Apple on Wednesday officially released iOS & iPadOS 17.1, one day later than initially anticipated after many news outlets took a leak from a French regulatory group known as the ANFR during the iPhone 12 radiation concern debacle a little too seriously.
iOS & iPadOS 17.1 are the most significant updates to Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices since iOS & iPadOS 17 launched this Fall, and introduce new features for these devices in addition to squashing bugs and patching security vulnerabilities.
The full change log for iOS & iPadOS 17.1, per Apple, follows below:
AirDrop
– Content continues to transfer over the internet when you step out of AirDrop rangeStandBy
– New options to control when the display turns off (iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max)Music
– Favorites expanded to include songs, albums, and playlists, and you can filter to display your favorites in the library
– New cover art collection offers designs that change colors to reflect the music in your playlist
– Song suggestions appear at the bottom of every playlist, making it easy to add music that matches the vibe of your playlistThis update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
– Option to choose a specific album to use with Photo Shuffle on the Lock Screen
– Home key support for Matter locks
– Improved reliability of Screen Time settings syncing across devices
– Fixes an issue that may cause the Significant Location privacy setting to reset when transferring an Apple Watch or pairing it for the first time
– Resolves an issue where the names of incoming callers may not appear when you are on another call
– Addresses an issue where custom and purchased ringtones may not appear as options for your text tone
– Fixes an issue that may cause the keyboard to be less responsive
– Crash detection optimizations (all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models)
– Fixes an issue that may cause display image persistenceSome 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
Not only can users now use AirDrop over internet when traveling too far away from the sending or receiving device, but Apple is introducing new options for choosing when the new StandBy Mode feature that devices enter when mounted to a MagSafe charger in landscape orientation turns off.
Another significant area of highlights involves the Music app, which now enhances the Favorites section to include songs, albums, and playlists with filtering options. Enhancements also come to the cover art’s colors while listening to music and song suggestions actively recommend music to you while listening to other songs so that you can discover more songs like those you already listen to.
The remainder of changes in this update are miscellaneous, but may be of note to certain users. For example, fixing image persistence concerns on OLED display-equipped handsets.
Updating to iOS & iPadOS 17.1 is advisable for the vast majority of iPhone and iPad users, apart from those who might be interested in hacking their devices later down the line. iOS & iPadOS 17.1 patch a handful of security vulnerabilities that have been reported by security researchers and research teams alike. That said, if you’re waiting for a jailbreak to come out for iOS & iPadOS 17, then it would probably be a good idea to skip this update and stay on the lowest possible firmware.
Installing iOS or iPadOS 17.1 is as simple as opening the Settings app and navigating over to General → Software Update. From there, you may download and install the update over Wi-Fi or certain high-speed cellular connections.
Have you updated to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS yet? Be sure to let us know why or why not in the comments section down below.