After the first beta of iOS 17.5, we have already gotten a good idea of what kind of update iOS 17.5 will be. There are few really major innovations, but there is an important new feature for iPhone users in the EU. In this round-up you can read exactly what new features iOS 17.5 offers: from an important major change to minor design changes.
#1 Download apps from websites in the EU
The most important new feature of iOS 17.5 is only available for European users. From this version onwards you can download and install apps from a website if you are in the EU. Since iOS 17.4, it has been possible to download apps outside of the App Store, but it was still required to do so via an alternative app marketplace. To fully comply with the DMA rules, Apple will allow you to put a single app from a website on your iPhone from iOS 17.5 onwards. For example, the website of the app maker.
#2 Prevent unwanted tracking of accessories
Almost a year ago, Apple and Google announced a collaboration on tracking accessories. A system has been developed to allow iPhones and Android smartphones to proactively alert users to Bluetooth trackers. Apple has already built in similar features for the AirTag and other Find My accessories, but an umbrella system for all kinds of Bluetooth trackers has been in the works for some time. 9to5Mac discovered that Apple has added code in iOS 17.5 that indicates this system will take effect soon. Text references have been found in the Find My app that alert you if you may be being tracked:
This item isn’t certified on the Apple Find My network. You can disable this item and stop it from sharing its location with the owner. To do this, follow the instructions provided on a website by the manufacturer of this item.
The Podcasts widget has been updated and from iOS 17.5 it looks more like the widget of the Music app. When you play a podcast, the widget now adopts the color associated with that podcast. Previously, the widget was always purple (the color of the app icon of the Podcasts app), but in iOS 17.5 it takes on the color of the show you are listening to. If you pause the podcast via the widget, the color will change back to purple. If you continue playing, the color will change back to that of the podcast itself.
#4 Minor design adjustments
The Books app now has a new icon for the reading goals at the top right of the app’s home screen. It now looks a bit like the widgets you know from the lock screen of your iPhone or the complications on your Apple Watch face: a large number with an arc around it, indicating how many minutes of your reading goal you have already read. Apple also has more Settings > Privacy & security added an icon Access passkeys for websites. Strangely enough, an icon was missing from this setting, but it has now been added.
#5 More minor changes and additions
Apple has added some other minor changes. Devices managed via the MDM system (for example, company work phones) can now install a beta https://twitter.com/aaronp613/status/1775273274039259349?s=61&t=GihP8UFsJhNqqP4ExFBZxg when registering the device. This is especially useful if a company has iPhones available for developers, which require beta versions of iOS.
Finally, a reference has been found in iPadOS 17.5 to a new feature in an unreleased Apple Pencil. There is talk of a Squeeze gesture. It looks like you can squeeze the Apple Pencil to switch to another writing tool, for example. We expect the feature to be part of the new Apple Pencil that has been rumored for a while, destined for the latest upcoming iPads. iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 will probably become available to everyone shortly before the new iPads arrive.
In the coming weeks, Apple will regularly release new betas of iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5. We expect iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 to be available to everyone sometime in May.
