Apple has announced that iOS 17.4 is now available with transcripts for Apple Podcasts being quite the major part of the update. Other additions include a few new emojis, as well as enhancements and bug fixes. The biggest changes don’t look to be making their way here though.
With Apple Podcasts transcripts in iOS 17.4, the option to pull up said transcripts can be found at the lower left corner when you have one playing. From here, you can read the entire podcast if you choose, or tap on a specific part of the text to have the podcast play from that point. You can even search for a specific word or phrase for this purpose. Otherwise, if you prefer to read alongside, each word will be highlighted the podcast plays, making the process easier.
More generally, iOS 17.4 sees a bunch of emojis being added. Siri also gets the option to read incoming messages in a number of languages that it supports. According to the announcement email, music recognition now also lets you add identified songs to Apple Music Playlists and Library, for the standard and Classical version of the app.
While Apple says that iOS 17.4 is available for iPhone Xs or later, there is one new addition that only benefits the iPhone 15 range. And that’s more battery-related information under Battery Health. The range includes cycle count, manufacture date, and first use. Which is a lot, but probably helpful in helping you plan and extend its total lifespan.
If you were looking for the bigger changes like alternative browser engines and app stores, these look to be EU-specific, and are therefore not making their way outside of the region. As mentioned, iOS 17.4 is now available for iPhone Xs or later, but if you’re not prompted to download it, you can head to the usual Settings > General > Software Update.
