iOS 17.1 Beta: All the New Features So FarApple is currently testing iOS 17.1, the first major update to the
iOS 17 operating system that came out in September. Apple plans to release iOS 17.1 later in October, so we still have several betas to go before the software sees a public debut.
In this guide, we've rounded up all of the feature additions and changes in the iOS 17.1 beta, and we'll be updating it throughout the testing period.
<h2 id="apple_music_favorites">Apple Music Favorites</h2>
You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1 Music app. Favorited music is added to the Library and improves recommendations. Favoriting replaces the prior "Love" system and favoriting can be done from the Lock Screen's Now Playing widget.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914260" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/apple-music-favorite.jpg" alt="" width="1290" height="822" />
A star next to a track in an album means that it's a favorite, while a dot is next to the most played track. With the favorites system, the Music app is suggesting songs to add to playlists.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914261" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/apple-music-song-suggestions.jpg" alt="" width="1290" height="1229" />
Eventually, Apple plans to provide a Favorite Songs playlist and offer collaborative playlists, but these features do not appear to be implemented as of yet.
<h2 id="apple_music_playlists">Apple Music Playlists</h2>
iOS 17.1 provides color-matched playlist artwork options that can be selected as a new customization option for your playlists. There are eight artwork styles that feature geometric shapes and gradients, with the colors featured pulled from the album artwork of the first song in the playlist.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914404" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/iOS-17-Playlist-Artwork-Feature-1.jpg" alt="" width="2500" height="1406" />
<h2 id="airdrop_over_internet">AirDrop Over Internet</h2>
AirDrop transfers can now be completed over a cellular connection or Wi-Fi if you walk out of the range of the person you're sharing with. That means you will not have to stay close to someone if you are transferring a large number of files.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914263" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/ios-17-1-airdrop.jpg" alt="" width="1290" height="1796" />
There is a new "Out of Range" toggle in the AirDrop section of the Settings menu that you can toggle to allow or disallow transfers over cellular.
<h2 id="play_favorite_songs_quick_action">Play Favorite Songs Quick Action</h2>
If you long press on the
Apple Music icon on the
Home Screen, you can now choose a "Play Favorite Songs" option.
<h2 id="double_tap_on_apple_watch">Double Tap on Apple Watch</h2>
Double Tap is enabled in the watchOS 10.1 update that is also in beta testing, and the settings for it can be managed using the Apple Watch app.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915258" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/10/watchos-10-1-double-tap.jpg" alt="" width="2901" height="1632" />
Double Tap allows
Apple Watch Series 9 and
Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners to tap their thumb and index fingers together to control the Apple Watch with one hand. The gesture can be used for opening up the Smart Stack, answering/ending calls, playing/pausing music, stopping alarms and timers, and more.
<h2 id="standby_display_options">StandBy Display Options</h2>
Apple added a new "Display" section to the StandBy section of the Settings app, which houses some new customization options. The display can be set to turn off automatically, after 20 seconds, or never.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915259" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/10/standby-display-settings-ios-17-1.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" />
The existing
Night Mode function that adds a red tint and dims the screen has been relocated to this section, as has the Motion to Wake toggle. The Display section also replaces the prior Always On toggle that limited the display to turning off intelligently.
<h2 id="uk_bank_balances_in_the_wallet_app">UK Bank Balances in the Wallet App</h2>
UK users can
add their UK bank accounts to the Wallet app in iOS 17.1, allowing them to see their account balances, payments, purchases, and deposits.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914320" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/uk-bank-account-apple-wallet-2.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080" />
<h2 id="books_app">Books App</h2>
The "Reading Now" section in the Apple Books app has been renamed to "Read Now."
<h2 id="dynamic_island_flashlight_indicator">Dynamic Island Flashlight Indicator</h2>
When the flashlight is activated on an
iPhone 14 Pro, ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro Max,
iPhone 15, or ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus, there is now a flashlight icon in the
Dynamic Island that lets you know that It is on. The flashlight icon for the ‌Dynamic Island‌ was previously limited to the
iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-914275" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/dynamic-island-flashlight.jpg" alt="" width="1179" height="561" />
<h2 id="controller_support">Controller Support</h2>
iOS 17.1
includes support for the Nintendo Switch N64 Controller.
<h2 id="extend_wallpaper">Extend Wallpaper</h2>
When you are setting up a new wallpaper, Apple has added an "Extend" option that can be used if the image does not fit the display.
<h2 id="photo_shuffle">Photo Shuffle</h2>
When you add a Photo Shuffle Lock Screen in iOS 17.1, you can select a specific album of photos that will be shown on the Lock Screen rather than having to rely on Apple's pre-selected options like People, Pets, or Nature.
When selecting any of the main Photo Shuffle images, you're brought into a customization screen where you can choose your Favorites album or opt for any other album you have created, giving you complete control over the images that show up on the Lock Screen. There was previously a tool for manually selecting photos, but being able to choose an entire album is quicker.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915205" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/09/ios-17-1-photo-shuffle.jpg" alt="" width="2595" height="2796" />
Photo Shuffle frequency remains the same at on tap, on lock, hourly, or daily.
<h2 id="reachability">Reachability</h2>
On iPhones with a ‌Dynamic Island‌, you'll now see a black background when you use the Reachability feature. In prior versions of ‌iOS 17‌, a blurred version of the device's wallpaper was shown. The change to a black background prevents the ‌Dynamic Island‌ from being displayed twice when Reachability is used.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915195" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/10/ios-17-1-reachability.jpg" alt="" width="1363" height="767" />
<h2 id="journal_app">Journal App</h2>
There is no sign of the promised Journal app in iOS 17.1, but there are mentions of Journaling Suggestions in the code, which indicates that it could be coming before too long.
<h2 id="80_charging_limit_fix">80% Charging Limit Fix</h2>
With the ‌iPhone 15‌ models, Apple added a toggle that prevents the devices from charging past 80 percent in order to keep the battery healthy for a longer period of time. In ‌iOS 17‌, the
iPhone could ignore this setting and charge past 80 percent, but that no longer happens following the second beta update.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915260" src="
https://images.macrumors.com/article-new/2023/10/ios-17-1-80-percent-charge.jpg" alt="" width="2166" height="1218" />
<h2 id="messages_bug_fix">Messages Bug Fix</h2>
iOS 17.1
addresses an issue with the search function in the Messages app in ‌iOS 17‌. Some ‌iPhone 15‌ users have been able to search for older messages after transferring their data over from an older ‌iPhone‌. The Messages search feature only works for recent messages, but the update fixes the issue.
<h2 id="more_ios_17.1_beta_features">More iOS 17.1 Beta Features</h2>
Know of a feature that we've missed on this list? Let us know in the comments below.<div class="linkback">Related Roundups:
iOS 17,
iPadOS 17</div><div class="linkback">Related Forums:
iOS 17,
iPadOS 17</div>
This article, "
iOS 17.1 Beta: All the New Features So Far" first appeared on
MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Source:
iOS 17.1 Beta: All the New Features So Far
