Apple
5 Things to Know About the iOS 17.5 Update
Apple’s released its new iOS 17.5 update for iPhone and the software is available to download right now.
iOS 17.5 is a milestone upgrade, the fifth for the iPhone’s iOS 17 operating system and it brings more than just bug fixes and security patches to iPhone users. It delivers new features as well.
In this guide we’ll outline iOS 17.5’s changes, offer some thoughts about the software’s performance, go over the current list of problems plaguing the software, highlight the iOS 17 jailbreak status, and more.
Table of Contents
We’ll start with a quick look at iOS 17.5’s performance.
iOS 17.5 Review
If your iPhone’s running iOS 17.4.1, you’ll encounter the smallest iOS 17.5 download size. The download is around 857MB. If your iPhone is running low on storage, you may have to make room for the download.
The exact iOS 17.5 download size depends on your iPhone model and the version of iOS it’s currently running.
If you skipped previous versions of iOS, the download could be quite large because the software brings the changes from updates you skipped.
As for the installation, it took about eight minutes to complete on an iPhone 12 Pro. Mileage will vary, but it should take around the same for most iPhone models.
For more about the iOS 17.5 download and installation, take a look at our walkthrough.
We’ve been using iOS 17.5 on an iPhone 12 Pro for a very short time. We haven’t run into any serious problems with the firmware yet, but that could obviously change down the road.
Here’s what we’ve learned about iOS 17.5’s performance thus far:
iOS 17.5 Battery Life & Connectivity
- Battery life is stable, we haven’t noticed abnormal drain
- Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable
- Bluetooth is working normally
- GPS and cellular data are also working properly
App Performance
- Third-party apps including Netflix, Twitter, Slack, Gmail, Chrome, and Spotify are all working fine
- First party apps like Safari, Podcasts, and Calendar are also running well
Speed
- iOS 17.5 feels fast and we haven’t noticed abnormal lag, lockups, or freezes
If you’re dealing with bugs and/or performance issues on iOS 17.4.1, or an older version of iOS, you should install the iOS 17.5 update on your iPhone today.
If you need help making a decision, check out our reasons to, and not to, install iOS 17.5 right now.
iOS 17.5 Features
Apple’s milestone updates (iOS x.x) typically bring new features, enhancements, security patches, and bug fixes to iPhone users and that’s what iOS 17.5 brings.
In the EU, the iOS 17.5 update brings support for web based app distribution. This means iPhone users can download apps from developer websites in the EU.
Here are the official iOS 17.5 release notes:
Apple News
- Offline mode in Apple News+ gives you access to the Today feed and News+ tab, even when you don’t have an internet connection.
- Quartiles is a new and original daily word game that is now available in Apple News+.
- Scoreboard in News+ Puzzles gives you access to new player data for Crossword, Mini Crossword and Quartiles, including stats and streaks.
Tracking Notifications
- Cross-Platform Tracking Detection delivers notifications to users if a compatible Bluetooth tracker they do not own is moving with them, regardless of what operating system the device is paired with.
iOS 17.5 also delivers new security patches to iPhone users and you can learn more about those on the company’s security site.
iOS 17.5 Problems
iOS 17.5 went through an extensive testing process, but Apple’s new firmware is causing problems for some iPhone users.
The list of problems includes Wi-Fi issues, random reboots, abnormal battery drain, Bluetooth issues, installation issues, Exchange issues, and problems with first and third-party apps.
If you run into trouble on iOS 17.5, take a look at our list of fixes for the most common iOS 17 problems. We’ve also released tips that could help you improve your phone’s performance and some tips that could help fix battery life issues.
Apple’s signing on iOS 17.4.1 which means you can drop your iPhone’s software back to older software if iOS 17.5 starts causing problems.
You can’t drop back to anything older than iOS 17.4.1. The downgrade path to older software like iOS 17.3 and iOS 17.2.1 is closed and won’t re-open.
For more about the downgrade process, check out our guide.
iOS 17.5 Jailbreak
If you still jailbreak, make sure you avoid the iOS 17.5 update.
We don’t expect developers to release a tool that’s compatible with the iOS 17.5 today or at any point in the near future.
If you want to jailbreak your iPhone, you must stay put on older software.
What’s Next
iOS 17.5 was the last confirmed iOS 17 update in Apple’s pipeline, but we expect the company to put new software into beta testing sooner rather than later.
Keep an eye out for the iOS 17.6 beta. We expect it to enter beta testing in the near future ahead of an official release in July.
We may also see Apple push iOS 17.5.1 to bridge the gap between iOS 17.5 and iOS 17.6. We’ll let you know if we hear anything concrete.
