Everything New in iOS 17 Beta 4

Apple has released the fourth beta of the upcoming iOS 17 software release to developers for testing purposes, and like almost all new betas, the operating system brings a number of small tweaks and changes as Apple refines the software ahead of launch.

General iOS 17 Feature Blue Green
Here's everything new that we've found so far in the fourth beta of iOS 17.

NameDrop Toggle

In the AirDrop menu in Settings, Apple has added a "Start Sharing By" section that includes a toggle called "Bringing Devices Together," which allows users to manually switch NameDrop on and off.

namedrop settings toggle
NameDrop is the new iOS 17 feature that lets you hold your iPhone near someone else's ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch to exchange contact information. Previously, there was no way to disable it.

iMessage App Menu

In iOS 17, all Messages apps and tools like the camera and photo options can be accessed by tapping on the "+" button, which brings up a menu column. In fourth beta, Apple has tweaked the design of the icons.

messages apps menu
The Camera icon has changed from a shutter button to a traditional camera glyph. The Photos icon no longer shows the most recent picture taken, and is now just the standard ‌Photos‌ app icon. Cash, where it appears, now has a black circular background. The Audio icon has become a white waveform on a red background instead of a red waveform on a black background, and the Location icon is now encircled in green to look similar to Find My. The More icon is also circular instead of an oblong shape.

Standby Notification Preview Toggle

In the Standby menu in Settings, Apple has added a toggle called "Show Preview on Tap Only," which when enabled causes Standby to hide the preview of a notification until you tap on it.

standby preview toggle
When you're not using your ‌iPhone‌, you can put it horizontally on a charger to activate iOS 17's new StandBy mode, a full-screen display with information you can see at a glance.

Mental Wellbeing

Apple has made minor design refinements to the Mental Wellbeing section of the Health app, with updated animations when logging your mood.

log mood animations
The animations have been made a little less angular, and are now softer, smoother, and slightly more florid.

New Home Screen & App Library Icon

Apple has changed the Settings menu icon for Home Screen & App Library, which was previously a white outline of an ‌iPhone‌ showing a ‌Home Screen‌ on a blue background.

home screen settings
In the fourth beta, it is now represented by three rows of multicolored app-style icons on a purple background.

Tweaked Apple TV Remote Icon

In Control Center, Apple has made a minor tweak to the Apple TV Remote button, which now has a black circle representing the click wheel, while the Standby button in the top-right corner has been removed.

apple remote button

Other New Features and Changes

Find something that we didn't mention here? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

dreamerstree Avatar
17 months ago
I found in the beta that you can reorder or change the defaults in the messages + screen.

If you tap the +, you can touch and hold, and then drag the options to reorder them. If you go to more, you can touch and hold and then drag to the top of the screen to add the item to the defaults list. Likewise, you can remove defaults by dragging them to the bottom of the screen
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
17 months ago

A lot of nothing ?
What did you expect? iOS 18?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SkimPappa Avatar
17 months ago

I found in the beta that you can reorder or change the defaults in the messages + screen.

If you tap the +, you can touch and hold, and then drag the options to reorder them. If you go to more, you can touch and hold and then drag to the top of the screen to add the item to the defaults list. Likewise, you can remove defaults by dragging them to the bottom of the screen
Thank you so much! It was driving me bananas that they were hiding one that I use all the time! This was so wonderful to learn!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
il_teo77 Avatar
17 months ago
I don't know if it is new or not. But when you ask Siri to perform a task and it cannot do it immediately there is now a sound when the app is "thinking". I know I didn't explain myself very well, but I hope you get the idea.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thiscatisfat Avatar
17 months ago
Can't wait to make my 12 mini even slower with iOS 17.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
secDJ Avatar
17 months ago
Horrible that they removed the thin font option from the Lock Screen. It looked so clean. Why not giving people options? tThey have the slider anyways.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)