iOS 17.4 RC Released - What's New?
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Brandon covers the release of iOS and iPadOS 17.4 release candidate to developers and public beta testers. He highlights new features like adding identified songs to Apple Music playlists, displaying business logos for call ID, iMessage encryption enhancements, and new emoji. He tests performance which seems great so far and shows Geekbench scores. Brandon expects the public release next week, likely Monday March 4th, with iOS 17.5 betas to follow. WatchOS, macOS, and tvOS RCs aren't released yet so should come later this week or after iOS 17.4 public release.
Takeaways
- 😀 Apple released iOS 17.4 RC and other beta software updates to developers and public beta testers
- 📱 iOS 17.4 RC build number is 21E5217 with modem firmware 1.55.04
- 🆕 New features include adding songs from Music Recognition to playlists, business name in Caller ID, and new emoji
- 🔋 Battery life seems improved over iOS 17.3 in testing
- 🎵 Changes in Music app: Listen Now renamed to Home, Monthly Replay
- 🎙 Podcast transcripts now more accessible with text sizing, contrast changing, VoiceOver support
- ⛔ Still no NFC setting in privacy or animation fix when searching podcast transcripts
- 📈 Geekbench scores slightly higher single-core and slightly lower multi-core vs beta 4
- 🔜 Expect iOS 17.4 final release likely next Monday, March 4
- 🌀 iOS 17.5 beta 1 could also come next week after 17.4 release
Q & A
What version of iOS was released as an RC build?
-iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 were released as RC (release candidate) builds.
What is the build number for the iOS 17.4 RC release?
-The build number for the iOS 17.4 RC release is 21E217.
What new music recognition feature was added in iOS 17.4?
-A new feature was added that allows you to add identified songs directly to your Apple Music playlists and library.
What change was made to call identification in iOS 17.4?
-Call identification now displays an Apple verified business name logo, department name when available.
What bug was fixed related to the Find My widget?
-A bug was fixed where the Find My widget would fail to show a contact's picture around 50-60% of the time.
What change was made to the battery settings page?
-The battery health information is now shown on the main battery settings page before entering a submenu.
What new emojis were added in iOS 17.4?
-New mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chain and shaking heads emojis were added along with 18 new people/body emojis.
What enhancement was made to Apple Podcast transcriptions?
-Accessibility features were added like adjustable text size, increased contrast and VoiceOver support.
When is iOS 17.4 expected to be publicly released?
-iOS 17.4 is expected to be publicly released on Monday, March 4th.
Could there be an iOS 17.4 RC2 release?
-It's unlikely but possible if issues are found in testing that need to be addressed quickly.
Outlines
📱 Overview of iOS 17.4 RC Release
The paragraph provides an overview of the iOS 17.4 RC (Release Candidate) version that was released by Apple. It discusses the version number, build details, update size, new features like music recognition additions, call ID changes, messages for business context, bug fixes, new emoji, Siri language support changes, and expectations for the final 17.4 release.
🎧 Enhancements to Apple Music and Podcasts
The paragraph talks about some of the changes related to Apple Music and Podcasts in iOS 17.4 RC. This includes a new Home tab, monthly replay, podcast transcriptions being more accessible, and a bug with the podcast search animation.
📈 Performance and Release Plans for 17.4 and 17.5
The paragraph discusses the performance, battery life impressions, Geekbench scores, and release timeline expectations for iOS 17.4 and 17.5 going forward. It also mentions how the RC version has only been released so far for iOS and iPadOS, with other platforms pending.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡iOS 17.4 RC
💡battery health
💡Apple music transcriptions
💡EU law
💡music recognition
💡call identification
💡messages for business
💡new emoji
💡imessage encryption
💡iOS 17.5
Highlights
Apple released the release candidate version of iOS and iPadOS 17.4 to developers and public beta testers
New features allow adding identified songs to Apple Music playlists and library after using Music Recognition
Call Identification now displays verified business names, logos and department names when available
Messages for business provides trusted information for transactions you opt into
The Find My widget now properly shows contact pictures
New mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chain and shaking heads emoji added
Apple Podcast transcriptions now available for accessibility features
Siri can now respond in a combination of English and Hindi
iOS 17.4 RC performance and battery life feel great so far
Expect iOS 17.4 final release likely on Monday, March 4
First betas of iOS 17.5 could come next week after 17.4 release
WatchOS, macOS and tvOS RCs not released yet, could come later this week
Apple prioritizing iOS 17.4 release due to EU sideloading laws
Geekbench scores slightly higher single-core and lower multi-core
Make sure to follow on Twitter for the latest software release news
Transcripts
what's up guys my name is Brandon and
today Apple released the RC or release
candidate version of iOS and iPad OS
17.4 to both register developers and to
public beta testers now along with this
release we also got watchos 10.4 beta 5
Mac osoma 14.4 beta 5 tbos 17.4 beta 5
and also Vision OS 1.1 beta 4 now for
older devices we did also get iOS and
iPad OS 16.7 point6 RC and iOS and iPad
OS 15.8 point2 RC but of course in this
video we're talking all about iOS and
iPad OS 17.4 RC so you can see the size
came in at 6.46 GB on my 15 Pro Max and
that size is only large because we're
going from a beta to a final release
which the RC is typically the final
release the same version same build
number that everybody will get in the
public next week so that is why the size
is large if you're coming from 17.31 and
going to 17.4 you're not going to see a
6 gbyte file next week but anyways let's
look at the new build number for this
iOS 17.4 RC so it's 21e
217 and if we go back and check out the
modem firmware that is 1. 155.0 4 all
right so now what's new here in iOS 17.4
RC now I'm going to focus on on
different features and changes that we
did not already cover beforehand so if
you want to see every single new feature
and change in iOS 17.4 that will be in
my official what's new video which is
coming next week when 17.4 releases to
the general public so as usual Apple
released a big log of release notes Here
4 17.4 and there were a few things in
there that were not covered beforehand
so the first thing I want to talk about
is this one right here where it says
music recognition lets you to add songs
you've identified to your Apple music
playlists and Library as well as Apple
music classical so if we go into our
Control Center and go to our music
recognition toggle right there the
Shazam one we're going to tap and hold
to see our history so these were all the
songs that I you know heard and I wanted
to know the name of it so we have this
one right here that I just did for this
test and you can see that now it shows
not only Apple music which it showed
that beforehand but we also have this
add to button and now when you tap on
that you will have to you know give uh
Shazam access to your Apple music
account but you can see you can
automatically add songs to a specific
playlist after you identify them with
music recognition which is pretty cool
and of course this does also work for
Apple music classical as well if you
maybe you know played a classical song
that's available in that application
this update also includes a change to
call identification so it now displays
Apple verified business name logo and
Department name when available there's
also some additional context surrounding
the change in settings messages and then
down here near the bottom we have
messages for business there's some new
context around this so Apple says
business updates and messages for
business provides trusted information
for order status flight notifications
fraud alerts or other transactions you
opt into there's also a bug fix for the
find my widget so it now shows the
contact picture whereas before on 17 .3
and
17.31 that would be blank like 50 to 60%
of the time there's also a fix for dual
SIM users where the phone number changes
from primary to secondary and is visible
to a group they have messaged now
there's also a change to one of the big
changes in the settings so if you go
into your settings on an iPhone 15 or 15
Pro device and go into battery we now
have battery health and it shows normal
right here before you even go into a
section whereas before you would have to
click into there to see your maximum
capacity now that's not what's new here
that was in previous betas of 17.4
what's new is that when you go under
battery health and tap on the about
battery and warranty section that text
is now larger than it was on beta 4 so
you can see beta 4 on the left beta 5 on
the right so it looks like some
formatting changes and also some changes
to the font size also the first time I
opened up the music application I got
this splash screen that says what's new
in apple music and it shows monthly
replay and listen now is now home so
what that's talking about is on the
little tab bar down here in the bottom
it now says home instead of listen now
and that's also across other
applications like podcasts as well as
you can see down here there's also new
Emoji in iOS 17.4 and apple describes
what these are specifically in the
release notes which is pretty
interesting so they say new mushroom
Phoenix lime broken chain and shaking
heads Emoji along with 18 people and
body emoji emoi and which we've already
showed but these are what the new Emoji
look like in 17.4 also mentioned is that
Apple podcast transcriptions are also
available for accessibility so you can
change the text size increase contrast
and have voice over for podcast
transcriptions which if you don't know
what that is if you've not been
following the betas if you go into one
of your podcasts you can see down in the
bottom left now on the now playing
screen you have a new lyrics icon which
will open up the transcriptions and it
Act just as lyrics do in apple music so
it goes along with the voice so you can
see it goes along in real time with the
voice of the podcast you could also tap
here you could search the transcript or
you could also tap on the top right to
go to the three dots and then go to view
transcript and you can see the entire
thing outlined right here but
unfortunately Apple did not fix the
clunky animation when you tap to search
in the podcast you can see that has that
really clunky slow animation there so
I'll show you one more time it take a
look right here it kind of drops down so
this might be the new notification
center bug that never gets fixed for you
know a year so hopefully Apple fixes
that in the next version also I did want
to point out that there are no
indicators of the new iMessage
encryption enhancements with 17.4 here
in the RC release they're just all on
the back end which if you don't know
what I'm talking about just go back and
watch my Apple weekly episode from
Saturday also if you go into your
settings and into privacy and security
we still have not seen the return of the
N f c section that was here in the
privacy and security section in beta 1
so for some reason that was never added
back to iOS 17.4 but we do have pass
Keys access for web browsers that's new
in 17.4 that remained until the final
release anyways moving on to the release
notes here there's only two new features
that have been added to the release
notes going from beta 4 to the RC so no
bug fixes just some changes here some
additions and you can see the first one
has to do with Siri so it says Siri can
respond in a combination of English and
Hindi depending on the primary language
you use to interact with Siri and then
there's also a new feature under
gestures and reactions for developers
now as far as the performance goes here
on iOS 17.4 the RC release it feels
great I mean I've really had no issues
yet of course it's only been about an
hour and a half since I installed the
software but still no issues that of
note you know at least not yet I will
give you guys an update in my app weekly
episode on Saturday if anything changes
and same goes with battery life you guys
will have to tell me what I started this
video with but it seems like battery
life is holding up great here and I
really started noticing that with beta 4
so I would assume that iOS 17.4 battery
life in general will be better than 17.3
and
17.31 at least from my experience which
I have been using it on my main device
as well so I have pretty good experience
with 17.4 and it seems to be better now
I I just realized I forgot to show the
geekbench scores here for iOS 17.4 RC so
you can see 2951 on the single core 7299
on the multicore so we can see how that
compares to the previous build which was
beta 4 and it does have a higher single
core but a very slightly lower multicore
score so take these all with a grain of
salt it's not really indicative of dayto
day usage but it is always interesting
to log these all right so now let's talk
about what to expect next from Apple so
next up is going to be the final release
of iOS 17.4 and I would expect to see
that next week most likely on Monday
March 4th now it could potentially go
until Tuesday or Wednesday but I highly
doubt it Apple typically releases final
versions of software on Mondays so we
should see that on Monday March 4th
around the same time as usual now we
could also see the first betas of iOS
17.5 go out next week as well so Apple
typically releases the next versions
betas pretty much the day after or that
same week of the final release so we
should see 17.5 beta 1 next week but it
could also be pushed until the week
following you really never know with
apple these days and I do also want to
touch on the other versions that got
released today because if you noticed in
the beginning we only got the RC version
for iOS and iPad OS so watch OS Mac OS
and tvos are not on the RCs verion yet
so that means that either they're going
to be released later this week or
they're just going to be released after
the iOS and iPad OS updates which I
think that's less likely but it seems
like we might be seeing the RC version
for watch OS Mac OS and tvos later this
week I don't necessarily think that this
means we're going to get an rc2 for iOS
17.4 I mean it's not out of the question
it is possible but I don't think that
that is Apple's plan right now I think
they're just going to release those at a
later time because once again if you
forgot Apple is you know abiding by EU
law they have to have 17.4 out by next
week because of the whole side loing
issue so that's why apple is in a hurry
to release iOS 17.4 and not necessarily
watch OS Mac OS or tvos so we'll have to
wait and see of course make sure to
follow me over on X or Twitter for the
latest on these software releases but
anyways that is IOS 17.4 the RC version
make sure to stay tuned for my final
release video that's coming next week
when 17.4 is released to the general
public but if you guys enjoy this video
as always I would appreciate if you give
it a thumbs up also make sure to
subscribe for a lot more videos just
like this one but anyways guys thanks
again for watching and I'll see you soon
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