Apple released the first iOS 17.1 public beta on Thursday, about a week-and-a-half after the release of iOS 17 and about a week after the release of iOS 17.0.1 and iOS 17.0.2. The update brings a few new features and bug fixes to the iPhones of beta testers and developers.
We recommend only downloading a beta on something other than your primary device. Since this is a beta version of iOS 17.1, these features might be buggy, battery life may be short and it’s best to keep that on a secondary device.
If you’re a developer or public beta tester, here are some of the new features you can find in iOS 17.1 beta 1. Note that the beta is still ongoing, so these might not be the only new features to land on your iPhone when iOS 17.1 is released. There’s no word on the public release for iOS 17.1 just yet.
Apple Music upgrades
In iOS 17.1 beta 1, Apple has added a new button in Apple Music that allows you to quickly Favorite songs. When a song is playing and you’re looking at its card on your iPhone, there is a star outline near the song’s title. You can tap this star to add the song to your Favorites.
On the left are the ringtones in iOS 17 and on the right are the ringtones in iOS 17.1 beta 1.
When Apple released iOS 17, it included all new ringtones. However, with iOS 17.1 beta 1, Apple removed those ringtones, reverting back to older ringtones. I hope Apple brings some of those new ringtones back in a future release.
Those are some of the major new features developers and beta testers will see in the first iOS 17.1 beta. That doesn’t mean these are the only features coming to the next iOS update, or that these changes will stick when iOS 17.1 is released to the public.
For more, check out my review of iOS 17 and CNET’s iOS 17 cheat sheet.
