iOS 17.5 Adds Offline Reading Mode for Apple News+

Not long after its Let Loose event concluded yesterday, Apple began rolling out the release candidate (RC) of iOS 17.5 to developers. That’s typically the final version of a software update before the public release, and while Apple’s iOS updates are usually feature-complete by the time the RC lands, sometimes we get a surprise or two.

Sometimes, that’s a new feature that Apple flips the switch on at the last minute, while other times, it’s just a matter of discovering something in the release notes that went unnoticed during earlier betas.

It’s unclear what the case is here, but it looks like Apple News+ subscribers are getting more than just a new game.

Apple News+ Offline Mode

Last month, we reported on Quartiles, a new word game that will join the crossword puzzles introduced last year to mix things up more in Apple News+. Along with Quartiles (which we’ve already been enjoying in the betas), Apple is also tying News into Game Center to provide leaderboards, stats, and streaks so you can challenge your friends across all three puzzles.

However, it seems Apple has another surprise up its sleeve for Apple News+ with a new offline mode that will help you keep reading even when you’re otherwise disconnected.

Offline mode in Apple News+ gives you access to the Today feed and News+ tab, even when you don’t have an internet connection

That’ll be a handy feature for folks who travel for business or regularly commute via underground transit, where data coverage can be sketchy or nonexistent.

Although it’s been possible to save specific stories and magazines in Apple News for offline reading, most of the app would be rendered useless as soon as your Wi-Fi or cellular data connection dropped off.

However, with iOS 17.5, Apple News+ subscribers will be able to browse the Today feed and News+ tab without an internet connection — without the need to plan ahead.

This works automatically in the background, so you won’t need to adjust any settings. However, there’s also a new Download Options section under News in the Settings app that lets you choose which categories of content to download automatically — Recent stories, Saved Stories, Magazine Issues, and Puzzles — and whether you want to optimize storage by downloading only smaller versions of images in stories.

Opening the News app when you’re not connected to the internet will show a “News+ Offline Mode” banner that includes only the stories that have been downloaded. This may be different from what you see when you’re online, but you’ll be able to read anything that appears here.

If you’re already in the News app when your connection drops, the feed won’t change, but a banner will appear at the top, giving you the option to “Show Stories Downloaded for Offline Mode.” Tapping on that will switch you to the offline mode feed, filtering out anything that hasn’t been downloaded.

However, you can also choose to continue reading from the normal view; anything that isn’t available offline will be shaded out, so you’ll still be able to tell at a glance what’s available without having to tap and guess.

When your internet connection comes back, a similar banner will appear, with a “Check for New Stories” option to return to the online feed.

It’s unclear what algorithms Apple is using to determine what to keep offline, but it’s probably at least a few days of recent news; in my testing, I had to scroll quite far back to find anything that hadn’t been downloaded, although your mileage may vary depending on how many different categories and publications you follow.