When Apple releases its next major iPhone update—iOS 17.4—it will be the most feature-rich and wide-ranging mid-cycle release ever. There are new revelations about what’s to come, with more features crammed in than expected. Here are the latest details and exactly when you can get it—the projected release date is at the end.
Apple iOS 17.4: The next software update coming to the iPhone is remarkable.
The EU is changing
If you’re in the European Union, the Digital Markets Act is about to come into effect, and to accommodate the necessary changes, Apple will introduce alternative app markets. You will no longer be limited to buying apps from the App Store. Similarly, it will be easier to access different web browsers besides Safari—you can already choose other browsers, but there will be support for other browsers and when you update, you’ll see a message asking you to choose. There will also be support for other payment methods, the ability to set default NFC and wallet apps in Apple Pay, and more.
These changes are pervasive and will change iPhone forever. At the moment they will only apply to the EU, but you can bet that the UK, US and other governments will be watching and deciding whether they should insist that this opening happen elsewhere.
Home screen web apps
As a result of the DMA, support for web apps on the home screen will be removed in the EU due to security and compatibility issues with other browsers.
Quantum computing for iMessage
The level of security for your messages is about to jump, thanks to something called PQ3, which Apple calls “a revolutionary post-quantum cryptographic protocol that advances the state of the art of secure end-to-end messaging.” You can read all the details about what this entails here. Suffice it to say, it’s a big deal and will protect your messages from future hacks that aren’t yet possible.
New Emoji
I always love it when Apple introduces new emoticons and although there aren’t that many, they are very welcome. Best of all is the phoenix, its wings topped with flames. Then there are two smiling faces, one shaking his head, the other nodding. There’s a mushroom that looks almost real, a similarly photorealistic lime (so sharp it makes you lick your lips in anticipation), and a chain that breaks in two. Suitable for everything from moments of freedom to celebrations of, I don’t know, divorce maybe?
Protection against stolen devices
This is one of the best new features Apple has ever introduced and it’s about to get better. It arrived in iOS 17.3—full details here—and works to limit what can be changed in certain locations, to protect the phone. But if you want these restrictions to be set everywhere, well, with iOS 17.4, you can.
And there’s more
The Battery menu has been upgraded to make it easier to see how its life is doing, and Apple had some surprising news for all iPhone 15 owners about it.
A new full-color welcome screen with your profile picture will appear when you upgrade, as if to say, “Seriously, this is an important update!”
Apple Podcasts is adding support for transcripts, which will be great.
Siri will be able to read messages in multiple languages.
There is an upgrade to CarPlay for certain cars (which has been promised for a long time).
German users can now say “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri”, although to be honest, I still always say hey. It’s kind of friendly.
Release date
So when can you access this cornucopia of riches? When exactly? 10am pacific time. Oh wait, you want a date too? Very good.
The reason I put the EU changes at the top, even though they won’t affect all readers, is that the DMA defines the publication date. That law comes into effect on Wednesday, March 6. So it will be then or earlier, for sure.
Since 10am PT is 7pm CET, I don’t think it can be Wednesday March 6th. I think Apple will implement the EU changes at the last possible moment, which means: Tuesday, March 5th. Tuesday is Apple’s favorite day out. However, I still think Apple will probably do things the orderly way and release it on their second favorite day of the week: Monday.
Things might change, but I believe you should be ready to download this great update from 10am PT on Monday, March 4th.