Apple's iOS 17.2, the latest version of the operating system for its iPhones, is now available in Software Update – but some last-minute changes mean it's missing two key features that were previously promised. The missing features aren't going to massively impact your day to day phone usage, but it's still disappointing if you were waiting for them to arrive.
The first feature that Apple's dropped is the new collaborative playlists feature in Apple Music. This Spotify-style feature has been promised several times for iOS 17 and was enabled in the early iOS 17.2 beta versions, but Apple has now removed it and updated the release notes to say that the feature has been delayed. As this is the last significant update to iOS we'll see in 2023, that means the feature isn't coming until next year.
The most likely explanation for the delay is simple enough: it isn't working properly yet. So while it's frustrating that the feature isn't here yet, it'd be even more frustrating to have it and not be able to rely on it.
AirPlay for hotel room TVs has been delayed too
The other much-vaunted feature that's absent from iOS 17.2 is the ability to use AirPlay in hotel rooms. The feature was promised for a 2023 release but Apple now says it'll be coming in a 2024 update; it hasn't indicated which bit of 2024.
This is another feature that resembles something rivals offer, in this case Google: the feature works similarly to the one for Chromecast where you scan a QR code on your hotel room's TV in order to stream media from your smartphone. The idea is to make travellers' lives easier by offering a fast and simple way to get your favourite streaming services and apps in your hotel without having to rely on the hotel's own apps – although you'll still be reliant on the hotel's Wi-Fi.
Even when the feature does launch, you're probably not going to be able to use it very often: Apple is launching it with a single hospitality partner, albeit a big one: IHG, owner of Holiday Inn. The hotel group was expected to provide the new feature on LG Pro:Centric Smart Hotel TVs in "select properties" from late 2023.
