iOS 11 Live Broadcast Feature Spotted in Developer Preview

Although iOS 11 is expected to debut with the iPhone 8 (or iPhone X or Anniversary iPhone or whatever Apple decides to call this year’s new iPhone), the iOS 11 beta is publicly available to try out. And while it brings some much needed features like Files and Screen Recording, the latest update to the iOS 11 developer beta brings native live streaming functionality.

According to those in the iOS 11 developer preview, so called as it is only accessible by registered developers, the option to ‘Start Broadcast’ now exists in iOS 11 beta 3, in addition to the aforementioned Screen Recording. If you’re a part of the iOS 11 public beta, this update should hit you in a few days. With the ability to start a live stream on your iPhone or iPad on the go, one could wonder if Apple is starting its own broadcast service akin to Twitch, YouTube, and Microsoft’s Mixer. What’s more likely though, is tying it into existing services.

Considering that streaming is a large part of gaming culture, this feature could be an acknowledgement of this and perhaps a sign that Apple considers its iOS devices to be viable for gaming and streaming. Perhaps what’s more interesting is that it could see live streaming go mainstream if executed with the polish we’ve come to expect from Apple.

In addition to this, here’s the iOS 11 beta 3 changelog.

iOS 11 beta 3 features

• Refined 3D Touch interface for the Camera app in Control Center. Similar UI changes can also be seen in the 3D Touch overlay view for the Notes Control Center shortcut.
• The Cover Sheet of Notification Center has been refined. It now shows all notifications immediately when swiped into view; a second upward gesture to see older notifications is no longer necessary.
• On iPad, you can now remove apps from multitasking with an upward swipe gesture. The close button ‘x’ interface seen in beta 1 and beta 2 has been replaced with the swipe interaction.
• Improved Springboard responsiveness  when dragging and dropping. App icons now more closely track with finger gestures when dragging around.
• Messages in iCloud reports fine-grained update progress in Settings.
• Mail correctly remembers if it is open in 3-column mode on larger 12.9-inch iPad displays, when switching between full screen and split-screen presentations.
• Smart Invert is now applied more correctly across the operating system.
• In TV Provider settings, users can sign up with their local provider even if it doesn’t support Single-Sign On yet.
• App Store settings now include a preference for whether to auto play videos. Users can pick to disable autoplaying video entirely or only when on cellular networks.
• OS X Server is listed in the Files app; not yet functional.
• The UI for 3D Touch previews for Safari has been tweaked.
• For developers, SafariServices offers a new API to improve the authentication flow for onboarding. For instance, when Facebook is updated, a user that is logged in to the web app can be automatically logged into the native app without entering a password.