iOS 17.1 Public Beta Arrives with Fix for Apple Mail Move-to-Folder Bug

Apple seems to be on a roll with iOS 17 updates. Only a day after releasing the first iOS 17.1 beta to developers, Apple already has it out as a public beta for other early adopters to enjoy.

While jumping into early public betas should never be taken lightly, this one fixes a few problems in iOS 17.0 that could make it worth considering — especially for Apple Mail fans.

As we reported earlier this week, the last few iOS 17 betas mysteriously broke an important productivity feature in Apple Mail: the ability to offer up suggested folders when moving one or more messages out of your inbox.

This single feature is a huge time-saver for folks who use Apple’s built-in Mail app since routine messages like receipts, newsletters, or even conversations with friends and colleagues can all be quickly dispatched to the correct folder without the need to scroll up and down through an entire folder list.

While it won’t work with every message, as the Mail app has to recognize a pattern of what you typically put in each of your folders, it makes triaging the inbox on your iPhone an incredibly smooth process. I observed the disappearance of that feature in mid-August, around the time that the sixth iOS 17 beta landed, and quickly felt its absence. I reported it to Apple, hoping it would be fixed in the final release, but sadly, nothing changed when iOS 17.0 arrived.

Needless to say, it was one of the first things I tried after installing yesterday’s iOS 17.1 developer beta, and I was pleasantly surprised when it immediately worked just as well as before.

Beyond that, iOS 17.1 also fixes another issue by bringing back the missing list of custom tones for text and mail notifications. While iOS 17.0 allowed you to keep whatever custom tone you had previously set, you couldn’t select any other custom tones, and if you chose one of the default ones, you wouldn’t be able to get your original one back.

If you’ve been frustrated by either one of these problems in iOS 17, the good news is that it looks like iOS 17.1 will fix them. At least, that’s certainly the case in the public beta that’s out now; we’re hoping nothing will break again before the final iOS 17.1 release.

While that final release will probably arrive by late October, if you’d rather not wait, you can update to the public beta right now. This is easier than ever before, as all you need to do is sign up at Apple’s Beta Software Program website and then select the iOS 17 Public Beta under Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Once enabled, your iPhone should offer you the iOS 17.1 public beta as a routine software update.

What Else is New in iOS 17.1?

In addition to these two fixes, updating to iOS 17.1 brings a few other fun new things to play with, including:

• Support for AirDrop transfers over the Internet so you can continue sending a large video or other file to someone even after walking away, using Wi-Fi or (optionally) Cellular. Note that the receiving device must also be running iOS 17.1 for this.
• Marking songs, albums, artists, and playlists as Favorites in Apple Music. This replaces the old Love/Dislike system and will likely tie into a Favorites Playlist that Apple plans to roll out later.
• You can customize your playlists with your own artwork or choose from a gallery of predefined images.
• When the Flashlight is switched on, a new icon will appear in the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This came to the iPhone 15 models in iOS 17.0, but there was never any logical reason for it to be an iPhone 15 exclusive feature.
• If you update your Apple Watch to the watchOS 10.1 public beta, which is also now available, you’ll also be able to take advantage of NameDrop from any iPhone running iOS 17.
• iPhone users in the UK can now add their bank accounts to Apple Wallet to see their current account balances.
  

While there are still some other iOS 17 features we’re waiting to see show up “later this year,” such as Collaborative Playlists in Apple Music, it’s possible these could appear in later public iOS 17.1 betas.