Today is a great day for Apple fans as there are many interesting launches happening today at the Wonderlust event. The company also unveils the new iPhone 15 lineup along with Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9. And adding to the excitement, the iOS 17 Release Candidate build is now available to developers and public beta testers.
Update on September 18: iOS 17 is now available to the public with same build number as Release Candidate.
The iOS 17 Release Candidate build is now available, indicating that the official iOS 17 version could release next week. Apple has a consistent history of launching new iOS versions every year in mid-September. And as per the official iPhone 15 and Watch 9 preview page, the official release is set for September 18.
Apple has been beta testing iOS 17 since the WWDC event in early June. The iOS 17 beta program should conclude with the release of the iOS 17 release candidate, which serves as the final beta before the official release. I hope they don’t bring RC2. Apple will, of course, continue beta testing for iOS 17.1 and future updates.
Along with the iOS 17 Release Candidate, Apple has also released iPadOS 17 RC, watchOS 10 RC, tvOS 14 RC, macOS Sonoma 14 RC, macOS Ventura 13.6 RC3, and macOS Monterey 12.7 RC3. The iOS 17 RC carries the build number 21A329, which is likely to be the same for the official iOS 17 release unless another RC build makes appearance. Yes Apple sometime surprises with additional RC builds if the initial one has critical issues.
What’s in iOS 17 RC
The iOS 17 RC include all the features introduced in all previous beta builds. So you can say it has most iOS 17 features Apple unveil at WWDC event in June.
As iOS 17 is a major annual update, it brings a host of new features. If you’re already on the beta build, you’ve likely experienced most of these features. However, for those who upgrade directly from iOS 16 to iOS 17, these features will be entirely new.
- New Ringtones in iOS 17 RC
- iOS 17 Release Notes
iOS 17 packs some interesting new features like Standby Mode, Personalized contact posters, Sticker drawer, Leave message if someone missed FaceTime call, interactive widgets, Swap numbers with Namedrop and more. There are many other iOS 17 features.
If you’ve installed the iOS 17 beta on your iPhone, you’ll receive the Release Candidate build by navigating to Settings > General > Software Update. If you’re on iOS 16, there’s no need to switch to the beta, as the official iOS 17 will be released within the next 7 to 10 days.
iOS 17 Guides:
- How to Use Siri to Read Web Articles on iPhone [iOS 17]
- How to Ping Your Apple Watch from iPhone [iOS 17]
- How to use Apple Maps Offline on iPhone [iOS 17]
- How to Turn Off Face ID Authentication for Private Browsing in Safari [iOS 17]
- How to Delete Lock Screen Wallpapers on iPhone [both iOS 16 and iOS 17]
