Apple’s next iPhone update—unless there’s another surprise mini-update like iOS 17.3.1—will be iOS 17.4. Unusually, Apple has given us a clue as to when it will come, though this article is about pinning down the date as much as we can.
Some of the update, though far from all of it, is about complying with the European Union, whose Digital Markets Act comes into force on March 6, 2024. These elements, which include opening up iOS to external app stores, need to be in place by that date.
The Act states that some large online platforms are designated as gatekeepers, which means, “digital platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers – whose position can grant them the power to act as a private rule maker, and thus creating a bottleneck in the digital economy.” Apple qualifies as one of these, and, the Act says, “gatekeepers will have six months to comply with the requirements in the DMA, at the latest by 6 March 2024.”
That’s a Wednesday, so we know that Apple will put out the general release of iOS 17.4 some time between Friday, March 1 and Wednesday, March 6.
Apple likes to release its updates on a Tuesday, on the whole, though Mondays are sometimes preferred.
The fact that the third developer beta of iOS 17.4 was released today, February 13, with the public beta expected on Wednesday, February 14—a Valentine’s gift!—suggests that Apple is bang on schedule with its release plans.
And why not? As well as the massive changes coming to the App Store, choice of search engine and more coming for EU residents, there’s a lot more, and it will be available internationally. There’s a refinement coming for the brilliant Stolen Device Protection, for a start. Then there are new emoji (hurrah), including a phoenix and a couple of Smileys that shake their heads yes or no. Oh, and a mouth-watering-in-its-freshness slice of lime.
The update will have an improvement to Apple Cash so you can assign a virtual card number to create a virtual debit card when Apple Pay isn’t available. There will be new ways to control music on HomePod or Apple TV and an update to Apple Music’s design, renaming the Listen Now tab as Home.
There’s more coming, but one of my favorites is a Live Activity for a running stopwatch.
Release Date
So, exactly when should we expect this abundance of riches? There’s no way it will be released on March 1, as it’s a Friday, a day reserved only for the most urgent and unexpected of updates. The weekend is also out. Since March 6 dawns in Europe before it does in the States, and Apple releases updates at 7p.m. Central European Time, that rules out that day.
Leaving two options: Monday, March 4 or Tuesday, March 5. It could be either, but as this has been in the pipeline for months, I’m saying that Monday, March 4 is favorite. It has a ring to it, no? For such a consequential update, Apple will march forth on March 4th. See what I did there?
