Most mid - bike iOS discharge are worth grabbing for the security update alone , wreak mostly small characteristic with seldom any want to be in a precipitation about it . But every so often an update will arrive that lend fun and authoritative young features that you really will desire to try right away — and that ’s where iOS 17.4 res publica .
Sure , it ’s get its share of minor feature like renaming the “ Listen Now ” button in Apple Music to “ Home ” and a resilient Activity for the Clock app ’s stopwatch feature . But there are also three big features — four if you live in a European Union penis land — that you ’ll want right on away .
Future-proof iMessage security
Every iMessage you send , whether it ’s a textual matter , picture , or video , is end - to - last encrypted and not likely to be crack by sorry actors or Department of State governments . Yet . The power to decrypt many forms of encryption with quantum computing is growing quick . So Apple isbumping up iMessage encryptionto something hollo PQ3 , which uses “ post - quantum cryptography ” to protect your messages from prying eyes long into the future tense .
According to Apple this will make iMessages even more secure as subject matter transmit with Signal , a popular cypher messaging app and sort of the gold criterion of messaging security .
Do you need this much surety today ? No , but the whole point is that you will want to have it in a few years , and at that point , you may rest comfortable knowing youroldmessages are dependable because you kick upstairs your encoding long before it was necessary .
Podcast transcriptions
Why justlistento podcast when you canreadthem at the same time ? As sort of an opposite to audiobooks , Apple is lend automatically - return transcriptions to podcasts in iOS 17.4 . Podcast authors can let the organization generate the transcript or supply their own . Apple says transcripts will start with the newest episodes first and eventually backfill old episodes , so you may not see it on every podcast right aside .
Still , it ’s a utile characteristic for the Podcasts app . If you really want to read theMacworld Podcastinstead of listen to it , we wo n’t hold it against you .
Foundry
New Emojis
Who does n’t likenew emojis ? you’re able to better express yourself in iOS 17.4 with emojis like “ school principal stimulate horizontally ” and “ head shaking vertically ” ( rock your headspring no or nodding in favourable reception ) , brown mushroom , lime , phoenix , and broken chain .
There are a whole bunch of existing emojis that get alternate veneer , too . Like the mortal walk , run , walking with a cane , etc . With hide color and gender edition , there are 108 variants of those alternate - face emoji in all .
Emojipedia / Apple
Major app store and payment changes (EU only)
We ’ll call this a half - reason to upgrade because it ’s only of significance to those in a country that is a fellow member of the European Union , but for those users , it could be a very big deal .
Apple had until March 6 to comply with the Digital Markets Act ( DMA ) in the European Union and it requires Apple to implement several major change . First and foremost , apps must be able to be downloaded from place outside App Store and developers call for to be able to offer payment options other than Apple ’s in - app purchase for digital goods . Apple also has to allow the NFC chip in iPhones to be used for requital system other than Apple Pay . And finally , Apple now allow for third - party browser app to use their own browser app engines instead of WebKit .
These are all specific to iPhones in the European Union , and as such Apple has a new set of terms for developers opt to forgo the App Store . As expected , developers are n’t happyand some major app Lord have accused Apple of deal evenmoremoney if an appdoesn’tuse Apple ’s App Store or payment processing .
So it ’s unclear just how much impact this will have right away , but it does launch the door to apps that Apple would n’t allow in the App Store or for developers to charge less when they do n’t have to give Apple a 30 percent track of all transactions for digital content .
The legal saga of Apple ’s answer to the DMA and its further antimonopoly challenge across the globe is far from over , so we ’ll have to see exactly how this plays out . But in bear these changes already , Apple has added new features and engineering to trammel malware on iOS , and that ’s unspoilt for everyone .
