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

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

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
24 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 Avatar
24 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 Avatar
24 months ago
Installed it very smoothly

Battery life has been superb!!!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
24 months ago
OTA showed up finally just now (iOS/UPadOS 17.4 beta 3)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
craigcoffee Avatar
24 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)
srbNYC Avatar
24 months ago
Dictaton of Messages is suddenly not working for me.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)