Apple is currently officially beta testing watchOS 10.4, iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and visionOS 1.1, among others. This way of testing new features through developers is effective because it allows Apple to debug the software and find new bugs. However, there may be other updates and new versions in development without the need to be in beta. Apparently, Apple tests iOS 17.3.1 internally, an update that would arrive in February for fix security bugs ahead of the official launch of iOS 17.4 in March.
A security update that could arrive soon: iOS 17.3.1
One of the existing ways to detect a new version of iOS without having to be in the beta period is to use the website traffic statistics. This is something that MacRumors has been monitoring for several years since they usually detect new releases by browsing their portal and, weeks later, they are officially launched. This is what happened a few months ago with iOS 17.2.1 or iOS 17.0.3.
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iOS 17.4 and the five big new features arriving in March
Apparently they have been detected new devices with iOS 17.3.1 browsing some sections from MacRumors, which seems to indicate that Apple is testing this new version internally. This new update will be a minor update with a solution to security errors that require an earlier solution since iOS 17.4 will be released throughout March.
If we look at the version history of iOS we see how iOS 16.3.1 released on February 13, 2023 are bug fixes around iCloud features and optimization of the shock detection functionality from iPhone 14. Further back, iOS 15.3.1 was released on February 10, 2022 with Bug fixes around the WebKit SDK. And finally, if we go back to iOS 14.3.1, it was released on January 28, 2021. In other words, we are in a window period during which it is possible for Apple to launch iOS 17.3.1.
