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Apple today seeded the second betas of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its launch. The second beta comes a little over two weeks after the first beta. The second public beta features the same content that's in the fourth developer beta released last week, although Apple has also seeded a revised version of that developer beta today.

General-iOS-17-Feature-Blue-Green.jpg

In addition to iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, new public betas of tvOS 17, watchOS 10, and HomePod software 17 are also available.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates by opening up the Settings app, going to General, tapping on the Software Update section and toggling on the iOS 17 Public Beta option.

iOS 17 adds a new StandBy option for the iPhone, allowing it to serve as an information hub when it is in a horizontal position and connected to a charger. StandBy mode displays the time, Live Activities, incoming notifications, and tons of widgets.

StandBy-iOS-17.jpg

Speaking of widgets, widgets you use on the Lock Screen and Home Screen are interactive, so you can do things like control a smart light or check off a Reminder without opening an app. Autocorrect is smarter than before, and it's easier to correct mistakes with a quick tap.

AirDrop has a new NameDrop feature for quickly sharing contact information with a person nearby, and the Phone app has customizable Contact Posters that let you choose what people see when you call them.

ios-17-namedrop.jpg

Live Voicemail shows the voicemail that someone is leaving right on your Lock Screen so you can pick up if it's important, and the Messages app has a refined look and a Check-In feature that's meant to help you get to your destination safely.

Live-Voicemail-iOS-17.jpg

FaceTime supports video messages so you can leave a video voicemail if someone misses a call, plus you can use it on the Apple TV. Safari has a locked private browsing window and a password sharing feature, and better tracking prevention. The Maps app now works offline, the Photos app can recognize your pets, and Visual Look Up works with food, symbols, videos, and more.

facetime-video-messages-ios-17.jpg

There's a new mood tracking feature available in the Health app, and later this year, Apple also plans to add a journaling app.

ios-17-mood-updates.jpg

For a complete overview of all of the new features in iOS 17, we have a dedicated iOS 17 roundup. iPadOS 17 also has some iPad-only features like a revamped Lock Screen, with details available in our separate iPadOS 17 roundup.

Apple has also released new public betas of tvOS 17 and watchOS 10.

Article Link: Apple Releases Second Public Betas of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Revised Developer Beta
 
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JCsHands2

macrumors member
May 2, 2013
70
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I’ve been on iOS 17.0 (21A5291j) for 45 seconds and it looks like the bug with new lines in messages has been fixed.
(Edited because bug is changed to but on my first post.)
 
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matthew1128

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2022
15
15
Well, in public beta 2, they adjusted the lowest lockscreen font thickness to be slightly thinner than dev beta 4. That's a plus for me. I hate thick fonts. At lowest level now, it's the almost as thin as ios 10 through 15's lockscreen time.

However, I do wish they would let us have the ultra thin ios 7 type that they were allowing in public beta 1 and up 'til dev beta 3. Maybe in final build?
 
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mkrizan4

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2016
266
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Well, in public beta 2, they adjusted the lowest lockscreen font thickness to be slightly thinner than dev beta 4. That's a plus for me. I hate thick fonts. At lowest level now, it's the same as ios 10 through 15.

However, I do wish they would let us have the ultra thin ios 7 type that they were allowing in public beta 1 and up 'til dev beta 3. Maybe in final build?
Dev Beta 4 Re-release is the same as PB 2..
 

matthew1128

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2022
15
15
Still have that bug i've sent in reports about since ios 16, where often (not always) the homescreen wallpapers' color saturation will dull within a second or two, once you unlock your phone and homescreen appears.You can really see the difference if both your lockscreen and homescreen are set to the same wallpaper.

edit: Video example attached. Happens at the 2 second mark

 
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skiguy45

macrumors member
Aug 17, 2021
90
336
just curious. For those running iOS 17 PB2, on a scale from 1-10 (1=horrible, 10=release level quality) how would you rate:

1) the overall quality (i.e no bugs, no crashes, normal battery drain, etc)

2) app compatibility
 
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EELinneman

macrumors newbie
Mar 10, 2021
2
0
I'm getting repeated failures to install over beta 1 on an iPhone 14 pro max. Plenty of space. Just a generic error and back to beta 1.
 
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