The 5 best features coming to your iPhone in the imminent iOS 17.2 update

iOS 17.2 has been in beta for about a month now and is expected to release in finished form in mid-December, so you won’t have to wait long for some new software goodies.

Thanks to these betas, we also have a good idea of ​​what to expect from this update, and while it won’t be nearly as big as iOS 17 was or as iOS 18 is likely to be, there’s still a lot in the pipeline.

Below we’ve highlighted the top five features you can expect to see in iOS 17.2 based on the betas, although it’s worth noting that there’s a small chance that some of these features won’t appear, or will will be saved until a later update. .

1. The Journal app

The most important feature of iOS 17.2 is definitely the Journal app. This is a brand new app, which Apple announced as part of iOS 17, but is only now set to release.

This app allows you – as you would expect – to keep a diary by adding text, images, videos and audio.

Plenty of third-party apps already do this kind of thing, but Apple’s Journal app can also suggest journal entries, based on photos you’ve taken, locations you’ve been, and other activities the phone recognizes.

However, you can control what data it can use to make suggestions, so you can customize it to your liking or disable suggestions altogether.

2. A new option for the Action button

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max, you’ll find the Action button becomes a little more useful with iOS 17.2, as a new “Translate” option will be added.

This allows you to translate conversations live from one language to another at the touch of a button, which can be particularly useful when you’re abroad.

3. Collaborative playlists

A collaborative playlist feature is coming to Apple Music, meaning you can share playlists with friends and give them the option to add their own songs.

Invited friends can also delete songs, but you can control who has access. This is a feature Spotify has had for a while, so it’s much needed.

This is a bit niche, but can be extremely useful for some people. The iOS 17.2 beta includes a code that can be displayed to verify that you’re talking to the person you think you are in iMessage.

Apple claims this feature is designed to help people facing “extraordinary digital threats,” such as government workers and journalists. But in a world where phishing attempts are commonplace, everyone can benefit from them.

It also looks like the App Store will get a tweak with iOS 17.2, to make navigation easier.

Once the update is rolled out, you should see a new navigation bar at the top of the ‘Apps’ and ‘Games’ tabs, allowing you to browse categories like Entertainment, Education, Music and more (in the case of the Apps tab), or things as racing, casual and puzzling, in the case of games.

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