When Will Apple Release the iOS 17.5 Beta? [Update: Now Available]

With iOS software releases, it is typical for Apple to be constantly iterating. When a new version of iOS comes out, a new iOS beta almost always follows the day after. iOS 17.4 was released on Tuesday, March 5, and no iOS 17.5 beta followed as is typical. So when might Apple provide the first iOS 17.5 beta?

iOS 17
It's now been more than three weeks since the launch of iOS 17.4, and pauses like this are unusual, but not unheard of. Sometimes there are droughts because of major features, or holidays, and in this case, it could be both.

Apple is still navigating the app ecosystem changes that were introduced in iOS 17.4, and there are tweaks coming. Apple planned to allow third-party apps to be downloaded only from alternative app marketplaces, but now alternative apps will be provided directly from websites too. The option to download an app from a website has not been introduced as of yet, and it is an unexpected change, so it likely requires some behind the scenes work. There are also other potential changes that Apple must make in the EU as the European Commission investigates its compliance, another factor that may be eating up resources.

This weekend marks the Easter holiday, and holidays can sometimes cause betas to be pushed back too.

When considering these factors, it makes some sense that we haven't yet had an iOS 17.5 beta. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Thursday that Apple's "beta 1 development finishes next week," which suggests that we could see a beta release next week or the week after.

Here are the wait times between .4 public releases and .5 first developer betas from prior years:

  • iOS 13 - 7 days
  • iOS 14 - 6 days
  • iOS 15 - 22 days
  • iOS 16 - 1 day

If iOS 17.5 is released on April 2, it will be 28 days between the prior release and the beta software, and if it comes a week after that, it will have been 35 days.

After the beta does go out, we'll likely see a release sometime during the month of May. Prior .5 public releases have happened on May 18, May 16, April 26, and May 20.

Update: Apple released the first beta of iOS 17.5 to developers on Tuesday, April 2.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

klasma Avatar
8 months ago
Macrumors bot has iOS update anxiety.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomacintosh Avatar
8 months ago
Apple so dead lately media gotta focus on them beta updates lol
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GrayFlannel Avatar
8 months ago
What’s Gurman say?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuzzball84 Avatar
8 months ago
I just don't think there's much in the way of interesting rumours at the moment... I think most of Apples device categories are so well established and have plateaued... that there's not much exciting going on.

Vision Pro is interesting... but its not for most people


If they had a new device, like an Apple TV (with M series SoC) focussed on gaming

Reintroduced iPod as a gaming handheld with 7 inch screen and a clip on controller interface.

Augmented reality glasses that do basic but clever overlays (on thin and light typical glasses)... like being able to flash up a message, a notification warning, weather warning...

A modular Mac mini, or studio, Pro... with a neat internal system for swapping out components with a custom interconnect

A Mac Micro... a Mac the size of a Raspberry Pi that is super efficient but powerful...

iPhone Dock... turn you iPhone into a Desktop by slotting it into a tiny dock system connected to TV or monitor...


Now then Id be super excited and their software would naturally be a lot more interesting in those use cases
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yeah Avatar
8 months ago
They are too busy adding more bugs and heavier battery drainage!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
8 months ago
Looking forward to iOS 18’s Artificial Idiocy
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)