 in one room for any Play music in one room, switch music from one room to another, or play the same song throughout the room.”
The multi-room control function of the air-to-air play 2 will be integrated into the control center. Any application that supports air-to-air playback 2 can be quickly accessed. Generally, simply select or deselect the location to play music in the control center, and then call it. Phone or gameplay will not affect. At the same time, thanks to the air-to-air play 2 feature, Apple Music also supports different songs played in any room or group of rooms, or all playing the same music through Siri voice control.
Moreover, the iOS 11.4 version is especially aimed at upgrading the HomePod home wireless speaker audio experience, mainly by adding previously promised features that bring HomePod a “stereo combination” feature if the user has two HomePods. When setting up the second HomePod, iOS 11.4 will ask users if they want to form a stereo group. If they agree to stereo group operation, HomePod will be able to automatically detect and balance each other via “point-to-point wireless direct links”. Create stereo features.
Apple said, “Two HomePod speakers can be set up as a stereo group to create a wider sound field, which allows the room to be filled with more spacious sound than traditional stereo speakers below 18 centimeters.”
In addition to HomePod’s support for air-to-air playback2, Apple has also cited some other available speakers that also support air-to-air playback2, including Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Jr. Libratone, Marantz, Marshall, Naim, Pioneer, and Sonos.
Apple also revealed a figure, claiming that Siri is currently actively used on more than 500 million devices. For HomePod’s Siri feature, Apple said that when a user opens a personal request for HomePod, Siri can send messages, add reminders and memos, and view schedule appointments. “Siri can set timers, play podcasts, view news, sports news, traffic Road conditions and weather conditions, but also control a variety of HomeKit smart home accessories.”
Finally, this iOS 11.4 update also brought iCloud cloud iMessages feature, which was first announced by Apple on WWDC 2017 a year ago. Although iOS 11.3 beta was available before, iOS 11.3 The official version was deleted again, and it was not until today that iOS 11.4 was formally added.
The iCloud cloud “message” function is mainly to facilitate users to store iMessage’s message history in iCloud, including information, photos, and other attachments, so that it can be synchronized to other devices (including iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac) faster, saving time. For example, if all your Apple devices are the same Apple ID, then when you delete an iMessage on your iPhone, the iMessage will also be deleted on your Mac, iPad, and other devices. Apple promises that Cloud iMessage will provide protection in the form of end-to-end unique key encryption.
