iOS 17.4 is finally here after a month of testing in beta, and it brings a lot of new features. First and most important, iOS 17.4 complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) issued by the EU by letting developers install their apps on or make an alternative App Store (even though developers have no commission (I mean the infamous 30% commission that Apple used to force upon developers), they still have to pay a fee of 0.50 € per year per user after 1 million app installs), letting users set an alternative app store as default, not forcing the in-app purchase feature upon apps (speaking of which, letting plug-ins, mini games and chatbots use in-app purchases) and letting developers who do choose to do in-app purchases use alternative (secure, known) options for payment while doing so, letting users choose a default browser other than Safari, not limiting browsers to WebKit (although this will disable web apps for that browser) and allowing alternative browser engines, allowing third-party banks and apps to access the iPhone's NFC chip (only in the European Economic Area (EEA)) and letting users select a default provider of contactless payment and default bank app, and for not just the EU but the whole wide world allowance of standalone apps for cloud gaming services. Phew.
Not talking about DMA EU regulation, we also have 118 new emojis (specifically things like a phoenix, nod and shake-head, lime, (edible!) brown mushroom, broken chain, 100+ people facing sideways in a range of forms, and gender-neutral family emojis of two, three (one with two parents, one with two kids), and four as part of the 15.1 update to Unicode approved back in September. Automatically Send Messages (in Siri and Search settings) has undergone a rename to Messaging with Siri and an addition of reading messages in a specified language (limited to thisRemember function) other than the device's primary one, and speaking of renames, Apple Music's and Podcasts' Listen Now tab is now called Home, with Podcasts now using the same Now Playing bar design as Apple Music when the podcast is collapsed. Speaking of Podcasts, transcripts (English, French, German and Spanish) are now offered, with highlighting moving to show the words being spoken, and speaking of music, songs that have been identified with music recognition apps like Shazam can now be added to your library, playlists, or Apple Music Classical app. Remember my second news article, the one about iMessages protected with quantum computing? That's also here. Remember (again! I'm making you remember a lot today!) when Stolen Device Protection was released with iOS 17.3? We now have an extra setting that enables the security delay only when away from familiar locations instead of always (enabled by default). Battery health for the iPhone 15 series is improved by showing the status in words (like, for example, "Normal") instead of max capacity next to Battery Health under Battery in the Settings app, and when tapped now shows more info (specifically first use and manufacture date and how many charge cycles your phone has undergone, previously settings buried under General > About). Back to what the battery powers, Live Activities is now here for Stopwatch, verified-by-Apple business/department names and logos are now shown when available as call identification, improved Messages for Business (including opt-in info for transactions like fraud alerts, statuses of orders, flight notifications) is here, a new list UI for the How to Watch section of the Apple TV app came out, we now have Apple ID-wide history of purchases for the Purchase feature (apps are in a new dedicated section) of the App Store's, a City Digital widget for the Clock app that can be added to both the Home and Lock Screens is here, Apple Cash now has virtual card generating to make Apple Cash purchases even without Apple Pay availability, availability for real-time info on Apple Cash, Card, Savings Account status for third-party budget apps, the ability to say "Siri" instead of 'Hey Siri" to invoke the AI voice assistant in Spanish, French and German, a CarPlay Apple Maps display option on the instrument cluster for cars which support instrument cluster CarPlay displays (swap Apple Maps between the main and instrument cluster screens by tapping the map configuration button on the upper right corner of the main screen for Maps). Next-gen CarPlay is going to launch in the US later this year, and references in iOS 17.4 code of apps for the rear-view camera feed (called Car Camera), charge for EVs (called Charge), climate controls (called Climate), door open-closed status and warning symbols (named Closures), radio stations of different genres of music (Media), tire air pressure (Tire Pressure), and finally driving data (Trips), with a Goodbye screen (with the goodbye written like the classic Macintosh hello) showing after the vehicle is shut off. Phew. I'm done! (double thumbs up causes AR fireworks display in video call) Again? (searches through settings) (sees setting to disable hand gesture AR effects and enables it) Oh yeah, developers can now add an option to turn off the hand gesture AR effects! Because it has been appearing in bad places, like therapy and even an Apple stock newscast. Anyway, bye (for real), and don't forget to install the new update for all your devices (iPadOS 17.4 for the iPad, macOS Sonoma 14.4 for the Mac, watchOS 10.4 for the Apple Watch, and tvOS 17.4 for the Apple TV)!
Sources: MacRumors (https://www.macrumors.com/guide/ios-17-4-features/)
By Leo
