iOS 17.4 released: What’s new and how to update

After many beta builds, Apple has finally announced the stable version of iOS 17.4 for iPhone users around the world. The new update brings quite a few changes to the operating system, including security-improving features as well as some fun new emojis. Let’s take a quick look at how to update and what’s new with the update.

How to update to iOS 17.4

On supported iPhones, head to the Settings app and scroll till you find the general section. Tap on it and head to the Software Update page. Here, you should see a new card for the iOS 17.4 update. You can choose to install it immediately or later today by tapping on one of the two buttons below.

Make sure you’re connected on a stable network before downloading the update, and also verify that your phone has plenty of battery left before you begin installing it.

iOS 17.4 update: What’s new?

While you wait for your update to download and install, here’s a quick look at all that’s new with iOS 17.4.

New Emojis

Apple brings some new emojis with iOS 17.4. These include a mushroom, phoenix, lime, broken chair and even a shaking heads emoji. 18 other face and body emojis also now have the ability to face the other way. All these emojis will be available under the emoji keyboard.

Apple Podcasts

The update brings transcripts to Apple Podcasts. Similar to the captions on YouTube, Apple Podcasts transcripts will highlight text in sync with the audio for better comprehension of whatever you’re listening to.

You can also now search for particular text extracts from the episode, and play the same from there. Transcripts can also be used with accessibility features like Text Size, Increase Contrast and VoiceOver.

Other changes

Music recognition now quickly lets you add identified songs to your Apple Music library. This will also work for Apple Music Classical. Siri, meanwhile, gets a new option to announce messages you receive in any language.

Stolen Device Protection, which was introduced with iOS 17.3, now gets even better by offering its new increased security options in all locations. A new Battery Health page in the Settings app now also shows you things like cycle count, manufacture date and first use on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro series.

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Apple’s built-in caller identification now also displays Apple Verified business names and logos, wherever applicable. Business updates in Messages for Business now provides trusted info on things like order status or flight notifications. In supported regions, Apple Cash also now supports virtual card numbers, allowing Apple Cash payments even where Apple Pay is not supported.

The update also comes with a couple of bug fixes. The issue where contact pictures are sometimes blank in the Find My app is now fixed. The bug that switched the phone numbers in the Messages app for Dual SIM users has also been fixed.

With iOS 17.4 now out, it remains to be seen how many more feature updates iOS 17 gets as we head closer to WWDC 2024, where Apple is expected to announce iOS 18, its biggest update in recent years.