Apple released iOS 17.2 beta 4 to public beta testers on Tuesday, about two weeks after the company released the previous beta. The beta includes at least a dozen new features, including long-awaited additions such as the Journal app and Contact Key Verification. Developers and beta testers can download and try the beta and all the new features now, but there’s no word on when Apple will release iOS 17.2 to the general public.
We recommend downloading a beta on something other than your primary device. Since this isn’t the final version of iOS 17.2, these features might be buggy and battery life may be shortened, and it’s best to keep that experience to a secondary device.
If you’re a developer or public beta tester, here are some of the new features you can find in the third iOS 17.2 beta. Note that these might not be the only new features to land on your iPhone when iOS 17.2 is released.
The Journal app
Apple finally debuted the Journal app with iOS 17.2 beta 1. The tech giant announced the app at the company’s WWDC event in June alongside iOS 17, but it was absent from the update’s launch on Sept. 18. It now appears Journal will be included in iOS 17.2.
Apple said at WWDC that the app uses on-device machine learning to create personalized writing suggestions. Some of these suggestions are created using information on your iPhone, like photos you’ve taken and music and podcasts you’ve listened to throughout the day. And if you forget what podcast you listened to earlier in the day — like I regularly do — the app shows you that information when you go to make an entry.
The app also shows you a handful of topics to write about, called Reflections. Some of my Reflections included, “Write about a time you gave someone an unexpected gift,” and, “Who cheers you up when you’re feeling down?”
But if you don’t want to write about whatever you listened to or use a Reflection, you…
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