Here Are The New Features To Expect In iOS 17.2

Last week, Apple officially released iOS 17.1 for iPhone users. That update brought on new features like a new collection of ringtones and a favorites section in the Apple Music app. It also fixed issues regarding power consumption with the Apple Watch and radiation that had Apple in some trouble with France. Just a day after iOS 17.1 was released, Apple went ahead and shared iOS 17.2 beta 1 with developers and it gave a preview of some of the features that are on the way for iOS 17.2.

Here are the features and changes you should expect to see on your iPhone when the update for iOS 17.2 is officially released.

Beta 1

The Journal App Is Here

One of the biggest announcements for iOS 17 was a new Journal app that would allow users to safely and privately journal their thoughts and even receive prompts to do so. Apple called it an “all-new way to appreciate life’s moments and preserve your memories.” However, when iOS 17 and iOS 17.1 were released, the Journal app was nowhere to be found. Rumor had it that the app would be available on iOS 17.2 and thanks to iOS 17.2 beta 1, that has been confirmed as true.

Apple Music Updates

The Apple Music app received a couple of updates. The first is the addition of collaborative playlists which allows users to invite their friends and others to collaborate on playlists to add new songs, change the order, change the name, and more. The second is an addition to the “Favorite” feature brought on in iOS 17.1. Now, iOS 17.2 beta 1 brings on a “Favorites” playlist that automatically adds favorited songs into it.

Apple Music & Focus Filters Update

There is now an option to exclude any song played when a focus filter is activated from your Apple Music listening history and ensure that your data is not affected. Apple says a user can “choose if music played will influence recommendations and mixes, appear in Recently Played, or be shown to others on Apple Music.”

Stickers & Emojis As Message Reactions

With iOS 17.2 beta 1, you can now use stickers and emojis to react to any message. To do this, long-press a message and press the “add sticker” button. Like the Journal app, this first was announced at June’s WWDC, but not made available until iOS 17.2 beta 1.

Messages In iCloud Storage Update

The previous “Messages” section in the iCloud section within the Settings app has been renamed to “Messages in iCloud.” The total amount of storage that messages take up, the number of messages in iCloud, how long messages are kept before they are erased, and the time of the most recent sync can now be seen in this section. You can also trigger an iCloud sync in this section as well.

Memoji Update

There is now a new “body” section for Memoji that lets users customize their Memoji’s wait, bust, shoulders, and arms.

Contact Poster Update

A new option for rainbow-colored text for a user’s name can now be seen when setting up a Contact Poster in the Contacts app.

Contact Key Verification

Nearly a year after it was announced, Apple has finally brought Contact Key Verification to the iMessage app. Contact Key Verification allows iMessage users to “further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend.” Apple has said that the feature is mainly designed for those who may deal with “concerted threats to their online accounts.” This includes celebrities, journalists, and members of the government. It also ensures that there is no “man in the middle” snooping in on an iMessage conversation.

Translate Option On Action Button

This update is specifically for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users with the action button on their devices. They can now assign their action button to a new “translate” option. When this is assigned and the button is pressed, the iPhone will automatically begin a voice-to-text translation between two languages. This update was introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro models, but was not available until now.

New Weather & Clock App Widgets

There are three new widgets for the Weather app. A details widget shows the chance of precipitation, UV index, wind, and more. A daily forecast widget shows the current weather conditions and the daily forecast for a specific location. Lastly, a sunrise and sunset widget shows the information tied to the upcoming sunrise and sunset in a specific location.

As for the Clock app widget, there’s a new “clock digital” widget that shows the current time in a digital format rather than analog.

Apple TV App Update

Apple removed the separate tabs for movies and TV shows in the store section of the Apple TV app on both the iPhone and iPad. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurmna, Apple reportedly has plans to remove the option to purchase TV shows and movies from the iTunes app in connection to a future redesign of the Apple TV app. There is no plan on when that redesign will take effect.

Emergency Alerts Update

In the Notifications section of the Settings app, there is a new option in the Emergency Alerts portion. This option is titled “Local Awareness” and it can be turned on or off. Apple says that Local Awareness will “your approximate location to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and reliability of emergency alerts.”

News App Update

A new update in the News app provides support for Live Activities in relation to news events like elections.

Book Animation Update

The Books app has a new “fast fade” option for page-turning animation. The icon for the option that allowed users to scroll through content quickly was also removed.

AirPlay Update

In the Settings app under General, there is a new option that appears in the AirPlay & Handoff section. There, users will see a toggle for an “AirPlay Receiver” setting that will allow the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset to stream and share content to an iPhone.