iOS 17.5: Check out these iPhone features before the release of iOS 18

Apple announced iOS 18 on your own WDC 2024 the event will take place on June 10, but be sure to check out all the new features the tech giant has found in iOS 17.5. This update was released just over a month ago on May 13 and included security fixes and some useful and interesting features. iPhones most people. However, some features are only available to people in the European Union to ensure compliance with the regional Digital Markets Act. I previously used iOS 17.5 as a beta and release candidate, and found a new word game for Apple News Plus subscribers and much more.

Here’s what iOS 17.5 brought to your iPhone.

Read more: Why Apple’s WWDC presentation changed my mind about iOS 18

New Quartiles puzzle game for Apple News Plus subscribers

Apple’s iOS 17.5 introduces a new puzzle game, Quartiles, to the News app for Apple News Plus subscribers. At the start of each puzzle you are given a grid of 20 tiles with parts of words such as “te” and “tra”. You then need to connect these tiles to create different words. Words can be one to four tiles long, but each grid can be made into five four-tile words – you’ll get the most points by connecting the tiles this way.

If you subscribe to Apple News Plus, which costs $13 (£13, AU$20) per month, you can find the Quartiles by going to News > Following > Puzzles and moving the carousel at the top of the screen. You can also scroll down Puzzle page to find the quartiles under the crossword minis.

When you purchase a new one, you can get a free three-month trial of Apple News Plus iPhone, iPad Or Duster.

Read more: What you need to know about Apple’s new word game quartiles

Leaderboards with puzzles for Apple News Plus subscribers

In addition to quartiles, a new feature in iOS 17.5 allows Apple News Plus subscribers to easily compare their daily puzzle scores with those of others. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Messages and below News+ Puzzles tap the switch next to it Game Center.

“Send your scores to Game Center to see how you rank among your friends and others solving today’s puzzles,” Apple writes as part of this setting.

Please note that anyone can turn on this setting, but if you don’t have an Apple News Plus subscription, you can’t play the daily puzzles and therefore can’t post anything to these leaderboards.

Apple News Plus gets an offline mode

In iOS 17.5, Apple allows Apple News Plus subscribers to read their favorite publications offline with a new offline mode. To enable offline mode, go to Settings > Messages and tap the switch next to it Automatic download.

Once enabled, the app can automatically download the latest stories, puzzles and audio stories to your device so you can enjoy them when you’re offline. However, you can manage what will be downloaded by tapping Download options located under Automatic download switch. Here you can choose what will be automatically downloaded to your device.

Detect unknown third-party trackers

In addition to alerting you about unknown AirTags traveling with you, in iOS 17.5 your iPhone will now also alert you if it detects an unknown third-party tracker traveling with you.

“With this new feature, users will now receive a ‘(item) moving with you’ notification on their device if they notice an unknown Bluetooth tracker moving with them over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with.” – Apple wrote on the Internet.

If you receive one of these alerts, your iPhone tracker will play a sound so you can find it. When an unknown tracker is found, your iPhone may display the tracker ID and provide instructions on how to disable it.

These alerts are automatically enabled on your iPhone after you update to iOS 17.5.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Apple’s AirTags

More app download options for EU residents

With iOS 17.5, Apple now allows users in the EU to download apps from the developer’s website. Apple has published an online guide that can help developers distribute their apps across the Internet.

“In eligible regions, you can distribute approved out-of-market apps on your website,” Apple writes. “To distribute the app, please complete the online qualifications form, and if approved, Apple will allow you to download a framework that helps securely install the app from your website.”

Developers must also agree to the new EU App Store business terms and pay a core technology fee of €0.50 for each first app install of more than 1 million in the last 12 months. However, Apple gives developers the first million app installs for free.

“Apple Developer Program membership includes one million free first installs per year of apps distributed from the App Store, online distribution and/or alternative marketplaces,” Apple writes.

Apple announced this capability on March 12, along with other EU-specific developer features such as the ability to choose an in-app promotion design.

This is the latest EU-specific feature to come to iPhone. When Apple released iOS 17.4 in March, much of the update allowed EU residents to download alternative app stores to comply with the regional Digital Markets Act.

New wallpapers from the Pride collection

Apple is rolling out a new set of Pride wallpapers to iPhones running iOS 17.5. The background features the word “Pride” in five different color schemes inspired by LBGTQ+ communities. You can find these wallpapers by going to Settings > Wallpaper > Add new wallpaper and I look under Pride.

New repair status mode

If you take your iPhone to an Apple store for repairs, Apple recommends turning off Find My. However, if you try to disable Find My in the store and this happens Stolen device protection turned on, security delay will make you wait an hour before turning off Find My.

In iOS 17.5, you can enable repair mode by going to Find my > Devices then select the item associated with your Apple ID, such as iPhone. Once you have selected this item, tap Remove this device at the bottom of the menu. You will see a pop-up saying that you cannot remove this device, but you can prepare it for repair. If you tap Continue, your device will ask you to enter your Apple ID password. However, you should probably only do this if you’re taking your iPhone in for repair.

According to 9to5Mac, if you enable this feature in the repair center, an Apple technician will confirm that the iPhone in question is yours after checking how you enter your Apple ID password. Once confirmed, the technician will proceed with the repair without interruption due to safety delay.

It’s unclear if there’s a way to remove your device from repair status if you prematurely switch it to a new mode. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The podcast widget changes color

In iOS 17.5, the podcast widget will change color depending on the cover of the podcast you’re currently listening to. So if the podcast you’re listening to has red graphics, the widget will turn red.

This aesthetic feature was available in some early beta versions of iOS 17.4, but Apple removed it from the public version of this update. In iOS 17.4, Apple also added transcripts to podcasts, making audio media more accessible to more people.

Find recently played podcasts in Spotlight

In iOS 17.5, if you tap Search in Spotlight and type podcasts in the search bar, you’ll see recently played podcasts next to the Podcasts app in the top hits bar at the top of the screen. However, you only see the last three podcasts you listened to. Additionally, searching for specific podcasts does not show them in the top hits bar.

Books app counter tool

It seems like Apple wants to help people achieve their reading goals. In iOS 17.5, the Books app displays a counter in the upper right corner of the app’s home page. If you tap this counter, the app will take you to the reading goals menu. This menu shows how much time you spent reading today. There is also a button here that reads Explore the bookstore which opens Bookstore.

Initially, Books sets your daily reading goal for five minutes a day, but you can change that goal to anything from 1 minute to a ridiculous 1,440 minutes (24 hours) a day – I like reading, but it seems a little aggressive to me.

Here are the full release notes for iOS 17.5:

This update brings a new Pride Radiance lock screen wallpaper, improvements to Apple News and other features, bug fixes and security updates for your iPhone.

Apple News

Offline mode in Apple News Plus lets you access Today channels and News Plus tabs even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Quartiles is a new and original daily word game now available on Apple News Plus.

The News Plus Puzzles leaderboard gives you access to new player data for crosswords, mini-crosswords and quartiles, including statistics and streaks.

Tracking notifications

Cross-Platform Tracking Detection provides users with notifications if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they don’t have moves with them, regardless of the operating system the device is paired with.

Some features may not be available in all regions or on all Apple devices. For information about the security content of Apple software updates, visit the following website:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

For more on Apple, read everything the company announced at WWDC 2024 and all the features available in iOS 18. You can also learn how to download the iOS 18 developer beta and why it’s worth the wait.