Right now, many iPhone owners are focused on the feature-packed new iOS 18 software update, which is currently in beta and will launch to the public in the fall. But Apple continues to release updates to iOS 17 in the meantime, and because of the need to respond in a timely fashion to security vulnerabilities, these are just as important.
The next update to iOS 17 will be 17.5.2, and a reliable source has claimed it is currently in preparation at Apple HQ. Based on past behavior it’s likely to launch later in July. That will arrive before iOS 17.6, which has been in beta testing for a couple of weeks.
According to MacRumors—which declines to link to the source, because their Twitter account is set to private—the anonymous leaker says Apple is preparing to release what is described as a “minor” iOS 17.5.2 update, and this will have a build number of 21F101. It might be minor in terms of interface changes and new features, but the bug fixes and security patches it contains will still be worth installing.
If the idea of an anonymous Twitter source does not sound reassuring, MacRumors is prepared to vouch for this one, noting that they “have proven to be a consistently accurate source for upcoming iOS updates.” Based on the gap between prediction and launch in the past, the site deduces that iOS 17.5.2 will be released within the next two weeks.
There’s one more thing we would like to add. When Apple is testing a software update, it’s common for sites like ours to spot the as-yet-unreleased OS showing up in very small numbers in web analytics. We haven’t noticed iOS 17.5.2 so far. That doesn’t mean it’s not coming, but it’s a point of corroboration we cannot provide on this occasion.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.