Apple has rolled out the iOS 17.2 release to iPhone users with the long-awaited Journal app, which was introduced during the iOS 17 preview at WWDC in June this year. Other highly anticipated features in the iOS 17.2 release include the presence of the new Spatial recording feature, Action button customizations and some major updates to the Messages app.

Journal app: 

Journal is a new app that helps iPhone users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling. It comes with scheduled notifications feature that can help build a journaling habit. Users can also lock the app. With end-to-end encryption, Journal is built to protect a user’s privacy and ensure no one — including Apple — can access a user’s entries.

 

The Journal app can help remind users to maintain a consistent journaling practice on the date and time of their choosing. Meanwhile, the journal entries can be locked using Touch ID or Face ID and are automatically synced with iCloud.

Spatial recording: 

Apple has introduced a new feature enabling the iPhone to capture spatial videos. These videos, shot in landscape orientation at 1080p and 30 frames per second, can be viewed on the Apple Vision Pro, the company’s inaugural spatial computer.

It is worth mentioning that this capability is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Although the Apple Vision Pro is not yet available to the public, prospective purchasers can enjoy their recorded videos through the Photos app on the Vision Pro.

Action button features: 

Apple is now allowing users to further customise the ‘Action Button’ to translate between different languages. According to a report from Macrumors, pressing and holding the Action button will open a pop-up translation window that can translate between different languages.

Important messaging updates: 

The Messages app now allows users to catch up on a conversation they might have missed using the ‘catch up arrow’ which takes the users to the first unread message. 

Apple is also bringing another key iOS 17 feature with this upgrade in the form of Contact Key verification which can be handy for people facing ‘extraordinary digital threats’ like human rights activists, government officials or journalists, reported Macrumors.

The new feature provides automatic alerts and contact verification codes that can help the aforementioned individuals identify they are only talking to the person they intend to.

Apple wants more security for iMessage 

iOS 17.2 has added a new security feature that allows users to verify their contacts. The system, known as iMessage contact key verification, can display a code that verifies who you are talking to. 

Message contact key verification was unveiled in December 2022 and was marketed primarily to people at higher risk of phishing scams. However, everyone should be thankful for a more secure experience while using their devices. 

 iOS 17.2 aims to improve the Apple TV experience  

The iOS 17.2 update will also change how Apple TV can be used. iOS 17.2 is merging the iTunes Movie Store into the TV app; tvOS 17.2 is making a similar change for the Apple TV. The idea is to make everything a simpler layout with all your content in one place.

Phone-specific features

If you’ve got an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, your camera performance should improve with iOS 17.2. Specifically, the telephoto camera on those two models will get faster when you try to focus on faraway objects in zoom shots. 

Another iPhone 15 Pro camera improvement lays the groundwork for next year’s Apple Vision Pro headset release. In iOS 17.2, you can use either Pro model to record spatial video, which can then be played back on the upcoming headset.

It’s not just iPhone 15 models that will benefit from iOS 17.2. The update brings Qi2 wireless charging support to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13.

iOS 17.2 makes disabling this keyboard option easier

iOS 17.2 has also added a new feature to help users to disable inline predictions. The update has added a new “show predictions inline” toggle to the system. This means users can visit their keyboard settings and switch the toggle to “off.” This is one of those changes that won’t affect everyone, but it will be a welcome addition to those who want to avoid autocomplete features. 

We got NameDrop – the ability to share contact details just by bringing iPhones close together – in vanilla iOS 17, but iOS 17.2 brings another similar ability to the Wallet app. Now by opening a pass or ticket in the app, and bringing your iPhone close to another, you’re able to share that pass with just a tap. Much more straightforward than sending a blank email with the ticket attached, assuming the person you want to send it to’s there in front of you.

Missing from iOS 17.2: Collaborative music playlists

iOS 17.2 wa supposed to bring the ability to host group playlists for your friends and family. Collaborative playlists had been an anticipated addition aimed at boosting the social aspect of enjoying music on your phone.

Sadly, after appearing in some iOS 17.2 betas, Collaborative Playlist is out of the final release. There’s no official word why, but reports have suggested that Apple is worried the current iteration of the feature is prone to spam and abuse.

 iOS 17.2 outlook

The iOS 17.2 update has several quality-of-life improvements for your iPhone, so there’s a lot to be excited for. The addition of the long-awaited Journal  app and many iPhone-specific improvements to cameras and charging will help people to get the most enjoyment out of their phone. 

React with Live Stickers

Live Stickers is a new feature Apple introduced in iOS 17 at launch. The feature lets you create your own stickers from pictures you’ve taken. In iOS 17.2, you can react to texts in Messages with your Live Stickers. To react with a Live Sticker, long-press on a text like you would to add a reaction, then tap Add Sticker in the dropdown menu to pull up your stickers. 

New Apple Music settings

If you subscribe to Apple Music (which costs $11 a month) iOS 17.2 lets you automatically add songs you’ve favorited to your library. If you don’t like this, you can turn the setting off by going to Settings > Music and tapping the toggle next to Add Favorite Songs.

More Memoji customization

In iOS 17.2, there’s a new menu in the Memoji editor called Body that lets you edit the appearance of your Memoji’s body. You can adjust your Memoji’s waist, bust, shoulders and arms in this menu. Only three options are available in each of these sections at this time, so Memoji isn’t a full-on character creator menu as you’d see in a video game.

Change your default notification sounds and haptics

In iOS 17.2, Apple allows you to change the default notification sound. This is the first time Apple has allowed iPhone users to change the default notification sound. To change this sound, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Default Alerts, and you’ll be able to select new and classic tones.

In the Default Alerts menu, you can also change your haptics by tapping Haptics near the top of the page. Here you can choose between a handful of haptic patterns, and you can create a custom haptic by tapping Create New Vibration. 

Photos and Apple Music working together

If you go into the Photos app after updating to iOS 17.2, Photos will ask permission to access your Apple Music library. The screen says it will use songs from your library to curate songs for your Memories.  

AppleCare and Warranty menu

In iOS 17.2, if you go to Settings > General you’ll see a new option called AppleCare and Warranty. If you tap into this option, you’ll see all of your devices that are or aren’t covered under AppleCare or a warranty. In previous betas, this option was called Coverage.

Catch-up arrow in Messages

A new feature in iOS 17.2 can help you understand what’s happening in a texting group or if someone sends you a lot of messages. The beta brings the catch-up arrow back to Messages, so if you wake from a nap with a lot of messages, you can jump to the beginning of the new messages and follow the drama for context.

The catch-up arrow was in some early iOS 17 betas, but it has been absent since. 

New options for sharing Contact Posters

In iOS 17.2, you can now share your Contact Poster through Phone and FaceTime. If you go to Settings and either Phone or FaceTime, you will see an option called Share Name and Photo. Tap this and you can select whether to automatically share your Contact Poster with your contacts or whether to require your phone to always ask before sharing. This feature was only in Message before. 

iPhone 15 Pro action button updated

With iOS 17.2, the iPhone 15 Pro’s action button now has a translate function. The new function allows you to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language.

Sharing content between your iPhone and Apple Vision Pro

Apple announced its Vision Pro headset at WWDC in June. While you can’t buy the Vision Pro yet — Apple plans for the headset to be available in the US in early 2024 — iOS 17.2 introduces a setting to allow your iPhone to work as an additional screen for it.

The setting is called AirPlay Receiver and can be found under AirPlay & Handoff in Settings. Apple writes that AirPlay Receiver allows you to stream or share content from your Vision Pro headset to your iPhone. 

Spatial Video recording for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max

A new feature in iOS 17.2 allows iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max users to record Spatial Video. This feature will allow the video to be viewed in 3D on the upcoming Vision Pro headset. Spatial Videos can also be viewed in the Photos app as normal videos.

Disable inline predictions on your keyboard

Have you ever been typing a text in Messages and suddenly a gray word appears in front of your cursor? This is called inline text predictions, and if you’ve ever been confused or annoyed by this feature, iOS 17.2 introduces the ability to turn it off. 

More Sensitive Content Warnings

Sensitive Content Warnings were introduced in iOS 17 and blur out images and videos that show up in certain Apple services and that might contain nudity. With iOS 17.2, these warnings have been expanded to include live stickers and contact posters that might include nudity.

More Siri requests

In iOS 17.2, you can ask Siri a few new questions, like what your altitude is and what’s your estimated arrival time if you’re using the voice assistant for directions. 

Updated Weather widget and app

In previous iOS versions, you’d have three options for a Weather widget: a small tile, a medium tile bar and a large tile that took up half your screen. All showed the current weather conditions in more detail as they went up in size. 

With iOS 17.2, you have six widgets to choose from. The first three are the original small, medium and large tiles. The three new widgets are all the same size as the small tile, but show more details for the day. 

One tile shows the current condition, precipitation, UV index, wind levels and air quality index. Another tile shows the current conditions plus the expected conditions for the next four days. The final new tile shows when you can expect the sunrise and sunset.

The app also has a few new features, like an interactive moon calendar, the amount of rain for your area over time, and wind speed and direction. The updated Weather app is like having your own meteorologist in your pocket.

New digital clock widget

In iOS 17.2, the clock widget gets an update as well. The widget now gives you the option for a digital clock to easily read the time. 

News app supports Live Activities

The News app also gets an update in iOS 17.2. Now, you can enable Live Activities for the app, so you can follow news events, like elections, as they happen on Live Activity-enabled iPhones.

Apple TV app updated

The Apple TV app also gets an update with iOS 17.2. If you open the app and tap Store in the bottom menu, you’ll see the Movies and TV Shows sections across the top of your screen are gone.

Local Awareness option in Emergency Alerts

With iOS 17.1, there’s a new option in the Emergency Alerts menu called Local Awareness. Apple writes that if you enable this option, it uses your approximate location to improve the accuracy, timeliness and reliability of emergency alerts you receive. 

More Contact Poster customization options

Contact Posters is another new feature Apple introduced with iOS 17. With iOS 17.2, you can customize your Contact Posters even more by giving you the option to give a contact poster rainbow-colored text. 

Here are the full release notes for iOS 17.2:

Action Button

Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language.

Camera

Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro.

Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Messages

Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner.

Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble.

Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji.

Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend.

Weather

Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days.

New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like and wind speed.

Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours.

Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month.

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice.

AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together.

Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites.

Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations.

A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy.

Enhanced AutoFill identifies fields in PDFs and other forms enabling you to populate them with information such as names and addresses from your contacts.

New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages.

Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity.

Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models.

Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles.

Some 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:

Is your device capable of running iOS 17?

Apple’s newest smartphone OS is compatible with all iPhones starting from iPhone XS and beyond. This means, iOS 17 will run on iPhone XR, 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max and 12 Mini, 13, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, and the latest crop of iPhones, the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. Additionally, iOS 17 is also compatible with the second and later generations of the iPhone SE.

iOS 17 has already been made available to developers starting the June 5 and is expected to be released as a public beta next month. It’ll be launched to the wider user base starting this fall.