The stable version of Apple’s iOS 17.4 is now available to download for all iPhone users. Along with it, iPadOS 17.4 is also now available, so iPad users can download iPadOS 17.4. It is a huge update that comes with a lot of new functions. Especially iPhone users in European countries get a bunch of new features after Apple had to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

New Features and Changes with Apple’s iOS 17.4 for European Users

App Sideloading

With Apple’s iOS 17.4 update, European users have the ability to download and install apps from marketplaces other than the App Store.

Change the default browser and use other browsers 

EU users can change the default browser on their iPhone. So now they change Safari as the default browser and make any other browser the default browser. The new update also enables European users to use alternative browsers that aren’t based on Apple’s Webkit on their iPhones.

Alternative Payment Options

Apple now allows apps to use alternative payment service providers for in-app purchases. Apps can also link out to their webpage to complete transactions.

NFC Access to Third-Party Apps

iPhone users in European countries can now use third-party apps to make contactless payments. Apple now allows third-party apps to access the NFC chip. Users can select their default payment app from the settings. They can also check which app has access to the NFC chip.

New Features and Changes with iOS 17.4 for Everyone

New Emojis

Apple’s iOS 17.4 update brings some new emojis that users can share with each other. Some of them include a mushroom emoji, a lime emoji, a phoenix emoji, a broken chain emoji, and a couple of shaking head emojis.

Podcast Transcripts

If you are fond of listening to podcasts on Apple’s Podcasts App but sometimes aren’t able to understand some words due to any issues, now there is no need to worry because you can now see podcast transcripts with highlighted text in sync with the audio. 

Users can tap on a particular part of the transcript to play the podcast from that point. Users can search for a word in the transcript if they want to jump to that part. Users can also use other accessibility features, such as changing text size, contrast, and voiceover. The transcript is currently available in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and German.

Siri Can Read Messages

Users can now allow Siri to read incoming messages for them. You can select the language in which you want Siri to read your messages.

Stolen Device Protection

Apple’s iOS 17.4 also allows users to make some changes with the Stolen Device Protection Feature.

The Stolen Device Protection Feature came with iOS 17.3 and allowed users to protect their data in case their iPhone got stolen. This feature didn’t allow anyone to turn off the device or access it without biometric authentication using Touch ID or Face ID. By not allowing passcodes as an alternative option, this ensures that only the owner of the iPhone can access it while stolen device protection is turned on.

Other than this, it also came with a security delay, with the help of which doing actions like changing an Apple ID or password or adding a new touch ID or face ID required you to wait for an hour.

When users were in familiar locations, the stolen device protection didn’t work, so the iPhone was again used normally.

With Apple’s iOS 17.4 update, users have the option to turn Stolen Device Protection to Always On or On at unfamiliar places. So if it is turned “always on,” users will get 1 hour of security delay and won’t be able to access the iPhone without authenticating touch ID or face ID, even in familiar places.

Battery Health

The new update tells more about the battery health of the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models. It shows the battery cycle count, the manufacture date, and when it was first used.

Music Recognition

Within Apple Music, users can now add songs identified with music recognition to Apple Music playlists and libraries, as well as to Apple Music Classical.

Pay Using Apple Virtual Card Number

If you have to pay at a merchant that doesn’t accept Apple Pay, you can use an Apple virtual card number to pay with Apple Cash by typing the number from Wallet or using Safari AutoFill.

So, these were some of the major changes and features that came with Apple’s iOS 17.4 update. The new update is going to be a game changer for every iPhone user using the device in European countries.

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