Apple's next free iOS update is out, here's what it adds (and takes away)

iPhone users on the cutting edge are used to a constant stream of updates as Apple improves its iOS operating system. Believe it or not, we are up to iOS 17 now, and the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. It's safe to say Apple this latest update is just making some finer (but still welcome) tweaks to the user experience, but there is one noticeable feature that has been disengaged (more on that in a minute).

First, the good news. You can now change the default notification on your iPhone. That sentence sounds boring but is actually a big deal. That ping or buzz that controls your life? Yeah, you can change that now. Customisable ringtones have been around for decades but this goes beyond that.

Under the "Sounds & haptics" settings menu there's a new "Default alerts" option that allows you to select a different sound for all notifications that you couldn't already customise (texts, mail alerts, and calendar alerts are all individually changeable).  You can also change the haptic feedback similarly. Pretty nifty.

In terms of other changes, there's not much to dwell on, a few new alert messages and renaming of settings, but this beta does actually remove a cool feature Apple had only just added.

iOS 17.2's first three betas featured a new Apple Music feature called Collaborative Playlists that allowed listeners to contribute to a playlist together with friends and family. It's similar to features on the likes of Spotify, but still a neat addition right?

Well, it seems that it's not quite ready for the world because Apple has actually removed the feature with this latest beta. Apple Music fans will have to go back to moody introspective playlists that will never meet another person's ears again. At least until they reinstate the feature, perhaps not in time for iOS 17.2 but the next major update instead.

This is in fairness exactly what betas are for, to test features and hone them. So don't be too quick to judge. Apple has been plenty busy this year with the iPhone 15, and we're sure the upcoming Vision Pro is keeping its hands full.