With WWDC a few weeks away, the reports of what we could see are starting to be more frequent. The latest comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who made an appearance on The MacRumors Show and talked about some of the features we could see in iOS 17, the next major revision of the iPhone operating system.
The major change that Gurman talks about is that Apple could allow sideloading in iOS 17, but it will be available only in Europe. Apple needs to do this to comply with the Digital Markets Act but reports have been unclear whether Apple would make sideloading a regional feature or bring it to the rest of the world. Gurman also reports that Apple will charge a fee to developers who want to participate in any non-Apple service that sells apps.
While Apple is unlikely to give much attention to sideloading during the WWDC keynote, Gurman also discussed two new features that Apple will cover: changes to the Wallet and the Find My apps. He didn’t offer any specifics as to what changes we could see in these two apps but Apple recently added Apple Pay Later and Apple Card Savings to the Wallet app to make it more of a regular destination for financial services.
it’s been previously reported that Apple will include some of iPhone users’ “most requested features” in iOS 17. While that could be marketing language for a glorified maintenance release, iOS 17 could also end up being one of the more satisfying releases in a while. Complaints that longtime iPhone users have had may finally be addressed. To follow along with the latest rumors, be sure to visit our iOS 17 superguide regularly leading up to the June 5 WWDC keynote.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.