Today Apple released the RC build of iOS 17.5, among other OS updates, and the release notes brought word of a valuable enhancement coming to the Apple News app for News+ subscribers.
We’ve known for some time that News+ would be gaining a new game, Quartiles, when iOS 17.5 launched. Now it seems there’s another key feature coming to subscribers.
iOS 17.5 to bring offline News browsing
News+ users running iOS 17.5 will be able to browse the Today and News+ tabs of the News app even when offline. Previously much of the app would become non-functional if you were offline, aside from stories you’d intentionally made a point to save. But now, you’ll be able to have a full-fledged news reading experience without an Internet connection. No planning ahead required
It’s unclear how effectively iOS will download articles on the fly so you always have plenty to read. This works entirely behind the scenes. The Settings app does provide options for configuring automatic downloads of various types: Recent Stories, Saved Stories, Magazine Issues, Puzzles, and Audio Stories. Each different content type can be toggled on and off per your preferences, so News only downloads what you want it to.
In my testing using the iOS 17.5 beta, the News app provided a significant number of offline articles for me to enjoy even when I had no connection. Your mileage may vary, but I was encouraged by what I found.
9to5Mac’s Take
Apple News is one of my preferred ways to get the news, so it’s always been a bummer when I’m flying, for example, and can only access my previously saved stories. This change should provide a much more seamless reading experience in the future, and I’m looking forward to that.
Here’s to using the News app for more than just games.
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