Three weeks after the release of iOS 17, Apple last week released the third development and public betas of iOS 17.1 for the iPhone. The iPhones of developers and other beta testers who want to see what's coming in future iOS updates are given a few additional features and bug fixes thanks to this beta.
We advise you to only download a beta on a device other than your main one. It's advised to keep these functions on a backup device because iOS 17.1 beta features could be problematic and have poor battery life.
Here are some of the new features in iOS 17.1 beta 3 for developers and public beta testers. Remember that the beta is still running, so when iOS 17.1 is released, there may be other new features that appear on your iPhone as well. The public release date for iOS 17.1 is still unknown.
iPhone 12 radio frequency concerns addressed
The iPhone 12 exceeds the absorption rate restrictions for Europe, according to the National Frequency Agency in France, which made this announcement on September 12. It looks Apple will solve these issues with iOS 17.1.
"iOS 17.1 includes an update for iPhone 12 for users in France to accommodate this specific test protocol that requires reduced power when off-body on a static surface," Apple said on Tuesday. "iPhone 12 will no longer increase the allowed power when the off-body state is detected, such as while it is sitting on a table."
New StandBy mode settings
One of my favorite new iOS features is StandBy mode, and with iOS 17.1 beta 2, Apple has expanded the setup options for StandBy mode. You can set iOS 17.1 beta 2 to switch off StandBy mode after 20 seconds, never, or "Automatically." When your iPhone is not in use and the environment is dark, such as when you are sleeping at night, the display will turn off if you select Automatically, according to Apple.
I only discovered these choices on my iPhone 14 Pro, after checking similar settings on both my iPhone XR and iPhone 14 Pro. This leads me to believe that the new options will be exclusive to iPhones with always-on displays.
Apple Music upgrades
You can now quickly find Favorite music in Apple Music thanks to a new button that was added in iOS 17.1 beta 1. There is a star outline next to the song's title on the iPhone's song card when the song is playing. To add the music to your Favorites, tap this star.
There is a new way to locate all of your favorite albums, playlists, and songs. To locate them, open Apple Music and navigate to the correct category. Then, click the button in the upper-right corner of your screen and select Favorite.
In iOS 17.1 beta 1, Apple Music also provides music suggestions. Go into any of your playlists and scroll to the bottom to find a section labeled Song Suggestions to see them. These tracks were chosen by the app based on your musical preferences.
AirDrop using cellular data
Apple improved AirDrop with NameDrop in iOS 17, which enables two devices to tap each other and exchange contact information—much like swapping digital business cards—by tapping each other's devices. Additionally, when two iPhones are out of range of one another, Apple now allows you to use cellular data to send and receive information using AirDrop in the first beta version of iOS 17.1.
Flashlight symbol in Live Activities
Have you ever unintentionally activated the flashlight on your iPhone only to have someone later point it out to you? That won't be a concern for some iPhone users anymore. When the flashlight is turned on in iOS 17.1 beta 1, a tiny flashlight icon shows in the Live Activities stream at the top of my iPhone 14 Pro's screen. However, I was unable to recreate this sign on my iPhone XR, indicating that this feature is most likely limited to iPhones that support Live Activity, such as the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15 series.
New ringtones are back
New ringtones and text tones were added in iOS 17 when it was published by Apple. The ringtones and text tones were later removed by Apple with iOS 17.1 beta 1, but they now seem to be restored with iOS 17.1 beta 2. On the Ringtone and Text Tone setting pages, you can still locate all the previous tones under Classic.
The third iOS 17.1 beta will include some of the most significant new features, according to developers and beta testers. This does not imply that they are the sole features included in the upcoming iOS update or that the changes will remain in place after iOS 17.1 is made available to the general public.