iOS 17.6 Has 13 New Features and Changes for iPhone You Need to Know About

As the iOS 18 beta continues, Apple's still investing time into fixing up iOS 17. Compared to iOS 17.4 and iOS 17.5, which both had over 30 new features and changes, iOS 17.6 is a relatively small software update for iPhone. But there are still some important things to know about.

Apple released iOS 17.6 (build 21G80) on July 29, alongside iPadOS 17.6, after 42 days of beta testing. Many of the iOS 17.6 features listed below also apply to iPadOS 17.6. On the same day, Apple also pushed out iOS 18.1 beta, which marks the first appearance of the up-and-coming Apple Intelligence features.

1. Catch Up for Live Sports in the TV App

The most prominent feature of iOS 17.6 is for sports fans. In the TV app, you'll find the new Catch Up feature as an option whenever you open a live sports game in progress. It generates quick highlights of all the important moments that have transpired in the match, showing them in a Key Plays carousel, which you can navigate via left and right swipes. You can access the carousel at any time during the game via the player controls.

2. Alert for Unknown International Senders

A new alert added to ChatKit in iOS 17.6 lets you know when a message is from an unknown international sender, giving you more insight into who could be messaging you. So instead of just seeing "The sender is not in your contact list" or "The sender and other recipients are not in your contact list," you may see:

This message is from an unknown international sender.

3. Beats Pill Icon in Control Center

When you're connected to Apple-branded Bluetooth headphones and speakers, you'll see a special icon in Control Center, among other places, identifying the device's model in a picture, such as AirPods Pro, AirPods (3rd Generation), AirPods Max, Beats Powerbeats3, and Beats Fit Pro, to name a few. With iOS 17.6, the new Beats Pill speaker has its own icon, too.

Apple discontinued the Beats Pill Plus in 2022, and the new Beats Bill, released in June 2024, is, to quote Engadget, "A revival worth the wait."

• Buy on Amazon: Beats Pill Wireless Bluetooth Speaker and Portable Charger in Matte Black, Statement Red, or Champagne Gold ($150)

Apple

4. Live Activities Scheduling for News

Live Activities were first supported by the News app with iOS 17.2 and gained minor improvements with iOS 17.5. New in iOS 17.6 is the ability to schedule a Live Activity. That way, you don't have to keep your eyes glued to the News app to begin a Live Activity and can prepare beforehand. This can come in handy for primaries and elections with set dates.

Live Activity Scheduled

When the event starts, you'll get real-time updates on your Home Screen and Lock Screen.

5. Privacy Update in Shortcuts

On iOS 17.5.1 and earlier, whenever you run a shortcut for the first time with an action like "Get Contents of URL" or "Get Contents of Web Page," a privacy alert asks you to:

Allow "[Action Name]" to connect to "[URL]"?

With iOS 17.6, you'll now see extra information along with this privacy alert:

This might allow "[Action Name]" to share content with "[URL]".

The privacy request in Shortcuts on iOS 17.5.1 (left) vs. iOS 17.6 (right).

6. Siri & Dictation Is Now Just Siri

Like with iOS 18, Apple has changed the bundle display name for the "Siri & Dictation" menu on iOS 17.6 to "Siri" alone. So when you go to Settings » Privacy & Security » Location Services, you'll now see "Siri" instead of "Siri & Dictation" in the list of apps and services. Select it, and you'll also see a new "Ask Next Time Or When I Share" access option.

With that chosen, any time you ask Siri a location-related question, you'll be prompted to "Allow Once," "Allow While Using App," or "Don't Allow." Giving access once means you'll keep getting these prompts. Giving access while using it will change your Location Services setting to "While Using the App." Denying access will change that setting to "Never."

Siri's Location Services settings on iOS 17.5.1 (left) vs. iOS 17.6 (right).

7. Find My Improvements for Apple Pencil Pro

The new Apple Pencil Pro comes with Find My support, but its Find My features have not been very impressive. Apple fixes this with iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6. So if you lose your Apple Pencil Pro, you can use Find My on your iPhone or iPad and get directions to the Apple Pencil Pro or mark it as lost. Before, it would just tell you its last known location and help you find it using Precision Finding.

• Buy Now: Apple Pencil Pro on Amazon ($119) or B&H Photo ($129)

Once you enable Lost Mode, this email address [or phone number] will be visible to the person who finds your pencil. This allows others to contact you whenever your lost pencil is found.

8. Updated League Standings in Apple TV

When you view Apple's MLS Season Pass in the TV app, you may notice a difference in the League Standings section. On iOS 17.5.1 and earlier, you'll see the Eastern and Western Conference standings in MLS Wrap-Up charts, and tapping a table opens MLS Wrap-Up. On iOS 17.6, Wrap-Up is removed in favor of simpler tables. Tapping one expands it so you can see the entire list of teams. If you have favorite teams, you'll see stars next to them.

League standings in Apple TV on iOS 17.5.1 (left) vs. iOS 17.6 (right).

9. Legacy Contact Updates

The Legacy Contact feature, which lets someone invite you to be the person who can access their iCloud account in the event of their death, has some wording changes in some areas. For example, when becoming someone's Legacy Contact on iOS 17.5.1, you may see:

You've been added as a legacy contact for [Contact]. You will be able to access the data stored in [Contact]'s account in the event of their death. You can manage your legacy contact information or view your access key in Account Settings.

On iOS 17.6, you might see this instead:

You've been added as a legacy contact for [Contact]. In the event that [Contact] passes away, you can access the iCloud data stored in their account.

This may include photos, messages, videos, notes, documents, and personal information. You can view the access key for [Contact]'s account and manage legacy contacts for your account in Settings.

"Added as a Legacy Contact" message on iOS 17.5.1 (left) vs. iOS 17.6 (right).

10. Updated Korean Rating Icon for Movies

In 2023, to reduce the wait time between movie releases in South Korea, the Korea Media Ratings Board (KMRB) changed its movie rating system to allow streamers to self-rate content instead of the KMRB having to screen everything first.

Also that year, South Korea officially formalized the international age-counting method for its government in an effort to retire the traditional "Korean age" system across the country, which counted a newborn as one year old on its day of birth, then two years old at the start of the following year, effectively making a baby born on Dec. 31 two years old the very next day.

To align with the formal adoption of the international age-counting method, the KMRB switched its 18 and over red-label rating to 19 and over on May 1, 2024. Apple already deprecated the not-for-youths-under-18-years rating, but iOS 17.6 finally supports the red-label 19 icon on movie pages. You may still see 18 ratings for content that has not yet been updated. You may only be able to see KMRB ratings if you're in South Korea or have changed your Apple Account region identifier.

The old red-label 18 rating vs. the new 19 rating.

11. Bankruptcy Messages for Apple Card

If you have an Apple Card, it can become locked for various reasons. Let's say you recently filed for bankruptcy. Apple may lock your Apple Card account when it finds out. Before, it wasn't clear that a bankruptcy filing would be the culprit until Apple Card customer support told you. However, with iOS 17.6, you may see the dashboard alert below. You may also see this for Apple Pay Later.

Your account has been locked due to a bankruptcy filing. Chat with a specialist for more information.

12. Security Patches and Bug Fixes

Like any other iOS update, iOS 17.6 has quite a few bug fixes and patches for security vulnerabilities. Apple doesn't ever list corrected bugs beyond saying "bug fixes," but it does release bug fixes for Safari separately:

• Media: Fixed firing "loadeddata" events for "
• Media: Fixed multiple cases of audio distortion occurring when using AudioWorklets.
• PDF: Fixed PDF previews appearing tiny in the top left corner.
• Rendering: Fixed scrolling of content overflowing a flex item in an end-aligned flex container.
• Safari Web Extensions: Fixed an issue where Safari Web Extension background pages would stop responding after about 30 seconds.
• Web Inspector: Fixed showing additional Safari tabs from an iOS device in the Develop menu.
• WebRTC: Fixed "navigator.mediaDevices.getDisplayMedia()" in WKWebView.

Apple's security updates page for iOS 17.6 lists 30 security issues that have been addressed, including vulnerability patches for Family Sharing, Phone, Shortcuts, Siri, and WebKit.

• AppleMobileFileIntegrity: An app may have been able to bypass Privacy preferences. A downgrade issue was addressed with additional code-signing restrictions.
• CoreGraphics: Processing a maliciously crafted file may have led to unexpected app termination. An out-of-bounds read issue was addressed with improved input validation.
• CoreMedia: Processing a maliciously crafted video file may have led to unexpected app termination. An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved input validation.
• dyld: A malicious attacker with arbitrary read and write capability may have been able to bypass Pointer Authentication. A race condition was addressed with additional validation.
• Family Sharing: An app may have been able to read sensitive location information. This issue was addressed with improved data protection.
• ImageIO: Processing an image may have led to a denial-of-service. This is a vulnerability in open source code and Apple Software is among the affected projects. The CVE-ID was assigned by a third party. Learn more about the issue and CVE-ID at cve.org.
• ImageIO: Processing a maliciously crafted file may have led to unexpected app termination. An out-of-bounds read issue was addressed with improved input validation.
• ImageIO: Processing a maliciously crafted file may have led to unexpected app termination. An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking.
• ImageIO: Processing a maliciously crafted file may have led to unexpected app termination. An integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation.
• Kernel: A local attacker may have been able to determine kernel memory layout. An information disclosure issue was addressed with improved private data redaction for log entries.
• Kernel: A local attacker may have been able to cause unexpected system shutdown. A type confusion issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
• libxpc: An app may have been able to bypass Privacy preferences. A permissions issue was addressed with additional restrictions.
• Phone: An attacker with physical access may have been able to use Siri to access sensitive user data. A lock screen issue was addressed with improved state management.
• Photos Storage: Photos in the Hidden Photos Album may have been viewed without authentication. An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management.
• Sandbox: An app may have been able to bypass Privacy preferences. This issue was addressed through improved state management.
• Sandbox: An app may have been able to access protected user data. A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation.
• Shortcuts: A shortcut may have been able to use sensitive data with certain actions without prompting the user. A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
• Shortcuts: A shortcut may have been able to bypass Internet permission requirements. A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
• Shortcuts: A shortcut may have been able to bypass Internet permission requirements. This issue was addressed by adding an additional prompt for user consent.
• Shortcuts: An app may have been able to access user-sensitive data. This issue was addressed by removing the vulnerable code.
• Siri: An attacker may have been able to view sensitive user information. This issue was addressed through improved state management.
• Siri: An attacker with physical access may have been able to use Siri to access sensitive user data. This issue was addressed by restricting options offered on a locked device.
• Siri: An attacker with physical access to a device may have been able to access contacts from the lock screen. This issue was addressed by restricting options offered on a locked device.
• VoiceOver: An attacker may have been able to view restricted content from the lock screen. The issue was addressed with improved checks.
• WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management.
• WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking.
• WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to a cross-site scripting attack. This issue was addressed with improved checks.
• WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. An out-of-bounds access issue was addressed with improved bounds checking.
• WebKit: Processing maliciously crafted web content may have led to an unexpected process crash. This is a vulnerability in open source code and Apple Software is among the affected projects. The CVE-ID was assigned by a third party. Learn more about the issue and CVE-ID at cve.org.
• WebKit: Private Browsing tabs may have been accessed without authentication. This issue was addressed through improved state management.

13. Emergency SOS via Satellite in Japan

In a press release, Apple notes that iOS 17.6 also comes with support for Emergency SOS via satellite in Japan for iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series models. So, now Emergency SOS via satellite and Find My via satellite work in 17 countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

Cover photo and screenshots by Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks (except where noted)