On Bedrock edition, there's a simulation distance slider and a render distance slider (For example, chunks in a 128-chunk radius around the player are rendered, but only those in an 8-chunk radius are simulated).

On Java, the game uses your render distance as your simulation distance (Again, for example, ALL chunks in a 32-chunk radius are both rendered and simulated).

It would be nice if the devs could add a simulation distance slider to Java Edition, so higher render distances aren't as laggy.

I think it would be a wasted opportunity if this wasn't added, considering how 1.17 is all about caves and cliffs. What's the point of climbing a big mountain, or making the height limit 320 if you can barely see the area around you?