UPDATE: Apple has temporarily pulled iOS 17.3 beta 2 and other betas following reports that the update was forcing iPhones into a boot loop.
A few weeks after seeding the first testing version of iOS 17.3, the company is now releasing beta 2 to developers. Alongside the changes is a new Stolen Device Protection feature, which will be available soon to all iPhone users.
That said, here’s what you can expect from this operating system update so far:
Stolen Device Protection: This new layer of protection helps you keep your data safe if your iPhone is stolen. Face ID authentication is required for viewing passwords or passkeys, turning off Lost Mode, erasing all contents, and more.
Apple Music Collaborative Playlists: In 2024, you’ll be able to invite friends to collaborate on playlists. They will be able to add, reorder, and remove songs.
React to Collaborative Playlists: Unavailable with the iOS 17.2 beta, iOS 17.3 beta adds the ability to react with an emoji to a song someone added to a collaborative playlist.
Journal app settings: With the new testing version, Apple is adding more options to the Journal app settings, such as enabling media and Apple Music suggestions, cellular data usage, and more.
In addition to iOS 17.3 beta 2, Apple is also releasing the second 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.
We’ll update the story once we learn more about iOS 17.3 beta 2.
