iOS 17 - Top 10 Changes and Features You Should Know About

Although the iPhone world is all fixated on the arrival of iOS 17, and all the new features it would offer, the reality is that it’s still in the beta stage. And what’s not in beta any longer is the latest update of iOS 17, which is iOS 17.4!

iOS 17.4 is widely believed to be the last iOS 17 firmware update, and is slightly more modest if we talk about the features it comes with, compared to its predecessors. However, it can’t be denied that any upgrade to the iPhone firmware is heartily welcomed by the iPhone community across the world! Furthermore, iOS 17 being just around the corner, this release can be like an appetizer before the main meal!

Interestingly, iOS 17.4 began in the form of beta, as 17.5.5. It got changed to iOS 17.4 only after Apple decided to release its second beta. And going by the past records, it wasn’t the first time that the company chose to pull off a trick like that! The same happened in case of iOS 17.5 which began as 17.4.5 during the beta stage. iOS 17.5 offered many well-known improvements including the widely popular face detection feature which has become a rage amongst the iPhone users everywhere. Let’s tell you about what all is worth knowing about the iOS 17.4 upgrade.

Tracking of health symptoms

By far the most prominent amongst the iOS 17.4’s newly introduced features, the ‘Symptoms’ section available under the ‘Browse’ tab of iPhone’s Health app enables you to track certain symptoms, whenever you’re feeling unwell. The feature allows you to track symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, sore throat, fatigue and coughing amongst a list of 28 symptoms. Each one of these comes with a brief description, enabling you to opt for the right one for tracking purposes.

As you go about tracking your health symptoms, the application continues adding your data to the Symptoms’ front page. By doing so, it gives you quick access to all your symptoms’ history. It can all be revisited by just tapping on the particular data point.

CarKey support

With iOS 17.4, the users have finally received the CarKey support for their iPhones. This feature, which will also be a part of the iOS 17, will enable iPhone users to easily unlock, lock and start their car remotely, using their iPhone. These keys will also be shareable between people through iMessage, with the help of driver-specific profiles that will define which all drivers will get access to which all features. In case of loss, the keys can be easily removed through iCloud. You will also be able to unlock and start your car for 5 hours post the loss of complete battery power on your iPhone. As of now, this feature is only supported by BMW 5 Series Facelift 2021. More cars will be added in the near future.

Listening to articles through Apple News+

Anyone who’s an Apple News+ subscriber and Apple News enthusiast would be glad to know that with iOS 17.4, Apple has now added audio support for the articles to the paying customers. It serves as an excellent means to consume news on the move when you don’t have the time to flip through the stories yourself.

The audio articles get sorted under a fresh ‘Audio’ tab, and work quite like the Podcasts app. You’re allowed to pause, play, rewind, scrub, resume and skip to the next news story. Other than that, you can also choose your preferred audio output and make adjustments to the playback speed. The extended menu allows you to pull up the source article from where the audio is getting played. Apple neatly minimizes the news audio player at the bottom, blowing it up to a full player with a mere tap on the phone.

Customization of automatic software updates

Automatic Updates is another feature that has received an update! Earlier iPhone users were allowed to choose if they would prefer automatic installation of fresh iOS updates overnight. Now, that option has been split into two, and is available under ‘Customize Automatic Updates’. These are ‘Download iOS Updates’ and ‘Install iOS Updates’.