The original iOS 17 beta release date was during WWDC back at the start of June when developer beta 1 came out, with seven more developer beta versions of iOS 17 landing since then, along with six public betas. As for the next version, we strongly expect the next release we’ll see is the first Apple iOS 17 release candidate i.e. iOS 17 RC, although iOS 17 developer beta 9 could be a slim possibility if Apple bucks the trend of the previous year’s iOS releases.

Read below for our specific prediction on the iOS 17 release candidate release date, plus the latest news about iOS 17 beta features between now and the final iOS 17 release date.

iOS 17 RC i.e. iOS 17 release candidate release date prediction

Given that the iOS 17 beta release pattern has pretty closely matched that of the previous years iOS 16 beta releases, which ended with an eight developer beta and a sixth public beta, we imagine that the first release candidate for iOS 17 will be the next thing we see.

Last year the first release candidate coincided with the reveal event for the latest iPhones, which took place on September 7th. This year the Apple Event is taking place on the 12th of September, 2023, and we believe this is when the iOS 17 RC release date will land, although nothing is confirmed of course so this may not prove to be the case.

iOS 17 public beta 6 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 6 release date was the same as the latest developer beta i.e. the 29th of August. As was the case previously, all of the features were the same as the previous developer beta.

iOS 17 beta 8 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 8)

The iOS 17 beta 8 release date landed on the 29th of August, 2023, the same date that the eighth developer beta for iOS 16 landed the previous year. You can see the official release notes for yourself here for a list of the features. There’s a good chance that this will be the final developer beta for iOS 17, as there were only eight released for iOS 16 in total.

iOS 17 public beta 5 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 5 release date was a day after the previous developer beta, hitting our phones on the the 23rd of August, 2023.

iOS 17 beta 7 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 7)

The iOS 17 beta 7 release date was on the 22nd of August, 2023, which was one day earlier than the 7th beta of iOS 16 the previous year.

iOS 17 public beta 4 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 4 release date landed on the same date as developer beta 6: on the 16th of August.

iOS 17 beta 6 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 6)

The iOS 17 beta 6 release date was the 16th August, 2023 (one day later than the 6th beta for iOS 16 landed the previous year).

iOS 17 public beta 3 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 3 release date was a day after the previous developer beta, on the 9th August, 2023.

iOS 17 beta 5 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 5)

The iOS 17 beta 5 release date was the 8th August, 2023.

iOS 17 public beta 2 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 2 release date was the 31st July, 2023. As before, the features of the update are pretty much identical to those of iOS 17 developer beta 4.

iOS 17 beta 4 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 4)

IOS 17 beta 4 originally came out on Tuesday the 25th July, 2023. This is a developer beta, and it comes with a bunch of new features to explore. Developer beta 4 was then re-released on the 31st July with some minor tweaks along with public beta 4.

iOS 17 public beta 1 release date

The iOS 17 public beta 1 release date was the 12th July, 2023 In terms of features this beta is pretty much identical to developer beta 3 as you can read further down this page for a breakdown of some of the features of both.

iOS 17 beta 3 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 3)

iOS 17 beta 3 is now out! It was originally released on July 5th, 2023, with a revised version coming out on July 11th.

iOS 17 beta 2 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 2)

The iOS 17 beta 2 arrived on June 21st, 2023, just over two weeks after the first developer beta came out.

iOS 17 beta 1 release date (iOS 17 developer beta 1)

Looking at the previous years’ iOS beta 1 release date history, both iOS 15 beta 1 and iOS 16 beta 1 (developer beta versions) were released on the same day they were announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This is an annual tech conference held by Apple with a big focus on their various operating systems.

History repeated itself as expected, with iOS 17 beta 1 arriving on June 5th, 2023. We also saw the first tvOS 17 beta, iPadOS 17 beta and watchOS 10 beta launch at the same time. Since the developer beta is out, we can assume the public beta is coming soon. Additional iOS 17 beta releases will follow between then and the major release of the final version of the software update in September.

iOS 17 beta features (confirmed)

Below are the features we’ve seen in the iOS 17 beta releases so far:

iOS 17 beta 8 & public beta 6 features (20A5358a)

Watch the video below for a full breakdown of all the features of both iOS 17 developer beta 8 and public beta 6 from yer boy Zollotech.

iOS 17 beta 7 & public beta 5 features (21A5319a)

See below for a detailed look at the features of both developer and public betas.

iOS 17 beta 6 & public beta 4 features (21A5312c)

Have a gander at the video below for a full breakdown of the features of both developer and public betas.

iOS 17 beta 5 & public beta 3 features (21A5303d)

Once again, Zollotech has all the details of the latest iOS 17 beta 5 and iOS 17 public beta 3 features in the video below:

iOS 17 beta 4 & iOS 17 public beta 2 features (21A5291h – 21A5291j)

As below, iOS 17 beta 4 (the fourth developer beta) and iOS public beta 2 are the same. iOS 17 developer beta 4 originally had the 21A5291h build number, but it was re-released on the same day as public beta 2 with the build number 21A5291j. The main feature changes are as follows:

Modem update
AirDrop – ‘Bringing Devices together’ feature added
Standby – ‘Show Preview on Tap Only’ option added to improve privacy
Icon updates in Messages, Control Centre, and Settings
Accessibility – ‘Prefer horizontal text’ option added

iOS 17 beta 3 & iOS 17 public beta 1 features (21A5277h – 21A5277j)

iOS 17 beta 3 (i.e. the third developer beta) and iOS 17 public beta 1 are completely the same as each other in terms of features, having the same build number (21A5277j). iOS 17 beta 3 was originally released with a slightly different build number (21A5277h) but then re-released with some minor tweaks with the later build number.

As always, plenty of bug fixes and adjustments came along with the latest beta version. Aside from that though, we can take a look a some of the new features to appear in developer beta 3.

AirDrop & NameDrop improved
View song credits while listening to a song
Camera depth control
New UI for recovering & deleting recently deleted albums
Home app UI updated, with a full color wheel to customize lights

iOS 17 beta 2 (21A5268h) features

iOS 17 beta 2 brought a great many smaller but welcome tweaks and improvements across a range of apps. Watch this Zollotech video for more info:

Live Voicemail – when enabled, transcribes what the person on the other end of the call is saying on the screen
Haptic Touch – Default option added
Mental Wellbeing – State of Mind calendar added
Siri – when sending audio transcribed messages you can now more easily send to different apps
Standby – ‘Always On’ and ‘Show Notifications’ menu options added, Nigh Mode menu includes ‘Motion to Wake’ option
Music – new size options for widgets, crossfade issues now resolved and slider included
Clock – new transparent clock widget added
new NameDrop app, plus improved iPhone to iPhone sharing in AirDrop
Live wallpaper – improved stability
Software Update app – UI changes, more information included, plus Update Tonight button added
modem update

iOS 17 beta 1 (21A5248v) features

Overall, despite being an early beta, iOS 17 beta 1 was a fairly stable release with many of the apps working as intended (though obviously there was a degree of instability and some apps didn’t work). The main features are listed below (you can watch this Zollotech video for more information):

new Standby Mode
Search – video search functionality now added
Note – you can now insert contacts & passwords easily
FaceTime & Video calling – Video Effects quick menu added for when on a Video Call, reaction animations added for certain gestures, alert notifications for when you try to speak when muted
Control Center – you can now ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone, causing it to emit a noise to help you find it
iPhone passcode – you now have 72 hours in which you can still use your old code if you forget your new one
Apple CarPlay – improved UI
‘Stock’ widget up & down arrows added
Improved Wallpaper resizing, changing focus modes in the Control Center doesn’t change the wallpaper.

Other upcoming iOS 17 beta features

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, believes that we won’t get as many big changes with iOS 17 as we did with iOS 16, with Apple apparently focusing more on the release of the Apple Reality Pro VR headset.

Details of the features generally are thin on the ground at the moment, but Apple has recently announced a whole raft of accessibility features due for later in 2024, many of them powered by AI tech, which we can assume will come with iOS 17. These include the following:

Personal Voice – Perhaps the most interesting feature, this will allow iPhone users to create ‘a synthesized voice that sounds like them’ in a timespan of only 15mins, to use if they lost their voice (rather than using one of the standard Siri voice packs). This can then be added to Live Speech.
Assistive Access – This offers a simplified experience / user interface with larger buttons and text labels that combines various apps together that have similar functions (e.g. Phone and FaceTime are combined together).
Detection Mode & Point and Speak – These features will be added to the Magnifier app
Remember This – A new feature within Notes that allows users to create visual diaries.
Pairing of Made for iPhone hearing devices with MacBooks & iMacs.
Multiple phonetic suggestions in Voice Control for similar sounding words, plus improved Voice Control Guide.
Better font size adjustment in Calendar, Finder, Mail, Messages, and Notes.
Moving images / GIFs etc. can be paused for those sensitive to them.
Siri speech control can adjust the speaking speed between 0.8x – 2.0x.

How to get on the Apple beta software program: download & install iOS Beta profiles

iOS 17 beta access is not yet available, but when it is you will have to do the following in order to sign up to the developer beta (the iOS 17 public beta will be a bit easier to sign up to, but this will be coming later as discussed).

To install the iOS 17 developer beta, you will first need to become a registered iOS developer. To do this you will need to go to http://developer.apple.com/, click on Account then sign in with your Apple ID. You must then find the Apple Developer Agreement (this may be located on the Member Center page), read, agree to the document and then submit it. This should turn your Apple ID into a developer account. Once this is complete, enact the below steps to download the iOS 17 developer beta:

Go to developer.apple.com and log in with your Apple ID.
Click on Downloads, scroll down to the iOS 17 beta, tap Install Profile.
Click Accept on the prompt that should appear, asking if you want to download a profile.
Head to Settings on your device and select Profile Downloaded at the top of the list. Alternatively, go to General > Profile and tap on the iOS beta profile.
Select Install in the top-right to install the iOS 17 beta profile.
Read and Agree to the developer consent form (assuming you do).
Restart your device to finish installing the beta profile.
When the device has restarted, head to Settings and then General > Software Update.
The iOS 17 beta should now be visible. Select Download and Install, and wait for the update to download.
When the pop-up prompt appears, select Install and follow the instructions of the installation wizard (the installation process may take some time).

The latest iOS 17 beta FAQs

Is the iOS 17 beta out?

The first four iOS 17 developer betas have been released, plus two public betas. The first developer beta released during the Apple World Wide Developer Conference on the 5th June 2023.

The latest public beta came out on the 31st of July.

What’s new in the iOS 17 beta?

As expected, we’ve seen a number of accessibility improvements made in the iOS 17 betas so far, including better voice support and UI changes in numerous apps such as FaceTime, Siri, Home and more.

Read within for a more comprehensive breakdown of the changes with each update.

iOS 17 beta 9 / iOS 17 release candidate release date predictions: Final Word

Hopefully you now feel fully up to date on all things pertaining to the iOS 17 beta release date and/or iOS 17 release candidate release date. Do have a looksie at our other Apple and phone pages whilst you’re having a browse, to keep yourself abreast of the latest developments.