Apple is working on the next iPhone software update, and it could arrive in a matter of days, a new report claims. This is certainly a surprise. The current release is iOS 17.1.1 and it appeared on Tuesday, November 7. The next version which has been expected until now, is iOS 17.2, already several betas in and with new features promised.
So, the news that there might be another update before then is intriguing, to say the least.
According to Joe Rossignol at MacRumors, that website’s analytic logs has seen evidence that Apple is internally testing iOS 17.1.2, evidence which has only started appearing in the last few days, suggesting that the release itself could be very soon.
What’s It About, Then?
If MacRumors is right about the name, then we can assume it’s not a Rapid Security Response, as that would be called iOS 17.1.1 (a). Rapid Security Response releases are there to fix security issues, not for new features, for instance.
So, this suggests that iOS 17.1.2 will be about other issues, such as fixing bugs rather than urgent security problems—although Apple could throw some of those in for good measure, of course.
The thing is that iOS 17.1.1 seems to have been rather a good release, in the sense that it didn’t introduce widespread issues. You can read my guide to whether or not you should upgrade to iOS 17.1.1 here, and by and large it seemed to be a well-received update.
However, while iOS 17.1.1 didn’t seem to bring bad stuff with it, it may have left some issues unresolved. For instance, there are reports of wifi connectivity issues that have been around since September when iOS 17 was first launched. These have included slow speeds and dropped connections, it’s been reported, though it’s not clear if these are at all widespread. In fact, it’s expected that these wifi problems are being tackled in the upcoming iOS 17.2.
Which means that it’s possible that iOS 17.1.2 will have remedies for the same problems or something similar at least. Other current issues have related to push notifications and to HomeKit. Again, it’s not clear how commonplace these problems are.
When’s It Coming?
It’s imminent. The only thing that may be delaying it is a certain public holiday this Thursday. Many Apple staff get the week off at Thanksgiving, so it’s possible that it will be held over until next week rather than this.
Apple likes to release its software updates on a Tuesday, which means November 28 is favorite, though it could be Monday, November 27. I’ll be monitoring the situation closely, so please check back for the latest.
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