Apple has yet to release the first beta of iOS 17.5 for the iPhone, but two changes are already expected with the upcoming software update.
iOS 17.5 will likely allow iPhone users in the EU to download apps directly from the websites of eligible developers, and the update might include some changes to how Apple ID recovery contacts work. More details about these potential changes follow.
Web Distribution
Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to EU users directly from a website they own. Apple said this new "Web Distribution" feature will be available starting "later this spring" with an upcoming software update for the iPhone, which presumably refers to iOS 17.5.
"Web Distribution" will be limited to larger developers based in the EU. To qualify for this distribution method, Apple says the developer must be a member of the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more, and have an app that had more than one million annual installs on iOS in the EU in the prior calendar year.
"Web Distribution" builds upon the alternative app marketplaces that Apple already allows on the iPhone in the EU starting with iOS 17.4. Apple has made these app-related changes to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act.
Apple ID Recovery Contact Changes
iOS 17.5 may include some changes to Apple ID recovery contacts, according to known tipster Nicolás Álvarez. However, he did not share any specific details, and he said there is a chance that the changes would not be visible to users.
Setting up recovery contacts for your Apple ID can help to ensure that you always have access to your account, even if you forget the password or a linked device's passcode.
iOS 17.5 will likely be released to the public before the end of May.
In a social media post last week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple would finish internal development of the first beta of iOS 17.5 this week. However, it is unclear if that means the first beta will be released this week or later.
Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, ...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.
Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 1:51 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically.
The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged.
The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions.
Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...
"Web Distribution" will be limited to larger developers based in the EU. To qualify for this distribution method, Apple says the developer must be a member of the Apple Developer Program for two continuous years or more, and have an app that had more than one million annual installs on iOS in the EU in the prior calendar year.
I do not understand how this could possibly work. ??♂️
Let’s take Spotify for example, that meet Apple criteria. Most people looking for it will search straight on Apple’s AppStore, rather than head to Spotify’s website.
If we are talking about something not accepted at AppStore (e.g. BitTorrent clients), how will these developers manage to meet Apple conditions in the first place, as the only way to be installed on iOS device during the last year would be via the AppStore?
The simplicity of the App Store model was incredible back in 2008.
The world was a different place, the generally public wasn’t as tech savvy as they are now and software distribution was entirely different. Not to mention all the benefits in enterprise that came with MDM and VPP through the App Store.
Very backwards looking take.
It was fun because it was novel, but it never grew out of its limitations. It's had 16 years, and I repeat again, they still treat digital software products like music singles. They are not the same. Van Halen doesn't need to re-issue Panama every fall to allow consumers to continue to listen to it.
They've patched over handfuls of issues by forcing developers to force users into perpetual subscriptions.
The App Store set the whole industry back, as both Microsoft and Google have copied this model, and it undid a lot of the mid-2000's progress that'd been made in normalizing open source software, largely by web developers.
As for the public being more tech savvy, that's false. I'm not sure you understand what's gone on in UX since then. It's a paradigm called "Don't make me think." People expect one-click buttons to handle all complexities for them. They're not more savvy, product managers and UX designers have gotten better at babying users from complexities.
As for MDM and such, you maybe just aren't familiar with legacy network administration. Same stuff was always done using ActiveDirectory and Group Policy. Microsoft had a bunch of other enterprise geared technologies, like ClickOnce, too.
It shocks me how many people on here can't see what's happened and the dysfunction they're living under.
