Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 17.4 to developers Thursday, offering a first look at new emoji coming soon to iPhone. For Europeans, the update will be a major one, as it will allow users to sideload apps (among other big changes).
Also on Thursday came the initial betas of iPadOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4. There’s no sign yet of macOS 14.4 beta 1, however.
iOS 17.4 brings changes fun and serious
Apple never stops working on future versions of its operating systems. It’s already well along with iOS 18, and that won’t be released until this fall. In the near term, Apple began testing iOS 17.4 even though iOS 17.3 only launched a couple of days ago.
Word already surfaced that the next version of iOS will bring a fresh crop of emoji. The list includes a phoenix, a breaking chain and other emoji that were approved by the Unicode Consortium last year. (If you like tossing in an emoji every once in a while, do you know how to type the Apple logo emoji? Our how-to will show you the trick .
And it’s possible the update will be the start of a new rule change that permits developers to submit a single app with the ability to stream all the games in a catalog, as well as mini-apps.
But the meat of the iOS 17.4 update is reserved for the European Union. Apple said Thursday that, thanks to the Digital Markets Act, EU residents will get iPhone app sideloading and alternative app stores in the upcoming version. It’ll also usher in more options for default browsers and rendering engines as well as wider access for tap-to-pay payment systems.
iPadOS 17.4 beta 1 includes the same major changes as the iPhone version.
Just for devs
Currently, the first round of OS betas for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV are available only for those in Apple’s developer program.
Those in Apple’s free public beta program will gain access, too, but that might take a while. If Apple follows its usual habits, the second round of betas won’t arrive for two weeks.
The full version of iOS 17 is scheduled to reach iPhone users in March. The iPad and Apple TV variants will likely debut at the same time.
