iOS 17 public beta 3 is here, with changes to Live Voicemail, Shazam, and more

Better looking and less confusing

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We’re now getting close to the expected September release ofiOS 17, but ahead of that, new betas keep landing; with the third public beta having just dropped, complete with tweaks to various apps and features.

There aren’t any huge changes here, but there are plenty of small adjustments, such as a new recording when a caller reaches your Live Voicemail. Now, rather than “After the tone, please say why you’re calling. The person you’re calling may pick up,” it says “Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. The person you’re trying to reach is not available.”

This switch is aimed at making it less confusing for callers, who may previously have waited to see if you’d pick up the phone rather than leaving a message.

There are also some new animations, such as for Shazam, which you can see in the post from Brandon Butch below, and a new animation sound for AirDrop, whichBrandon Butch has also shared.

Apple’s animations are on another level 🥵(New Shazam animation in iOS 17 B5) pic.twitter.com/QjelQHyQplAugust 8, 2023

Other changes include a new splash screen when you open an incognito window inSafari, prompting you to lock your private browsing session with Face ID or a passcode.

Then there are changes to the icons for Safari functions in the Shortcuts app, and tweaks to the appearance of the Mental Wellbeing section of the Health app. Finally, the App Store labels for downloading, opening, and updating apps are no longer in all caps.

Betas for everything

This latest iOS 17 beta has landed alongside a new beta foriPadOS 17, with similar changes, as well as newwatchOS 10,tvOS 17, andmacOS Sonomabetas.

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Downloading any of these is fairly straightforward, but you can head to our guides coveringhow to download the iOS 17 beta,how to download the iPadOS 17 beta,how to download the watchOS 10 beta, andhow to download the macOS Sonoma betafor more information.

Remember though, that betas are inherently buggy, so you might be better off waiting for the finished releases of these updates, especially as they’re probably not much more than a month away now.

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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