Apple Releases iOS 17.5 Beta 4 Update

Apple has now released the fourth beta version for iOS 17.5. As with the previous release, the update is a bit boring – because you only see marginal changes – most of it is currently happening “under the hood”.

App ecosystem

The new version primarily brings a number of changes that were requested by the EU. There are also improvements and bug fixes.

Apple has distributed the fourth beta update for iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 to developers for testing purposes, exactly a week after the third beta was released – so everything is going according to plan. No major problems have arisen, but there is still no indication as to when the update will be released for all users.

The iOS 17.5 beta includes underpinning changes to enable the sideloading of apps required by the EU after the Digital Markets Act was introduced. There are also enhanced anti-stalking measures for AirTags.

Apart from that, there are only a few changes visible to the user. New adjustments to the Podcasts widget and changes to the settings. The fourth iOS and iPadOS 17.5 beta has build number 21F5073b, while the fourth build of tvOS 17.5 and HomePod Software 17.5 has build number 21L5567a.

There are also code changes that point to new Apple Pencils and a Battery Health feature for the iPad. There is currently no further information about the innovations. Changes that introduce improvements are listed in the release notes.

This is how you take part in the beta program

Participation in the beta program is free of charge and requires a one-time registration for the program at https://beta.apple.com/ on the correspondingly supported device.

This also applies to all beta versions that Apple is testing, i.e. for iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, and TV. Users must enter their Apple ID and then receive the update automatically via the update function. New versions will also automatically arrive on the device. As always, testing the beta is at your own risk and should not run on a production system.