Technologies

iOS 17.1: Your iPhone Just Got These New Features

Apple’s next iOS update addresses iPhone 12 safety concerns and adds these features.

Apple released iOS 17.1 to the public on Wednesday, more than a month after the arrival of iOS 17. The update brings a few new features and bug fixes to your iPhone, but some touted features, like the Journal app, are still missing.

To download the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update, tap Install Now and follow the onscreen prompts.

Here are some of the new features and fixes iOS 17.1 brings to your iPhone.

iPhone 12 radio frequency concerns addressed

France’s National Frequency Agency said on Sept. 12 that the iPhone 12 exceeds European-specific absorption rate limits, and it appears Apple addresses those concerns with iOS 17.1.

«iOS 17.1 includes an update for iPhone 12 for users in France to accommodate this specific test protocol that requires reduced power when off-body on a static surface,» Apple posted Oct. 10. «iPhone 12 will no longer increase the allowed power when the off-body state is detected, such as while it is sitting on a table.»

New StandBy mode settings

An iPhone with its Standby screen active

StandBy mode is one of my favorite new iOS features, and in iOS 17.1, Apple gives StandBy mode more setting options. With iOS 17.1, you have the option to turn StandBy mode off after 20 seconds, never or «Automatically.» Apple writes that if you choose Automatically, the display will turn off when your iPhone is not in use and the room is dark, like when you’re sleeping at night.

However, I checked these settings on my iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone XR and only found these options on my iPhone 14 Pro. So it appears the new settings are only available on iPhones with an always-on display.

Apple Music upgrades

In iOS 17.1, Apple adds a new button in Apple Music that allows you to quickly find Favorite songs. When a song is playing and you’re looking at its card on your iPhone, there’s a star outline near the song’s title. You can tap this star to add the song to your Favorites.

There’s also a new way to find all your Favorited playlists, albums and songs. To find them, go into the corresponding category in Apple Music, tap the button in the top-right corner of your screen, and tap Favorited.

Apple Music also shows you song suggestions in iOS 17.1. To see them, go into any of your playlists and scroll to the bottom of the playlist to see a section called Song Suggestions. These are songs that the app thinks you might like, based on your musical tastes.

AirDrop using cellular data

With iOS 17, Apple upgraded AirDrop with NameDrop, which allows two devices to tap each other and exchange contact information — kind of like exchanging digital business cards. And in iOS 17.1, Apple now lets you use cellular data to send and receive information over AirDrop when two iPhones are out of range of each other.

Flashlight symbol in Live Activities

Have you ever accidentally switched on your iPhone’s flashlight and had someone point it out to you later? Some iPhone users won’t have to worry about that anymore. With iOS 17.1, when you turn on your flashlight, a little flashlight symbol appears in the Live Activities feed across the top of your screen. However, I couldn’t replicate this symbol anywhere on my iPhone XR, so this feature likely only works on Live Activity-enabled iPhones, like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, as well as the iPhone 15 lineup.

Full release notes for iOS 17.1

Here are Apple’s full release notes for iOS 17.1, including bug fixes and other improvements:

AirDrop
• Content continues to transfer over the internet when you step out of AirDrop range.

StandBy
• New options to control when the display turns off (iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max).

Music
• Favorites expanded to include songs, albums and playlists, and you can filter to display your favorites in the library.
• New cover art collection offers designs that change colors to reflect the music in your playlist.
• Song suggestions appear at the bottom of every playlist, making it easy to add music that matches the vibe of your playlist.

This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:

• Option to choose a specific album to use with Photo Shuffle on the Lock Screen.
• Home key support for Matter locks.
• Improved reliability of Screen Time settings syncing across devices.
• Fixes an issue that may cause the Significant Location privacy setting to reset when transferring an Apple Watch or pairing it for the first time.
• Resolves an issue where the names of incoming callers may not appear when you are on another call.
• Addresses an issue where custom and purchased ringtones may not appear as options for your text tone.
• Fixes an issue that may cause the keyboard to be less responsive.
• Crash detection optimizations (all iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 models).
• Fixes an issue that may cause display image persistence.

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222.

For more, check out my review of iOS 17 and our iOS 17 cheat sheet.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features and Settings on Your iPhone

Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

Text message verification codes on iPhone

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 15, #888

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 15, #888.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle includes some tricky words. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Yum!

Green group hint: Grammar time.

Blue group hint: They win Oscars and Tonys.

Purple group hint: Think DMZ.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Enhance the taste of.

Green group: Punctuation marks.

Blue group: Kinds of actors.

Purple group: ____ zone.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is enhance the taste of. The four answers are flavor, salt, season and spice.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is punctuation marks. The four answers are colon, dash, period and slash.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of actors. The four answers are character, film, method and stage.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ zone. The four answers are buffer, comfort, time and twilight.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 15, #418

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 418 for Saturday, Nov. 15.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. Not really sure what the yellow category has to do with sports, but OK, whatever. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keeps your head warm.

Green group hint: Nothing but net!

Blue group hint: College signal-callers.

Purple group hint: It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Headgear.

Green group: A score in basketball.

Blue group: First names of SEC QBs.

Purple group: Super ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is headgear. The four answers are balaclava, cap, hat and visor.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is a score in basketball. The four answers are basket, bucket, field goal and make.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is first names of SEC QBs. The four answers are Arch, Diego, Trinidad and Ty.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is super ____. The four answers are flex, Sonics, speedway and star.

Technologies

Older Pixel Phones Score a Handy New Feature: Call Recording

Google says the feature is also coming to non-Pixel phones, though the specific models are unclear.

There are some times when you need to record a phone call — whether it’s for school or for legal purposes — and Google now offers this to more Pixel users. Google is rolling out call recording to older Pixel phones, and even some non-Pixel phones which use the Google Phone app.

Both Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones already include the AI-powered Call Notes function to generate summaries of your conversations. According to Google, the ability to record calls is now coming to Pixel 6 devices and up.

Read more: Best Pixel Phones of 2025

Pixel users with Android 14 software or later, and the latest version of the Google Phone app, can access Call Recording settings by going to Phone > Settings > Call Recording. Users can set up the ability to always record calls, as well as record from certain numbers.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

When in a call, users can press the record button at the bottom of the screen. The other party will then hear a message saying that the call will be recorded. Recordings will be kept indefinitely or you can choose to delete them after seven, 14, or 30 days.

While Google’s support page says the feature is available to non-Pixel phones with Android 9 and up, the feature does appear to be device-dependent. I attempted to use the feature on two recent Samsung Galaxy phones — one with AT&T and one on T-Mobile — and confirmed that the «Call Recording» option doesn’t appear.

A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple iPhone users can also record calls.