After an event of rumors, Apple finally announced iOS 17 at its yearly event called WWDC. It is the next big update for iPhones. Soon after the iOS 17 announcement, its beta update was also released for developers. Yes, today iOS 17 beta testing begins.
iOS 17 will be a free upgrade for iPhone XS and later users. Yes, Apple drops the support for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, as well as the iPhone X. The update is already available for developers for testing purposes. Apple says the public beta will be released next month and the stable update in the fall.
With iOS 17 officially being revealed, Apple has always made sure that its new operating system is not just new in the form of a numerical increment but loaded with a good number of features that are super useful for you, the iPhone user. Now, let’s take a look at what Apple has introduced for the iPhone with iOS 17.
Contact Posters
Gone are the days when the call screen on your iPhone would look bland and boring. With iOS 17, you can now easily customize the call screen on your iPhone. You can easily add typography, Memeoji, and images to the call screen. You can easily customize the name of the contact by choosing different colors. Also, if you are someone from Japan or China, the contact name is now beautifully displayed vertically.
Live Voicemail
With Live Voicemail in iOS17, you can easily get a live transcript on your screen. This is useful when you might be in a meeting and someone is calling you. Live Transcript will display what your caller is calling you for and you can choose to answer the call or simply ignore it right away. This is beneficial as it helps to stay away from scammers. Additionally, you can now send a mini video message via Facetime if your contact is unable to answer your Facetime call.
Stickers Everywhere
Apart from the static sticker packs that you have always been familiar with, the Messages app now lets you send, share, and even create Live Stickers. These stickers can be created using images captured on your iPhone. Also, you can create animated stickers from the images captured using Live Motion. These Live Stickers can now not only be used with Apple apps but also with third-party apps- apps where Markup is present.
Improvements in Messages
Replying to someone’s messages in the Message s app can now be done with just a simple gesture. Sharing your location with your contact is easy. Your contact will be able to easily see your live location within the Messages app thus avoiding unnecessary taps and app launches.
iOS 17 also ensures that you don’t have to scroll all the way up to the texts that you haven’t read. You can quickly jump to the message that you last read in the conversation. Also, you can easily search through texts in the messaging app thanks to the new and improved search function that lets you add various search filters.
FaceTime Improvements
You can easily add reactions to your Facetime calls and also now be able to use Facetime with your Apple TV. The camera? Well, your iPhone camera can be used as the camera for your Apple TV, thanks to Continuity Camera. The new gesture effects will not only work Facetime but also with other video calling apps.
NameDrop
iOS 17 will now make you forget the old-school ways of sharing contacts with other iPhone users. Thanks to NameDrop, this feature lets two iPhone users share contacts with each other just by keeping both devices side by side. You can also choose to share contacts via nameDrop from an iPhone to your Apple Watch.
Uninterrupted AirDrop Sharing
While AirDrop traditionally required iPhone users to be nearby to share files wirelessly, things have now changed with iOS17. Even if you are no longer nearby with the other iPhone user, the files that are being shared via AirDrop can now be shared using an internet connection thus keeping your file sharing uninterrupted.
Apple Keyboard Improvements
The new Apple keyboard app now has improved autocorrect functionality and is also now able to understand and save words that you would use on a regular basis. The keyboard will also suggest those new words based on the text that you are typing out. Grammatical mistakes are now a thing of the past. The Apple keyboard app can also fix your grammatical errors and mistakes plus help you autocomplete sentences by just tapping on the spacebar.
Turn Your iPhone into a Nightstand
When your iPhone is mounted sideways on your stand, you can now make use of the new standby feature. What this does is it makes use of your iPhone;s screen to display the time. You can also choose different types of clock styles. Additionally, you can choose to display your favorite photos and widgets on the screen. Siri, incoming calls, and other notifications will now appear bigger when your iPhone has StandBy mode enabled.
New Journal App
You can easily save all your favorite moments such as pictures, places visited, and contacts in the Journal app. The best part about this app is that you can choose to keep all the details behind a lock on your iPhone. This helps to ensure that nobody can get access to your private Journal- including Apple.
Offline Maps
You can now use Apple Maps to download a specific section of the map for offline use. This will also download turn-by-turn navigation information and also show you the ETA at your destination. EV users can now look for charging stations so that they can easily navigate to juice up their vehicle’s battery.
Improvements to Health App
With mental health as the main focus for Apple, you can easily add your moods and other emotions to the app on a daily basis. Thanks to TrueDepth, your iPhone will now be able to advise you to keep your device far away from your face after using it for a long period of time. This helps to ensure that your eyesight does not get harmed by constant screen viewing.
AirTag Sharing
You can now share the Appel AirTag with five other people. This will now share information about the AirTag such as its location, the ability to play a sound to look for the AirTag, and also make use of Precision Finding to look for the shared AirTag.
AirPlay Hotel
Soon you will be able to AirPaly your favorite content from your iPhone to other devices in your hotel via AirPlay Hotel. This feature will be available towards the end of 2023. Since this will be secured, you can ensure that all content being shared to any AirPlay Hotel devices will always be private.
Share Passwords and PassKeys Securely
Now, easily share your Passwords and Passkeys with trusted contacts securely via iCloud Keychain. All trusted contacts can easily add new passwords and edit older pens with ease. This helps to keep your credentials safe and up-to-date at all times.
Better AirPod Functionalities
New audio features such as Adaptive audio, Custom Volume, and Conversation Awareness helps to make you easily listen to a person who is speaking to you in front of you. The other cool feature of AirPods is that you can quickly and automatically switch between media playback and calls. A big improvement for those who make use of Apple AirPods regularly.
View Home App History
The new update to the Home app on iPhone now lets you see a total of 30 days of activity. Be it locking doors, garage doors, and alarm systems. There is also now support for Matter devices.
Grocery List in Reminders
Any or all items that have been added to the list will now automatically be grouped in the Reminders app. You can choose how you’d like to group the items. Best of all, the list will now be able to remember your preferences.
Visual Lookup in Paused Videos
Whether you want to figure out what the signboard, storefront, symbols, and food is shown in a paused video frame, users can easily lift these types of subjects and search for them with ease.
Just Say Siri
You can now invoke Siri by just saying, Siri. You no longer need to say Hey Siri to invoke the voice assistant. Multiple commands can also be issued without having to keep calling out Siri.
Smart Photo app
The Photos app can now detect your household pets like cats and dogs, but also deets people that you regularly click photos with.
Sensitive Content Warning
You can now choose to avoid looking at sensitive images thanks to the new Sensitive Content Warning. This warning will now be displayed on your screen and you can choose to either view or not view the image. This helps in ensuring you have a safer experience online.
Accessibility Improvements
iPhone users with cognitive disabilities can now access a customized interface that can help them to easily navigate. Users with difficulty in speaking can make use of Live speech. Live Speech lets users type out what they want to say and the text will be spoken by the iPhone. This will work perfectly with regular calls and also with FaceTime calls. Also, users who are visually impaired can now use their iPhones to view and read out text that is present on objects.
Related Articles: