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iOS 17.3 beta 1 now available to developers as we wait for these delayed features

Published Dec 12th, 2023 1:20PM EST
Apple Music iOS 17.3 beta
Image: José Adorno for BGR

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Apple is already releasing iOS 17.3 beta 1 to developers. Although this testing version is now available, I’d recommend you not to download it, as the second beta version will take almost a month to be released.

At this moment, it’s unclear what’s changing with iOS 17.3 beta 1, but there are several features we are waiting for Apple to introduce, such as:

Apple Music Collaborative Playlist: Once it’s out, you’ll be able to invite friends to collaborate on playlists. They will be able to add, reorder, and remove songs. In addition, you’ll be able to react to the song choices in Now Playing.

AirPlay in your hotel room: AirPlay will be available in 2024 in supporting hotel rooms. Apple is working closely with hotels so people can scan the QR code on their room TVs to securely share videos, photos, and music from their iPhones to the TV.

Sync additional settings with Messages in iCloud: Text Message Forwarding, Send & Receive accounts, and SMS filters across devices;

Apple ID proximity: Sign in with an existing signed-in and trusted iPhone or iPad.

In addition to iOS 17.3 beta 1, Apple is also releasing the first beta versions of iPadOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3, macOS 14.3, and tvOS 17.3.

With the recently released iOS 17.2, Cupertino added several features that have been delayed from the original iOS 17 launch, such as:

  • Journal app: Apple says this app lets you “capture your thoughts on life’s big events or everyday activities. Add details to any entry with photos, music, audio recordings, and more. Mark important moments and revisit them later to find new insights or set new goals.”
  • Catch-up arrow in the Messages app so you can easily go to the last message you saw;
  • The ability to react to a message with any sticker through the Tapback menu;
  • Play and pause podcasts or Apple News+ audio stories in the Apple News widget;
  • Intelligent form detection and enhanced AutoFill for PDFs (one of the most important features for iPadOS 17);
  • Audio Focus feature for Apple Fitness+ so you can prioritize the volume of the music or the trainers’ voice.
José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.