Apple has made the first public betas of iOS 17.4 e iPadOS 17.4, allowing anyone to download and try the latest version of Apple software before general availability. The public release follows the arrival of the developer build a week ago and can be accessed by enabling the Beta updates and Software update in Settings on any compatible iOS or iPadOS device. The main new feature of this beta is the addition of changes for the users in the European Union to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The latter will come into force from March 7, 2024. The changes announced by Apple last week include support for alternative app stores and payment options outside ofApp Store e Apple Pay. Of course, this only applies to iOS and iPadOS users from European Union countries.
iOS 17.4: criticism of Apple after the changes to comply with EU standards
The changes made by Apple to comply with the DMA have been criticized by rivals such as Spotify e Microsoft. According to the two companies, the rules are “vague and misleading“and you’re going”in the wrong direction”. Furthermore, Epic Games wasted no time in criticizing Apple during the announcement of theEpic Games Store on iOS, thanks to which it will return Fortnite on the platform. Furthermore, as reported by the MacRumors site, the first beta of iOS 17.4 has been republished for developers with a new build number. This was helpful in making sure it is the same as the public beta. Supposedly the initial release for developers did not include the changes made to comply with the EU legislation. These changes were in fact added between that build and the current one.
Other additions to the iOS 17.4 public beta include new emojis, transcription for podcast and support for game streaming apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming. Additionally, updates are planned for the next generation of CarPlay which will launch in the United States later this year. To date, Apple has not indicated when the stable version of iOS 17.4 will be released, but it should be official in the next few months.