Possible iOS 17.3.1 Update for iPhone in Development by Apple
Apple is said to be preparing the iOS 17.3.1 update for all supported iPhones, as reported by MacRumors. This update isn’t expected to cause a major feature drop or even introduce minor quality-of-life enhancements; Instead, it’s expected to be a minor update that fixes software bugs and maybe some security holes, according to the publication.
It is worth noting that in the last two years, Apple has repeatedly released versions such as iOS 16.3.1 in February 2023 and iOS 15.3.1 in February 2022. This suggests that the same may happen this year as well. However, MacRumors has not mentioned exactly when we can expect Apple to release the alleged update.
Now that we know that users won’t get any major features with the iOS 17.3.1 update, it’s worth mentioning that Apple is confirmed to be working on the iOS 17.4 update, which is expected to be released in March this year.
With it, Apple is expected to bring a major overhaul to iOS, including EU-specific changes such as support for third-party app stores and thus support for sideloading, the ability to choose the default browser, universal features for everyone, such as new emojis and even podcast transcriptions.
Apple will bring these legislative changes into line with the EU’s DMA requirements. In iOS 17.4, iPhone users in EU countries will soon have the option of using alternative app stores instead of relying solely on the App Store to download apps and games. This allows users to download apps from anywhere they want to do so.
