The Next Big Update in iOS 17: Developer Beta 3 and Beyond

In recent weeks, Apple has been releasing developer betas of its upcoming operating system, iOS 17. The latest update, developer beta 3, brings several new features and improvements to the table. One of the most exciting updates is the addition of activity history inside the Home app. When launching the Home app, users will now see a new splash screen that appears before being taken to the main interface.

Apple's Touting These New Features with iOS 17

One of the key promises made by Apple with iOS 17 was the inclusion of updated accessory control waves that can be controlled from your home screen. While this feature is still under development, it's clear that Apple is committed to making its Home app more intuitive and user-friendly. Additionally, there have been updates to certain controls like thermostats, and now activity history has been added.

Activity History in the Home App

One of the most significant new features in iOS 17 is the addition of activity history inside the Home app. This feature allows users to view a record of all activity on their devices, including locks, thermostats, and other smart home accessories. To access this feature, users simply need to go into Settings > Safety & Security > Activity History and turn it on. The activity log will show a month's worth of history, allowing users to see who has accessed certain devices or settings.

The impact of activity history cannot be overstated. For example, if you lock your door at 222 Andrew O'Hara and then later unlock it again at 3:17, that event will appear in the Home app's activity log. This feature can help users keep track of who has accessed their devices and settings, making it easier to maintain control over their smart home ecosystem.

New UI for Adjusting Lights

In addition to activity history, there have been some updates to the Home app's user interface. One notable change is the new UI for adjusting lights. While this feature hasn't changed much, Apple has made a few tweaks to make it look cleaner and more modern.

Control Center Updates

If you go into Control Center, you'll notice that there are several new changes to the layout. However, the most significant update is in the Home Accessories section. Inside of the weather application, scrolling down will reveal an updated air quality card. The changes include increased text for the number and a rearranged title bar that now sits at the bottom.

Air Quality Updates

Inside of the Weather app, Apple has also made some notable updates to the air quality card. Previously, this section looked quite different from what you see today. However, with the latest update, the layout has been significantly improved. The text is now below a new bar that takes up most of the space.

Photos App Updates

In other news, the Photos app has also seen some updates in developer beta 3. When recovering a photo, there's now a new UI down at the bottom of the screen. This layout looks cleaner and more modern than what it looked like before, which was simply a large on-screen modal.

Send Message Updates

When sending a message, users will notice that the photos icon has been updated to match the most recent photo in their camera roll. Previously, this icon was just a generic symbol; now, it will display the actual image taken by the user.

Fixed Bug with HDR Video

One notable bug that Apple has fixed in developer beta 3 is related to HDR video playback in Safari. With previous versions of iOS 17, Apple would overblow the HDR video, making it look ridiculous. Thankfully, this issue has been resolved, and HDR video now looks better than ever in Safari.

Release Date for Public Beta

So when will we see the public beta of iOS 17? Based on Apple's prior history with releasing developer betas, it's likely that the first public beta will arrive on Monday, July 10th. This would follow a pattern seen with previous releases of iOS, where the third developer beta is released at the beginning of July, followed by the release of the first public beta one week later.

Getting the Public Beta

To get access to the public beta of iOS 17, users simply need to head to beta.apple.com and enter their Apple ID. From there, they can opt into the public beta program and download updates as they become available. Note that no developer account is required to participate in the public beta.

Comparison with Developer Beta

One notable difference between the public beta and developer beta is the level of stability. Public betas are often more stable than developer betas because developers take a greater risk by testing features early on. Additionally, public betas usually become available one day after the developer beta.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhere is everything new in iOS 17 developer beta 3. welcome everybody to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and Apple has released a third developer beta of iOS 17. I'm going to walk you through everything new in this beta update and I'm going to tell you when you can expect to see the new public beta of iOS 17 and how you can get it let's go ahead dive into the changes first the first new thing here in iOS 17 developer beta 3 is in apple music Apple now allows you to view credit for nearly any song inside of Apple music here you can see we have the Performing Artist composition and lyrics production and Engineering all audio qualities available all this information you can jump into lyrics if you'd like to but tons of information and full credits available for all these songs in apple music the next big update in developer beta 3 is for the home app one of iOS 17's promise features is here we now have activity history inside of the home app when launching the home app we have a new splash screen that appears Apple's touting these new features with iOS 17 including updated accessory control waves that can be controlled from your home screen new look and feel for certain controls like thermostats and activity history that's that last one that I want to talk about in a little bit more detail see activity history allows users in the home to view activity history for devices so if you go into that little Ellipsis and home settings in the Safety and Security we can turn activity history on it'll show this for one month's worth of history and lets you know that everyone in the household has accessed that information now if I go to something like locks I want to lock this lock here it'll show up in home activity we can tap on home activity it'll show me today at 222 Andrew O'Hara unlock that lock I locked it again right now 317 and locked it earlier at 219. so that's activity history here in the home app which was not available in the first two betas speaking of the home app if we go into control center there's new UI for adjusting lights hasn't been changed all that much but there is a new UI here inside a control center for home accessories inside of the weather application if we scroll down and look at air quality this has been updated this little card here is what it looked like before so Apple has increased the text for the number for the title has moved the bar into the middle and the text is now below the bar so this is the old version here this is developer beta 2 in my right hand and then my left iPhone that is the current new developer beta 3 how Apple has changed the air quality card inside of the weather app in the photos app when I go to recover a photo there's this new UI here down at the bottom it looks a lot cleaner than what it looked like before there was just this large on-screen modal now it's more of a little pop-up instead I really like how it looks now compared to what it looked like before finally when you go to send the message and you tap on that little plus button the photos icon will now actually show a tiny little Glyph of your last photo that you took so that there matches when I pull this up that photo so they've essentially matched the icon to the most recent photo in your camera roll Apple's also fixed a big bug in the third developer beta of iOS 17. previously with the first two versions of iOS 17 Apple would overblow the HDR video in Safari and it looked ridiculous that has been fixed in HDR video looks better than ever in safari with the latest beta but what about the public beta of iOS 17 when will Apple release it and how do you get it to try it for yourself well I'm going to answer that for you based on Apple's prior history of iOS 16 hours 15 betas I think the first public beta of iOS 17 will arrive on Monday July 10th apple has a history of releasing the third developer beta here at the beginning of July then the week next the next week after that Apple would release the first public beta of the operating system so I think that's what we'll see here it's Wednesday right now we have the third developer beta there's a chance it could arrive at the end of this week Thursday or Friday but I think most likely it's gonna arrive on Monday July 10th so expect that if you're holding out for the public beta of iOS 17 how do you get the public beta when it arrives super easy to do head to beta.apple.com and enter in your Apple ID then you'll be part of Apple's public beta program and you can opt into these public beta updates then you can just head to the settings on your phone enable public beta updates and when they become available you can download them to your device super seamless easy to do no developer account required and public betas are usually more stable they'll include the same features and changes as developer betas but Apple will release them a day or so after the developer betas that way it makes sure that there's no massive bugs in them developers take the bigger risks versus the public beta testers so that's it if you spot any other changes in iOS 17 let me know Down Below in the comments or on Twitter at Andrew underscore OSU and keep your eyes peeled to Apple Insider because I have a lot more coverage of iOS 17 and Apple's other software updates coming your wayhere is everything new in iOS 17 developer beta 3. welcome everybody to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and Apple has released a third developer beta of iOS 17. I'm going to walk you through everything new in this beta update and I'm going to tell you when you can expect to see the new public beta of iOS 17 and how you can get it let's go ahead dive into the changes first the first new thing here in iOS 17 developer beta 3 is in apple music Apple now allows you to view credit for nearly any song inside of Apple music here you can see we have the Performing Artist composition and lyrics production and Engineering all audio qualities available all this information you can jump into lyrics if you'd like to but tons of information and full credits available for all these songs in apple music the next big update in developer beta 3 is for the home app one of iOS 17's promise features is here we now have activity history inside of the home app when launching the home app we have a new splash screen that appears Apple's touting these new features with iOS 17 including updated accessory control waves that can be controlled from your home screen new look and feel for certain controls like thermostats and activity history that's that last one that I want to talk about in a little bit more detail see activity history allows users in the home to view activity history for devices so if you go into that little Ellipsis and home settings in the Safety and Security we can turn activity history on it'll show this for one month's worth of history and lets you know that everyone in the household has accessed that information now if I go to something like locks I want to lock this lock here it'll show up in home activity we can tap on home activity it'll show me today at 222 Andrew O'Hara unlock that lock I locked it again right now 317 and locked it earlier at 219. so that's activity history here in the home app which was not available in the first two betas speaking of the home app if we go into control center there's new UI for adjusting lights hasn't been changed all that much but there is a new UI here inside a control center for home accessories inside of the weather application if we scroll down and look at air quality this has been updated this little card here is what it looked like before so Apple has increased the text for the number for the title has moved the bar into the middle and the text is now below the bar so this is the old version here this is developer beta 2 in my right hand and then my left iPhone that is the current new developer beta 3 how Apple has changed the air quality card inside of the weather app in the photos app when I go to recover a photo there's this new UI here down at the bottom it looks a lot cleaner than what it looked like before there was just this large on-screen modal now it's more of a little pop-up instead I really like how it looks now compared to what it looked like before finally when you go to send the message and you tap on that little plus button the photos icon will now actually show a tiny little Glyph of your last photo that you took so that there matches when I pull this up that photo so they've essentially matched the icon to the most recent photo in your camera roll Apple's also fixed a big bug in the third developer beta of iOS 17. previously with the first two versions of iOS 17 Apple would overblow the HDR video in Safari and it looked ridiculous that has been fixed in HDR video looks better than ever in safari with the latest beta but what about the public beta of iOS 17 when will Apple release it and how do you get it to try it for yourself well I'm going to answer that for you based on Apple's prior history of iOS 16 hours 15 betas I think the first public beta of iOS 17 will arrive on Monday July 10th apple has a history of releasing the third developer beta here at the beginning of July then the week next the next week after that Apple would release the first public beta of the operating system so I think that's what we'll see here it's Wednesday right now we have the third developer beta there's a chance it could arrive at the end of this week Thursday or Friday but I think most likely it's gonna arrive on Monday July 10th so expect that if you're holding out for the public beta of iOS 17 how do you get the public beta when it arrives super easy to do head to beta.apple.com and enter in your Apple ID then you'll be part of Apple's public beta program and you can opt into these public beta updates then you can just head to the settings on your phone enable public beta updates and when they become available you can download them to your device super seamless easy to do no developer account required and public betas are usually more stable they'll include the same features and changes as developer betas but Apple will release them a day or so after the developer betas that way it makes sure that there's no massive bugs in them developers take the bigger risks versus the public beta testers so that's it if you spot any other changes in iOS 17 let me know Down Below in the comments or on Twitter at Andrew underscore OSU and keep your eyes peeled to Apple Insider because I have a lot more coverage of iOS 17 and Apple's other software updates coming your way\n"