Here’s When to Expect the iOS 11.3 Update

Apple’s got at least two more iOS 11 updates in its pipeline and one of those upgrades could be a milestone iOS 11.3 update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Next week, Apple plans to release a new version of iOS 11. The company hasn’t confirmed the version, but most expect the company to pull the iOS 11.2.5 update out of beta and release it to the general public.

iOS 11.2.5 is likely going to be a maintenance release with bug fixes and security patches though it could have at least one new feature on board. It’s an exciting update, but it’s probably not going to be as big as the update Apple pushes into its beta programs in February.

Apple typically doesn’t confirm iOS releases unless it announces plans on stage, but Tim Cook decided to give iPhone and iPad users an early heads-up about an incoming iOS 11 update earlier this week.

During a recent interview with ABC News (around the 4:30 mark of the video), Cook was asked about Apple slowing down iPhones with degraded batteries. In response, Cook confirmed plans to release a new iOS 11 update that will give users more insight into the state of their device’s battery.

Cook also says this new version of iOS 11 will give iOS users the option to disable the throttling the company uses to maintain normal CPU performance. While disabled, devices will be at risk of unexpected shutdowns.

This promise comes shortly after the company was forced to issue a statement about the iPhone slowdown issues that’ve engulfed the company in early 2018.

In its statement, the company promised to release a new iOS 11 update in “early 2018” with “new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.”

With the iOS 11.2.5 update now on its seventh beta and a release expected to take place next week, it probably won’t deliver these features. And given that Apple typically reserves x.x upgrades for new features, there’s a good chance it won’t be iOS 11.2.6 bringing these features to users in February.

Apple generally releases three milestone iOS upgrades during an iOS update cycle.

Last January, the company pushed the first iOS 10.3 beta to developers ahead of a public release in late March. In 2016, Apple released the first iOS 9.3 beta in mid-January ahead of an official release in late March. Apple declined to offer iOS 10.4 or iOS 9.4.

Both milestone updates arrived in and around the company’s semi-annual spring launch event (In 2017 it announced new products via a press release). And with rumors pointing to a potential iPhone SE 2 launch this spring, we could see the iOS 11.3 release tie-in with any hardware Apple’s cooking up for early 2018.

If Apple releases an iOS 11.3 beta to developers and testers in the public Beta Software Program in February, you can expect the final version of iOS 11.3 (or whatever Apple calls this update) to emerge sometime in March.

For now, consumers must contend with iOS 11.2.2, iOS 11.2.5, and battery throttling while we wait for Apple to cook up one of the last (if not the last) big iOS 11 updates.

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