iOS 17.4 beta 4
iOS 17.4 brings several user-focused updates, including new CarPlay options and a redesigned ” Battery status.”
So far, iOS 17.4 has focused on preparing iOS for EU regulation thanks to the Digital Markets Act. Other updates include new emojis and automatic podcast transcriptions.
The fourth beta version of iOS 17.4 contains several small updates and changes to the battery monitoring menu. Apple also removed references to HomeOS.
Updated battery health menu
If you visit the battery settings in iOS 17.4 beta 4, a new submenu “Battery Status” will appear there. Instead of displaying a percentage, which may be ambiguous for some users, it indicates the battery status, which is “Normal”.
Clicking this menu displays detailed information about the battery status, such as maximum capacity percentage and number of cycles. Previously, the number of cycles was visible only in the “About” menu of the device.
iOS 17.4 beta 4 introduces a new Battery Health menu.
The Cycle Counter and new Battery Health menu appear to be exclusive to iPhone 15 models.
I wonder if that this update coincides with news from Apple about improving the battery health of the iPhone 15. It now claims that it takes 1000 cycles to reach the 80% capacity mark — Previously it was 500.
New information about the CarPlay dashboard
Customers with compatible vehicles can view specific information from CarPlay on the instrument cluster. In particular, thanks to this update, upcoming maneuvers can be displayed in the instrument cluster.
From Apple's release notes:
In iOS 17.4 with CarPlay supported vehicles, Apple Maps will introduce a new instrument cluster interface with information about upcoming maneuvers. Users can switch the desired display type between the main screen and the instrument cluster screen by pressing the map configuration button in the upper right corner of the main Maps screen.
The CarPlay update only applies to the existing system, and models with certain types of smart car systems connected to the dashboard should be able to reap the benefits. It is not related to the futuristic CarPlay announced by Apple in 2022.
Everything else
There are a few smaller changes in iOS 17.4 in Beta 4. These are mainly language changes in alerts or parts of code that are only visible to developers.
Code scout Steve Moser discovered these changes and published them in X.
- Third-party marketplaces: Developers can have multiple marketplaces, users can set default marketplaces for Spotlight and Siri. , and deleting marketplaces removes all apps from that marketplace.
- Battery Settings: Mentions how software and hardware systems help counteract performance degradation as batteries age.
- Reaction Videos: Now disabled by default in some cases. cases are likely set by the developer with the ability to be re-enabled by the user.
- Spatial video capture: Provides detailed capture information, including that 3D video takes up approximately twice as much space as 2D.
- Apple Wallet: New permissions to provide Apple with anonymous transaction data.
- Apple Podcasts: The currently playing bar now floats, like in the VisionOS UI — thanks to Steven Robles
With the EU Digital Markets Act coming into force in March, iOS 17.4 is expected to be released before then. The next beta cycle may be a candidate for release before the final release.
