A highly anticipated event for iPhone users is the release of a new iOS update.
The latest iteration, iOS 17, was announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 on June 5. While it won’t be available worldwide until the fall, most likely in mid-September, it is already generating excitement.
Let’s take a look at the expected features and improvements that iOS 17 will bring to Apple users.
iOS 17: New Features that Await
Although rumors suggest that iOS 17 may offer fewer major changes compared to its predecessor, Apple has announced numerous new features for this update. Let’s explore some of the exciting additions:
Journal: iOS 17 introduces a brand-new app called Journal, which enhances the existing Memories in Photos feature. With Journal, users can relive special moments by capturing experiences through text, location tags, and photos.
Additionally, developers can utilize the Suggestions API to incorporate this functionality into their own apps.
StandBy: Inspired by the Apple Watch, StandBy is a new feature in iOS 17 that transforms your iPhone into a bedside clock. By placing the device in landscape mode on a stand at night, users can view the time using various clock styles.
Moreover, StandBy offers the ability to shuffle through personal photo collections, display widgets, and keep track of live activities, such as game scores. To minimize eye strain, Night Mode can be activated, which displays red text.
Contact Posters: iOS 17 introduces Contact Posters, allowing users to personalize their appearance during calls and on their contact cards. This feature offers customization options such as adding images, selecting fonts and choosing colors.
It seamlessly integrates with Call Kit, enabling its usage in third-party VOIP apps.
Live Voicemail: With Live Voicemail, iOS 17 provides users with real-time transcriptions of incoming voicemail messages. This allows individuals to quickly decide whether to answer the call or not, based on the live transcript displayed.
FaceTime: Apple is enhancing the FaceTime experience in iOS 17 by introducing video messages. Users can now leave video messages within the FaceTime app when the recipient is unavailable to answer the call.
Messages: The Messages app receives several improvements in iOS 17. It becomes faster, and new search filters enable users to narrow down search results by adding specific terms.
Additional enhancements include the ability to jump to the first unread message in a group chat, swipe to reply on any message bubble, and automatic transcription of audio messages.
Moreover, a new Check-In feature ensures that family and friends are notified of the user’s safe arrival at a destination.
Stickers: In iOS 17, all emojis across the system are transformed into resizable stickers. Users can even extract subjects from photos and convert them into stickers. Additionally, live animated photos can be transformed into Live Stickers.
AirDrop: Apple simplifies the process of sharing information with others in iOS 17. AirDrop now allows users to share content simply by bringing their iPhones close together. This includes the ability to easily select the phone numbers and email addresses to be shared.
For example, sharing photos only requires the proximity of the devices.
Keyboard and Dictation: iOS 17 improves the autocorrect feature, making it “more accurate than ever.”
Users can tap on underlined words to revert to their original input. Additionally, predictive suggestions appear in real-time while typing, allowing users to quickly add them with a tap of the space bar.
The autocorrect functionality adapts to individual writing styles through machine learning. Furthermore, Dictation benefits from a new speech recognition model, resulting in increased accuracy.
Siri: In iOS 17, users no longer need to say “Hey” every time they summon Siri. Multiple requests can now be made in a single command, streamlining interactions with Apple’s virtual assistant.
Photos: The People album in iOS 17 incorporates on-device machine learning to recognize more photos of the user’s favorite people, as well as cats and dogs. This enhances the photo organization and browsing experience for users.
Smaller Features: Apple has made numerous smaller improvements to various aspects of iOS 17. These include enhancements to Spotlight search, Notes, Autofill, and Apple Music, among others.
Third-Party App Stores and Sideloading
Leading up to WWDC, there were reports suggesting that iOS 17 would mark a significant shift in Apple’s approach, allowing the distribution of apps outside of the App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, and greater flexibility for browser rendering engines.
These anticipated changes were thought to align with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act.
However, during the WWDC keynote, Apple did not address these potential modifications, nor do they appear on the iOS 17 website. It remains uncertain whether these changes will be implemented at launch or sometime in 2024.
Final Thoughts
In today’s digital age, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives.
Whether we use our phones for scrolling through social media “liking” our friends’ photos, shopping online, searching for the nearest food delivery, or searching for online casinos with quick payout methods, our dependence on these devices is undeniable.
Looking ahead, there have been speculations regarding potential changes to third-party app stores and sideloading. Although not officially confirmed by Apple, these potential modifications are expected to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act.
Whether these changes will be introduced with the initial launch of iOS 17 or in subsequent updates in 2024 remains uncertain. However, it signifies Apple’s willingness to adapt and evolve its policies to meet the evolving needs of its users and regulatory requirements.
As iPhone users eagerly await the release of iOS 17 in mid-September, it is evident that Apple continues to prioritize innovation, user satisfaction, and seamless integration across their ecosystem.
With each new update, Apple strives to enhance the functionality, performance, and overall user experience of its devices, cementing its position as a leader in the mobile industry.
iOS 17 represents Apple’s commitment to pushing boundaries, introducing new features, and refining existing ones. As users anticipate the release, excitement grows for the potential of iOS 17 to transform the way we communicate, express ourselves, and interact with our iPhones.
With its comprehensive feature set and dedication to user satisfaction, iOS 17 is poised to make a significant impact and solidify Apple’s position as a pioneer in the mobile operating system space.