Apple rolls out iOS 17.4 with support for third-party app stores

Apple is now rolling out another major update to the current iOS 17 platform for iPhone. The new iOS 17.4 is now available to download globally, but its notable features are meant only for one single region: the European Union, where the Digital Markets Act has kicked in. As required by the European Commission’s new law, Apple should give iPhone users the freedom to choose payment services and the app marketplace. iOS 17.4 brings support for both, but only within the EU. Other features, such as new emojis and transcriptions for Apple Podcasts are available to everyone.

How to download iOS 17.4

— Head to your iPhone settings and then General.

— Tap Software Update.

— Your iPhone will automatically check for an update and show an iOS 17.4 download prompt.

— Tap Update Now to start the download and let the update install.

— After a restart, your iPhone will be updated

Eligible iPhone models

All the models that support iOS 17 are eligible for this update. These include iPhone XR or higher models.

New updates in iOS 17.4

Third-party app marketplaces: Apple now allows developers to offer their marketplaces called “alternate app marketplaces.” For the first time, Apple has opened the ecosystem to developers to distribute their apps through a different app marketplace from the App Store. For customers, this means they are no longer tied to the App Store for downloading an app. If a developer has a marketplace, customers can go to that store and download the app without having to visit the App Store. This will incentivise the developers to ditch the Apple commission on every purchase, and give customers better prices, at the same time. But Apple is still keeping some control through an approval process for all third-party app stores, for which it will also charge developers a new fee of EUR 0.50 per annual install. Support for third-party app stores will be available only within the EU.

New emojis: Apple has added six new emojis with iOS 17.4. Expressing approval or denial with the head nod and head shake emojis, while a brown mushroom and a slice of lemon will give customers more options. There is also a new phoenix emoji.

CarPlay: Apple has changed how Apple Maps looks on the car’s dashboard with new CarPlay features. It now shows the option to toggle between a street-level view and the route view on cars with instrument cluster displays.

Apple Podcasts: A new Transcripts tool gives written notes for a podcast in English, Spanish, French, and German.

There are a bunch of more minor improvements to different apps such as Apple Music in iOS 17.4, which also brings some bug fixes.