With the paint barely dry on yesterday’s iOS 17.0.2 and watchOS 10.0.2 releases, Apple is now rolling out the primary main level launch betas of this 12 months’s huge OS updates to builders.
This contains iOS 17.1 for the iPhone, watchOS 10.1 for the Apple Watch, iPadOS 17.1 for the iPad, tvOS 17.1 for the Apple TV, and even macOS 14.1. That final one comes solely a day after the general public launch of macOS Sonoma.
Whereas Apple’s developer launch notes for the iOS 17.1 beta are comparatively sparse, mentioning just some minor fixes for widgets and a few identified Pockets & Apple Pay points, it appears to be like like iOS 17.1 may very well be including a number of the iOS 17 options that have been promised for “later this 12 months.”
What’s New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1
First, we have now some good news for Apple Mail followers: iOS 17.1 beta 1 returns the advised folder function when transferring messages. This mysteriously disappeared late within the iOS 17 beta cycle, but it surely seems it was certainly a bug and will likely be returning in iOS 17.1.
Additional, whereas there’s no indication that the extra distinguished tri-tone app notification sound is returning, iOS 17.1 does restore the lacking customized tones for textual content and electronic mail notifications, so that is one other one which we will chalk as much as a bug in iOS 17.0.
The primary iOS 17.1 beta additionally provides help for AirDrop transfers over the Web. Apple introduced this function could be a part of iOS 17 throughout its June Worldwide Builders Convention, but it surely didn’t make the minimize for iOS 17.0, maybe as a result of Apple wanted to get its background server infrastructure able to help it.
Whereas it’s not clear if the function is absolutely operational but, the primary iOS 17.1 beta provides the underlying help, suggesting that it needs to be prepared for the general public launch within the coming weeks. A brand new possibility in Settings means that you can select whether or not you need transfers to proceed over mobile connections whenever you transfer out of AirDrop vary or restrict them to Wi-Fi to save lots of knowledge.
The primary iOS 17.1 beta additionally provides the flexibility to mark songs, albums, artists, and playlists as Favorites within the Music app. These will finally contribute to an routinely generated Favorite Songs playlist. That’s not right here but, however it could present up in a later beta.
Apple can even allow you to customise the look of your playlists by selecting a picture from a library of summary backgrounds along with your playlist title overlaid on prime. You’ll find this by tapping the three-dot menu whereas viewing a playlist and selecting Edit from the menu that pops up. It’s a refreshing change from the two×2 grid of album art work that ought to present a much less cluttered and extra engaging playlist view.
Sadly, there’s no signal of the Collaborative Apple Music Playlists, but it surely’s too early to rule out the likelihood that these may nonetheless make it into later betas in time to be a part of the ultimate iOS 17.1 launch.
There’s additionally no excellent news for these hoping the brand new iPhone 15 battery well being options would come to older iPhone fashions; this additionally continues to be restricted to the iPhone 15 lineup in iOS 17.1, at the very least for now.
The opposite huge factor we’re ready for is Apple’s new Journal app, however since that’s anticipated to be a separate app, it might not be tied to an iOS 17 level launch and will probably come at any time.
What’s New in watchOS 10.1 Beta 1
The primary watchOS 10.1 beta additionally has a couple of tips up its sleeve, most notably the addition of help for NameDrop.
Though iOS 17.0 permits iPhone house owners to share contact data with NameDrop between two iPhones, Apple additionally promised that this could work between an iPhone and an Apple Watch. Nonetheless, that was conspicuously absent in watchOS 10.0, with the advantageous print saying it will be coming “in an replace later this 12 months.
With watchOS 10.1, NameDrop not solely arrives to help contact sharing with an iPhone but in addition between two Apple Watches. It is smart that you need to be capable to do that, however Apple hadn’t beforehand talked about the likelihood, so it’s a pleasant shock.
Nonetheless, there’s a catch. Whereas watchOS 10 could be put in on any Apple Watch going again to the 2018 Sequence 4, NameDrop requires an Apple Watch Sequence 7 or later, together with the Apple Watch SE 2 and any Apple Watch Extremely.
The Apple Watch Sequence 9 and Apple Watch Extremely 2 are additionally lacking the brand new Double Faucet gesture in watchOS 10. Whereas the primary watchOS 10.1 developer beta doesn’t present any strategy to change this on, the parents at 9to5Mac have discovered code hidden within the new beta that confirms it’s coming in watchOS 10.1, so we think about it’ll seem later within the beta cycle.