After a month of beta testing, Apple has finally released iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6 to iPhone and iPad users. With this likely last main iOS 17 update, Apple can finally focus on iOS 18 and upcoming Apple Intelligence features.
While this update brings a few features, this is one of the less exciting iOS 17 versions, as all iOS 17 supported iPhones also work with iOS 18, which means people are focused on this other upcoming operating system update instead.
For iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6, Apple is adding these features:
- Apple News+ is getting Live Activity support for Home Screen and Lock Screen, so you can keep following games and other factual stories happening at that moment.
- It also brings a new Messages app setting that lets you filter unknown senders if they’re international senders.
Apple also talks about the usual “bug fixes and security patches,” although it’s unclear what they are at the moment.
For iPad owners, this might be the last update for iPad 6 and second-gen iPad Pro users, as Apple isn’t supporting them with iPadOS 18.
That said, with iOS 17.6 now available, we wait for Apple to release the iOS 18.1 beta to developers with Apple Intelligence features, including:
- Writing Tools: Users can rewrite, proofread, and summarize text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps;
- Image Playground: Users can create playful images in seconds, choosing from Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. This app is built right into apps like Messages and is also available in a dedicated app;
- Memories in Photos: Users can create stories they want to see just by typing a description. Apple Intelligence will pick out the best photos and videos based on the description, craft a storyline with chapters based on themes identified from the photos, and arrange them into a movie with its own narrative arc;
- Clean Up tool: This Photos app feature can identify and remove distracting objects in the background of a photo without accidentally altering the subject
Besides iOS 17.6, Apple has also released iPadOS 17.6, watchOS 10.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6, tvOS 17.6, and visionOS 1.3.
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