Apple announced iOS 18 in it WWDC 2024 event on June 10, but don’t forget to check out all the new features the tech giant has included in iOS 17.5. That update was released just over a month ago on May 13, and it brought security patches and a bunch of useful and fun features to iPhone of most people. However, some features are only available to people in the European Union in order to comply with the region’s Digital Markets Act. I previously used iOS 17.5 as a beta and a release candidate and found a new pun for Apple News Plus subscribers and much more.
Here’s what iOS 17.5 brought to your iPhone.
Read more: Why Apple’s WWDC Keynote Changed My Mind About iOS 18
New Quartiles puzzle game for Apple News Plus subscribers
Apple’s iOS 17.5 introduces a new puzzle game, quartiles, in the News app for Apple News Plus subscribers. At the start of each puzzle, you are given a grid of 20 tiles that have word parts on them, such as “to” and “beam”. Then you have to combine these tiles to form different words. Words can be from one to four tiles long, but each grid can be made into five four-tile words — you get more points by matching tiles this way.
If you subscribe to Apple News Plus, which costs $13 (£13, AU$20) a month, you can find Quartiles by going to News > Next > Puzzles and sliding the carousel to the top of the screen. You can also scroll down the puzzle page to find the quarters below mini crossword.
You can get a free three-month trial of Apple News Plus with the purchase of a new one iPhone, iPad OR spades.
Read more: What you need to know about Apple’s new word game quarters
Puzzle leaderboards for Apple News Plus subscribers
In addition to Quartiles, a new feature in iOS 17.5 lets Apple News Plus subscribers easily compare their daily puzzle scores to other people’s. To enable this feature, go to Settings > News and under News+ Puzzles tap the switch next to it Game center.
“Submit your scores to Game Center to see how you rank among friends and other solvers in today’s puzzles,” Apple writes under this setting.
It’s important to note that anyone can enable this setting, but if you don’t have an Apple News Plus subscription, you can’t play the daily puzzles and therefore can’t post anything on these leaderboards.
Apple News Plus gets an offline mode
With iOS 17.5, Apple allows Apple News Plus subscribers to read their favorite publications offline with the new Offline mode. To enable offline mode, go to Settings > News and tap the switch next to it Automatic downloads.
Once enabled, your app can automatically download things like recent stories, puzzles, and audio stories to your device so you can enjoy them when you’re offline. However, you can manage what is downloaded by tapping Download options located below Automatic downloads change Here you can choose what is automatically downloaded to your device.
Detect unknown third-party trackers
In addition to warning you about unknown AirTags traveling with you, with iOS 17.5 your iPhone will now also alert you if it detects an unknown third-party tracking device traveling with you.
Your iPhone can help you detect unknown third-party trackers other than AirTags.
“With this new capability, users will now receive a ‘[Item] Found Moving With You alert on their device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with them over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with,” Apple wrote online.
If you get one of these alerts, your iPhone can make the tracker play a sound so you can find it. Once you’ve found the unknown tracker, your iPhone can view the tracker’s identifier and access instructions to disable it.
These alerts are automatically enabled on your iPhone after you update to iOS 17.5.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Apple’s AirTag
More ways for people in the EU to download apps
With iOS 17.5, Apple now allows people in the EU to download apps from a developer’s website. Apple posted an online guide that can help developers distribute their apps on the web.
“In eligible regions, you may distribute approved, non-marketplace applications from your website,” Apple writes. “To distribute your app, fill out an online form outlining the qualifications, and if approved, Apple enables you to download a framework that facilitates secure installation of your app from your website.”
Developers must also opt-in to the new App Store business terms for the EU and pay a basic technology fee of €0.50 for every first-time app install over 1 million in the last 12 months. But Apple gives developers the first 1 million first-time app installs for free.
“Membership in the Apple Developer Program includes the first one million annual installs per year for free for apps distributed by the App Store, Web Distribution and/or alternative marketplaces,” Apple writes.
Apple announced this capability on March 12, alongside other features specific to EU developers, such as the ability to choose the design of in-app promotions.
This is the latest EU-specific feature coming to the iPhone. When Apple released iOS 17.4 in March, a big part of that update was allowing people in the EU to download alternative app stores in order to comply with the region’s Digital Markets Act.
New Pride Collection Wallpapers
Apple brings a new set of Pride Collection wallpapers to iPhones running iOS 17.5. The backgrounds read “Pride” in five different color schemes inspired by LBGTQ+ communities. You can find these wallpapers by going to Settings > Wallpaper > Add new wallpaper and looking down Pride.
New repair state mode
If you take your iPhone to an Apple Store for repairs, Apple recommends disabling Find My. However, if you try to turn off Find My in the store and you have Stolen device protection activated, to security delay will make you wait an hour to turn off Find My.
With iOS 17.5, you can enable repair mode by entering the Find > My Devices and then select an item associated with your Apple ID, such as iPhone. After selecting this item, tap on Remove this device near the bottom of the menu. You’ll see a popup that says you can’t remove this device, but you can prepare it for repair. If you tap Continue, your device will ask you to enter your Apple ID password. However, you should probably only do this when you’re taking your iPhone in for repairs.
According to 9to5Mac, if you enable this feature at a repair center, an Apple technician will confirm that you have the iPhone in question after observing that you’ve entered your Apple ID password. Once confirmed, the technician will proceed with the repair without interruption from the safety delay.
It’s unclear if there’s a way to get your device out of repair if you flash it prematurely. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
The podcast widget changes color
The Podcast widget can change color to match what you’re listening to.
With iOS 17.5, your Podcast widget will change color depending on the artwork of whatever podcast you’re currently listening to. So if the podcast you’re listening to has red artwork, the widget will turn red.
This aesthetic feature was in some early beta versions of iOS 17.4, but Apple removed it from the public release of that update. In iOS 17.4, Apple also brought transcripts to podcasts, which makes audio media more accessible to more people.
Find recently played podcasts in Spotlight Search.
In iOS 17.5, if you tap Spotlight Search and type podcasts in the search bar, you’ll see recently played podcasts along with the Podcasts app in your Top Hit bar at the top of your screen. However, you only see the last three podcasts you listened to. Also, searching for specific podcasts doesn’t make them appear in your Top Hit bar.
Book app counter tool
It seems that Apple wants to help people achieve their reading goals. With iOS 17.5, the Books app gets a counter in the upper-right corner of the app’s home page. If you tap this counter, the app takes you to your Reading Goals menu. This menu shows you how much time you spent reading today. There is also a button here that reads Explore the Bookstore which opens Book store.
Initially, Books sets your daily reading goal for five minutes a day, but you can change this goal to anywhere between 1 minute or an absurd 1,440 minutes (24 hours) a day — I like to read, but it seems a little aggressive.
Here are the full release notes for iOS 17.5:
This update introduces a new Pride Radiance lock screen wallpaper, improvements to Apple News and other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.
Apple News
Offline mode in Apple News Plus gives you access to the Today feed and the News Plus tab, even when you don’t have an internet connection.
Quartiles is a new and original daily word game now available on Apple News Plus.
The News Plus Puzzles leaderboard gives you access to new player data for the crossword, mini crossword and quarter, including stats and streaks.
Tracking Notifications
Cross-platform tracking detection notifies users if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they don’t own is moving with them, regardless of which operating system the device is paired with.
Some features may not be available in all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
For more on Apple, you can check out everything the company announced at WWDC 2024 and all the features coming to iOS 18. You can also check out how to download the iOS 18 developer beta and why you might want to wait.
Look at this: iOS 18: My 5 favorite features
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Image Source : www.cnet.com
