Four iOS 17.6 features & changes for iPhone you need to know

Apple is expected to start the public rollout of iOS 17.6 soon. While the update isn’t expected to bring many new features, it might still introduce some important changes that you should know about.

The fourth beta of iOS 17.6 was released to public testers a day after the iOS 18 developer beta. It might see a wider rollout soon. 9to5Mac, citing a social media post, claims Apple is gearing up to release iOS 17.6 with the build number 21G79 soon.

iOS 17.6 is likely to be the last update for your iPhone before iOS 18 arrives. Apple’s saving most major features for the new version, and iOS 17.6 wasn’t very exciting during the beta testing period. Here are four features and changes you might see on your iPhone with the new iOS version.

1. Catch Up feature for the Apple TV app

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The iOS 17.6 beta introduced a new Catch Up feature for the Apple TV app, which will be available on your iPhone with the public release. This feature allows you to catch up on the action when joining a live stream for a game in progress by watching a series of highlight clips.

The Key Plays carousel is accessible when you select a game in progress from the TV app’s main menu and can also be accessed later from the video player controls menu.

2. Better Find My support for Apple Pencil Pro

Gadget Hacks says Apple’s given the Find My feature for Apple Pencil Pro a nice upgrade. Now, if you misplace your stylus, you can use Find My on your iPhone or iPad to get directions right to it.

You can even mark it as lost for extra security. Before, Find My could only show you the last known location and help you search nearby with Precision Finding.

3. Unknown International message alert

Apple’s added a new feature to iOS 17.6 that helps you identify international messages. Now, when you get a text from an unknown number with a country code, you’ll see a warning like: “This message is from an unknown international sender.” This is instead of the generic: “The sender is not in your contact list” message.

This is not a huge change, but it is certainly a good one that could help you avoid many international scams and malicious texts.

4. Security patches and bug fixes

The iOS 17.6 also includes a bunch of security improvements and bug fixes. It fixed a problem where some Bluetooth headphones wouldn’t work as audio outputs with specific app settings.

It also addresses an issue where notifications wouldn’t show up when an app with an expired license (downloaded from an app store other than the App Store) wouldn’t launch.

Finally, iOS 17.6 tackles a bug that could leave the icon for a reinstalled app (from an app store other than the App Store) disabled on your home screen.

How to Install iOS 17.6?

Apple hasn’t released the iOS 17.6 beta yet, so you won’t be able to install it. However, once the update is officially released, you’ll be able to install it by going to Settings > General, and then tapping Software Update. If you see more than one software update option available, choose iOS 17.6, then tap Install Now.

You can also sign up for the iOS 18 beta program to get new iOS features before they hit the public release. We have a detailed guide on how to do that.