The first public beta of iOS 17.4 has been released (here's why you can skip it)

iOS 17.4 will be released soon and Apple is already testing this new version of iOS 17. The first public beta of iOS 17.4 has now been released. With many new functions – but you can't do anything with it yet.

The first public beta of iOS 17.4 was released a week after the first developer beta. Apple has re-released the first beta to developers. Beta versions always reveal new features. What can you expect soon on your iPhone?

If you want to download apps to your iPhone, the App Store is the place to be. But starting with iOS 17.4, Apple – under pressure from the EU – also allowed competing app stores. This is called sideloading and you can read more about it in our article about alternative app stores. By the way: There are currently no alternative app stores, so it's not useful to you yet.

Cut from the same cloth: Apple should open up the NFC chip to other providers. Currently, you can only pay via Apple Pay and Wallet, but soon it should also be possible directly via banking apps, for example. But here too, there are practically no providers yet, so you can't try it yet.

Then there is a third new feature that you cannot use right away: installing alternative browsers, for example Chrome. You might be thinking: Isn't this already possible? Not really: developers still have to use Apple's technology, but soon they will also be allowed to use their own technology, which means they can also use their own accessories, for example. Can you read about this in Browsing the Internet using your iPhone? This changes from iOS 17.4.

Are there any innovations in iOS 17.4 that you can use? certainly! A whole host of new emojis will soon debut on iPhone. Also new is that you can now view and play the stopwatch in iOS 17.4 from Dynamic Island.

Right now, iOS 17.4 is only in the testing phase, so it will take some time before the update is available. iOS 17.4 is expected to be released sometime in late February or early March. In any case, before March 7, when new EU regulations come into force.