iOS 17.2 Public Beta 3: Journal App, More Could Be on Your iPhone Soon
Apple released iOS 17.2 beta 3 to public beta testers on Nov. 15, less than a week after the company released the previous beta. The beta includes at least a dozen new features, including long-awaited additions such as the Journal app and Contact Key Verification. Developers and beta testers can download and try the beta and all the new features now, but there's no word on when Apple will release iOS 17.2 to the general public.
The Journal app
Apple finally debuted the Journal app with iOS 17.2 beta 1. The tech giant announced the app at the company's WWDC event in June alongside iOS 17, but it was absent from the update's launch on Sept. 18. It now appears Journal will be included in iOS 17.2.
Apple said at WWDC that the app uses on-device machine learning to create personalized writing suggestions. Some of these suggestions are created using information on your iPhone, like photos you've taken and music and podcasts you've listened to throughout the day. And if you forget what podcast you listened to earlier in the day -- like I regularly do -- the app shows you that information when you go to make an entry.
The app also shows you a handful of topics to write about, called Reflections. Some of my Reflections included, "Write about a time you gave someone an unexpected gift," and, "Who cheers you up when you're feeling down?"
Contact Key Verification in Messages
Apple announced Contact Key Verification in December 2022, and the security feature is finally appearing in iOS 17.2 beta 1.
"With iMessage Contact Key Verification, users who face extraordinary digital threats -- such as journalists, human rights activists, and members of government -- can choose to further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend," Apple said in a news release in December.
Apple wrote that many people won't be the target of a cyberattack, but Contact Key Verification gives people who might be a target an additional security layer.
React with Live Stickers
Live Stickers is a new feature Apple introduced in iOS 17 at launch. The feature lets you create your own stickers from pictures you've taken. And in iOS 17.2 beta 1, you can react to texts in Messages with your Live Stickers.
New Apple Music settings
If you subscribe to Apple Music -- which costs $11 a month -- iOS 17.2 beta 3 lets you automatically add songs you've favorited to your library. If you don't like this, you can turn the setting off by going to Settings > Music and tapping the toggle next to Add Favorite Songs.
