iOS 17.5 could be focusing on the European Union, where Apple is still adjusting to the Digital Markets Act enforced by the European Commission, and where everything is changing at an unprecedented pace.
Meanwhile, Apple has officially started beta testing iOS 17.5 with developers and public beta users. The update brings several new features and changes, and it is expected to be released sometime next month. Below, we will tell you everything we know.
When will iOS 17.5 be released?
If we base ourselves on previous iOS updates, it is very likely that iOS 17.5 will be released worldwide in mid-May, as the betas have started in April. So far, two betas of iOS 17.5 have been released since April 17th.
What’s new in iOS 17.5? Although iOS 17.5 is not as big of an update as other iOS 17 updates, it includes a good amount of new features and updates.
Web distribution in the EU
In the European Union, the latest iOS 17.5 update introduces the possibility of installing applications directly from the developer’s website. Apple introduced this new “web distribution” feature last month, explaining that it allows developers to distribute their iOS applications directly from their own websites.
To use this functionality, developers must comply with the updated commercial terms of the App Store, which require the payment of a technology fee of 0.50 euros for each first installation that exceeds one million in the last 12 months.
Any web-distributed application must continue to comply with Apple’s notarization guidelines. Applications can only be installed from a web domain that the developer has registered in App Store Connect. Apple will also provide a series of APIs for developers to integrate with system functions.
Apple has confirmed that iOS 17.5 beta includes support for web distribution. However, currently there are no developers offering their applications through this new web distribution feature.
New game for Apple News+
In the Apple News app, subscribers of Apple News+ in the United States and Canada will find a new word game called “Quartiles” after updating to iOS 17.5. The game asks players to select words formed from a grid of tiles.
Quartiles is the third game to arrive on Apple News+, following the crossword and daily crossword mini-games that were added last year.
iOS 17.5 also adds Game Center integration to the three Apple News+ games. With this feature, you can now view leaderboards for each of the three games, with daily completion time statistics and daily score.
Fight against geolocation harassment
According to the code discovered by 9to5Mac, iOS 17.5 appears to incorporate a new system focused on anti-harassment capabilities for accessories like AirTags. This development follows Apple’s announcement last year of a partnership with Google to collaborate on a new “industry specification to combat unwanted tracking.”
The strings added to the Find My app reveal that iOS will be able to identify tracking accessories, even those that are not certified by Apple or Find My, and help users disable them.
One of the new strings says: “This article is not certified on Apple’s Find My network. You have the option to disable this article and prevent it from sharing its location with the owner. To continue, follow the instructions provided on a website by the manufacturer of this article.”
These changes are happening because Google began implementing its new Find My Device network for Android on April 8th.
