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A big iPhone update is right around the corner

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An iPhone 15 Pro Max sitting upright, showing one of its home screens.
Joe Maring / Digital Trends

With announcements for 2024 models of the iPad Air and iPad Pro, today’s been a busy day of Apple news. But the iPad isn’t the only Apple product in the news today. Following the big announcements from its event earlier this morning, Apple also shared some important news regarding the next iPhone update.

As of Tuesday, May 7, Apple has begun rolling out RC builds for iOS 17.5. RC stands for “Release Candidate,” and it’s the last beta version of a software update that Apple releases before its final public rollout. In other news, the official iOS 17.5 update should be right around the corner.

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What are we expecting from iOS 17.5? If you’re an Apple News+ subscriber and live in the U.S. or Canada, you’ll be able to play a new word game called Quartiles. As discovered by Gadget Hacks earlier this year. Quartiles is described as follows:

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“You start with 20 tiles in a grid and combine them to form words of one, two, three, or four tiles. Each puzzle has five quartiles, each of which gives you 8 points. Find all five to net a 40-point bonus for a total of 80 points. You also get one point for one-tile words, two for two-tile words, and four for three-tile words.”

Also, 9to5Mac suspects iOS 17.5 will include new anti-stalking features for AirTags and other item-tracker accessories. We also expect a new feature in Find My called “Repair State,” which will allow repair shops to safely repair your iPhone without you needing to disable Find My and/or Stolen Device Protection.

Color-changing Apple Podcasts widget is back in iOS 17.5! pic.twitter.com/2PonD5FMi6

— Stephen Robles (@stephenrobles) April 2, 2024

Another small update is an upgraded Apple Podcasts widget, which will allow the background of the widget to change colors to match the artwork of the show you’re listening to. Finally, iOS 17.5 will allow companies in the EU to distribute iPhone apps via the web instead of through the App Store.

In addition to iOS 17.5, Apple has also released RC updates for iPadOS 17.5 and watchOS 10.5. There’s no exact release date for the final builds of these updates, but we expect them to arrive sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

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Joe Maring
Joe Maring
Section Editor, Mobile
Joe Maring is the Section Editor for Digital Trends' Mobile team, leading the site's coverage for all things smartphones…
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