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iOS 17 public beta 3 is now available with NameDrop tweaks

Published Aug 9th, 2023 2:38PM EDT
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Image: José Adorno for BGR

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A day after seeding iOS 17 beta 5, Apple is releasing public beta 3 to users enrolled in the Apple Beta Software program. The company is also seeding new public testing versions of iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma, tvOS 17, and HomePod Software Version 17.

iOS 17 public beta introduces a revamped Phone app. It brings personalized Contact Posters, which provide a new way for users to express themselves by customizing how they appear, bringing a completely new look to incoming calls. They can choose treatments for photos or Memoji and eye-catching typography and font colors. With beta 2, Apple enabled NameDrop, which lets you share your contact by just approaching two iPhones, and it has now tweaked how this function works with the latest build.

watchOS 10 public beta brings a major update to the Apple Watch, as this marks the tenth update cycle for this operating system. Apple says all Apple Watch apps use the entire display to create new places for content, so you can see and do more, which is especially useful for larger displays. In addition, Apple added two new Watch Faces, Pallet and Snoopy.

macOS Sonoma public beta focuses on videoconferencing functions. Presenter Overlay keeps you part of the conversation when sharing your screen on a video call. You can choose between two overlays, large and small. While the large overlay keeps the spotlighting you, with your screen framed next to you on a separate layer, the small option puts you on a small bubble floating on the presentation.

There’s even a new screen-sharing picker that lets you share an app or even multiple apps when on a video call, and with your Studio Display or iPhone as a camera, you can adjust the frame with zoom and pan controls or use Recenter to automatically place yourself in the center of the frame in a call.

While tvOS 17 public beta brings an all-new FaceTime app, a revamped Control Center, and support for Dolby Vision 8.1, HomePod Software version 17 focuses on the Enhance Dialogue feature, which Apple says analyzes audio being played and separates the actors’ speech from effects or background music.

All the new operating system updates are expected to release to all users later this September, which means Apple still has around five to six weeks to go. Below, we teach you how to install the public beta of iOS 17 and the other operating systems if you haven’t done that.

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.

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