Apple released iOS 17.4 beta 3 to public beta testers on Wednesday, a day after the company released the beta to developers and about three weeks after the release of iOS 17.3. The latest iOS beta brings new features, including major changes for people in the European Union and new emoji, and bug fixes to some developers and beta testers’ iPhones.
Read more: Why You Should Download iOS 17.3 Now
We recommend downloading a beta only on something other than your primary device. Since this isn’t the final version of iOS 17.4, these features might be buggy and battery life may be short, and it’s best to keep those troubles 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 17.4 beta 3. Note that the beta isn’t the final version of iOS 17.4, so these might not be the only new features to land on your iPhone when iOS 17.4 is released. There’s no word on the public release for iOS 17.4 just yet, but Apple has indicated it’ll likely be in March.
Downloading other app stores in the EU
Apple introduced a significant change to Safari, the App Store and iOS with iOS 17.4 beta 1, but only for people in the EU. With iOS 17.4 beta 1, people in the EU can download an alternative app store and apps from outside the App Store. According to CNET’s Katie Collins, this marks one of the largest changes to the App Store since its inception in 2008. People in the EU will also be given new default app controls, giving them more ways to customize their iPhone experience.
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People in the EU will soon have access to other app stores and more.
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Some of the new emoji coming to iOS 17.4 include a phoenix, a slice of lime and broken chains.
Apple introduced over 100 new emoji to iPhone users with the first beta of iOS 17.4. Those emoji include heads shaking up and down as well as left and right, a phoenix emoji and a slice of lime. These emoji were announced in 2023, and some Android devices, including the latest Samsung phones, already have them.
More Stolen Device Protection options
With iOS 17.4 beta 1, Apple introduced a few new options in Stolen Device Protection. The new options let you choose whether you want to always require a one-hour Security Delay to access certain settings or make changes, or to only require the delay when you’re away from a familiar location like your home.
Apple introduced Stolen Device Protection with iOS 17.3, and the intent of the feature is to protect some of your data if your device is stolen or falls into nefarious hands. The feature doesn’t protect all your data, but Apple still recommends everyone turn it on.
Podcasts can now show transcripts
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You can read a transcript of your favorite podcasts with the first iOS 17.4 beta.
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The stopwatch running in Live Activities was helpful, but it’s no longer available.
With iOS 17.4 beta 1, your Clock app’s stopwatch function would display across the top of your screen on iPhones with Live Activities, like the iPhone 14 Pro or the iPhone 15. However, this feature was removed in later beta versions of iOS 17.4.
Those are some of the new features developers and beta testers will see in the fourth iOS 17.4 beta. That doesn’t mean these are the only features coming to the next iOS update, or that these changes will stick when iOS 17.4 is released to the public. As of right now, there’s no exact release date for iOS 17.4, but Apple has indicated it might be released in March.
For more on iOS 17, check out what was included in iOS 17.3 and iOS 17.2. You can also check out our iOS 17 cheat sheet.
