Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 to Developers

Tuesday February 13, 2024 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming one week after Apple seeded the second betas.

iOS 17
Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

iOS 17.4 introduces sweeping changes to the way the App Store and apps operate in the European Union, paving the way for alternative app marketplaces, alternative payment systems, third-party browser engine support, and NFC access for banks and third-party payment providers. These features are limited to the EU, and won't be available in other countries.

There are, however, changes to gaming apps, and with the launch of iOS 17.4, Apple will be allowing cloud gaming apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce NOW. Mini games, chatbots, and plug-ins are also now able to use the in-app purchase system.

Along with these updates, iOS 17.4 adds new emoji characters, transcripts for podcasts in the Podcasts app, support for using SharePlay with the HomePod, Stopwatch Live Activities, and more. Full details on everything new in iOS 17.4 can be found in our iOS 17.4 features article.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

Realityck

27 months ago

To devs today

* iOS 17.4 beta 3 (21E5200d) - February 13, 2024
* iPadOS 17.4 beta 3 (21E5200d) - February 13, 2024
* macOS 14.4 beta 3 (23E5196e) - February 13, 2024
* tvOS 17.4 beta 3 (21L5212d) - February 13, 2024
* visionOS 1.1 beta 2 (21O5188c) - February 13, 2024
* watchOS 10.4 beta 3 (21T5202e) - February 13, 2024

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TestedLion

27 months ago

it's baffling to think apple dare release software in such a state. they're probably not using their own products to have bugs like that go unnoticed.

You mean, how dare they release beta software? Use at your own risk and only if you know what you are doing software? Ok. By the way, did you allow time for indexing to finish?

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Intelmaster

27 months ago

Installed it very smoothly

Battery life has been superb!!!

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Realityck

27 months ago

OTA showed up finally just now (iOS/UPadOS 17.4 beta 3)

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

craigcoffee

27 months ago

no of course not. that's not what i meant.
what i meant was that it release software (and hardware product too) in unfinished state, that didn't undergo proper quality testing. the user/buyer are now considered as beta testers even though they buy product and software labeled as stable.
think about those:

- magic mouse: barely usable, it register lots of false events as soon as you put your hand on it. plus the need to put it belly up to charge. this obviously wasn't properly designed, and full quality testing would have indicated there was issues to be solved before putting it on sale.
- butterfly keyboard (same, not enough quality testing, bad design)
- touchbar (mine broke under 1 year, bad quality components used most probably, unsufficient quality testing, not to mention most people disliked it and apple had to scrap the darn thing.)
- more and more bugs on macos, they release new features that still contain problems and then they are very slow at acknowledging / fixing them (read: it takes years, all the while new customers buy the hardware with an ever growing list of bugs, old and new ones)
- apple pencil/ipad (the bug is on the ipad, the software that handle the pencil input)
- airpod max (condensation build up and can break the headset, plus no power button, missing codecs, average-ok sound quality for a very expensive product, etc.. not enough quality testing/ bad design, yet released on unsuspecting customers).

just to name a few..

This post and thread is about iOS 17.4 beta3. You should find a more appropriate place to complain about your butterfly keyboard friend.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)