Apple Seeds iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 Release Candidates to Developers

Apple today seeded the release candidates of its upcoming iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 updates to developers. The release candidates come one week after the fourth seed of the betas.

The developer beta builds are available to developers who opt into the betas by going to “Settings” -> “Software Update,” then tapping on the “Beta Updates” option and turning on the iOS 17 Developer Beta. An Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

iOS 17.2 adds the Journal app, which allows iPhone and iPad users to record their daily activities and thoughts. The app offers prompts that can be used as inspiration for entries, and journal entries can include images, voice recordings, location tags, and more.

Collaborative playlists come to Apple Music, allowing users to create playlists that multiple people contribute to, and there’s also now a Favorites playlist that includes all of the music you’ve favorited. Stickers can be used as tapback reactions in the Messages app, the Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro models can now be set to start. new Translate function and Apple has included support for iMessage Contact Key Verification.

New Weather and Clock widgets are part of the update, along with tweaks to the TV app, updates to Message syncing across devices, new Memoji options, and more.

Apple’s full release notes for the update are below.

This update introduces Journal, an all-new way to reflect on life’s moments and preserve your memories. This release also includes Action button and Camera enhancements, as well as other features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone.

Journal
– Journal is a new app that lets you write about the small moments and big events in your life so you can practice gratitude and improve your wellbeing
– Journaling suggestions make it easy to remember your experiences by intelligently grouping your outings, photos, workouts, and more into moments you can add to your journal
– Filters let you quickly find bookmarked entries or show entries with attachments so you can revisit and reflect on key moments in your life
– Scheduled notifications help you keep a consistent journaling practice by reminding you to write on the days and time you choose
– Option to lock your journal using Touch ID or Face ID
iCloud sync keeps your journal entries safe and encrypted on iCloud

Action Button
– Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language

Camera
– Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro
– Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

Messages
– Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner
– Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble
– Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji
– Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend

Weather
– Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days
– New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like, and wind speed
– Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours
– Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
– Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice
– AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together
– Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites
– Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations
– A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy
– Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts
– New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages
– Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity
– Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models
– Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Apple is expected to release iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2 to the public next week.

As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on their daily driver iPhone or iPad. Instead, only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes.