Where is iOS 17.5?

Another day’s passed and iOS 17.5 still hasn’t surfaced. We’ve been getting, and seeing, a lot of questions about this and we want to offer our thoughts and help set expectations for iPhone users going forward.

When Apple released iOS 17.4 earlier this month we, like many others in the tech community, thought an iOS 17.5 beta would soon follow.

Historically, this has been the case. For instance, Apple released the final version of iOS 17.3 on January 22nd and it pushed the first iOS iOS 17.4 beta to developers on January 25th.

When it comes to milestone software releases, Apple usually follows a predictable pattern so the gap between iOS 17.4’s release and the release of the first iOS 17.5 beta left us, and others, scratching our heads a bit.

Earlier this month, we heard the company was internally testing iOS 17.5. No surprise there given that its release is a foregone conclusion.

The same report indicated that an iOS 17.5 beta was “likely” to come during the week of March 18th. These are people who know what they’re talking about, so it was strange to see the week come and go without a beta.

Since then, we haven’t heard anything concrete and the software remains in the shadows.

While this might be frustrating for regular beta testers and those dealing with problems on iOS 17.4.1 and older software, the timing actually isn’t that surprising if you take a look back at Apple’s history.

Last year, the company pushed the first iOS 16.5 beta to developers on March 28th. The final version of iOS 16.5 was pushed to iPhone users on May 18th.

In 2022, Apple seeded the first iOS 15.5 beta to developers on April 6th. The company pushed the final version of the update to iPhone owners on May 16th.

In other words, we’re still in Apple’s historical window. And it means we’ll probably see the first iOS 17.5 beta arrive sometime next week with a final, public release in mid-May.

Perhaps the company is simply sticking to protocol. Or maybe Apple’s development cycle was altered by iOS 17.4 and the EU’s deadline for the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

We’ve heard the company’s new iPad Pro and new iPad Air will now arrive in May (as opposed to March or April) so there may be a tie-in with those devices.

Whatever the case, if you’re hoping to try iOS 17.5 or iPadOS 17.5 in the near future, there’s no need to panic. You’ll get your chance soon enough.