Here's everything you need to know about iOS 17
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 were announced at WWDC 2023, alongside macOS 14 Sonoma. Let's take a look at all the important features in the next-gen mobile operating system.
New features in iOS 17
Siri no longer requires the Hey Siri command, you can now activate the digital assistant by saying Siri. And Siri supports back-to-back commands without having to trigger it each time.
Contact Posters
The Phone app (aka the dialer) in iOS 17 supports personalized contact posters. The feature supports photos and memoji, and is also visible in contact cards. Contact posters are customizable, you can define the font type, and color. Apple says that contact posters are also supported in 3rd party VOIP apps.
Live VoiceMail
When someone calls you and leaves a voice message, your iPhone will display a live transcription of the voicemail on the screen. The Live VoiceMail, as the name suggests, works in realtime as the caller is speaking, so you can decide whether to pick up the call immediately or not. The feature processes the transcription on your device for your privacy.
FaceTime
The FaceTime app now lets you record and send an audio or video message to your contact if they are not available. The app now has reactions such as hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, rain, and more. They can be triggered with simple gestures, and are also supported in third-party video calling apps. Apple says that it has added a most-requested feature to Facetime, the video calling app now supports video messages. So if someone isn't available at the moment, you can record a video message for them to see.
Improvements to Messages
The new search filters in the Messages app lets you add additional terms to an existing query to narrow down the results. The Messages app has a new button in the top right corner, called the catch-up arrow, which you can tap to jump to the first message that you have not read in a chat (or a group conversation). Messages finally lets you reply inline with swipe to reply. The app displays transcriptions for audio messages. Location sharing now displays your friend/family's location directly in the app, i.e. inline location.
The new Check In feature automatically lets loved ones or friends know that you reached home (or your destination) safely. It automatically detects delays during your trip, and prompts you to add an ETA. If you don't respond to the prompt, Messages will automatically send your location, the route you took, your iPhone's battery level, and cell service status to alert your contact. Apple says that all data used to update your contact is end-to-end encrypted.
The iMessage apps are no longer visible above your keyboard, they are now hidden and can be accessed by tapping on the Plus button. The + menu has a new Stickers experience, iOS 17 has made all emojis into stickers. The feature supports peel and stick, (drag and drop) and lets you resize the stickers. You can select subjects from your own photos or other pictures and turn them into stickers. It also supports animated stickers (live stickers), and lets you add effects to them. Stickers can be used to react to messages. Stickers are available system-wide, and are also available in 3rd party apps.
Check In
Apple's new safety feature, Check In, will allow iPhone to notify your family or friend that you have reached a location safely. It will detect delays if you haven't reached your destination on time, and if you don't respond to the prompts, Check In alerts your contact with your location, route, battery level and network status to help them reach you.
Airdrop
Apple's wireless file sharing protocol, AirDrop now supports NameDrop. The feature lets iPhone users exchange their contact information by bringing their phones. It also supports exchange between Apple Watch and iPhone. The same gesture also supports sharing files, photos, etc. Apple says that you may leave AirDrop range and the devices will share the content over the internet, this feature is coming later this year. The gesture can be used to start a shared activity using SharePlay, it also works with apps that support SharePlay API.
AirPlay will work with supported televisions in hotels to let users watch their media on a TV. The feature will roll out to select hotels, starting with brands from IHG Hotels & Resorts.
Keyboard and Dictation
Autocorrect has new transformer language model to improve the accuracy of autocorrect. It can now correct typos in sentence-level, i.e. it fixes multiple errors at once. You may tap on an underlined word that was detected by autocorrect, to see the original word that you typed, and revert to it.
The keyboard in iOS 17 now displays inline word predictions (based on your usage) to help you finish typing your sentence quickly, and you can just tap the space bar to add the words. Dictation (voice input) has a new speech recognition model for the Neural Engine, to improve the accuracy of the input.
Journal app debuts
Apple unveiled its Journal app that we reported about previously. The Cupertino company says that the new app uses on-device machine learning to create personalized suggestions of moments to inspire your writing, to practice gratitude and improve your well-being. These suggestions are created based on your photos, location, activity (such as workouts), and music. The app will also offer reflection prompts to help you write in your journal.
The data in the Journal app is end-to-end encrypted and cannot be accessed by others. Journal is coming to iPhone later this year.
StandBy
iOS 17 can turn your iPhone into a smart display with a new feature called Standby. All you need to do is tilt the phone to the side while charging on a nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk. It displays a full screen always-on experience that displays the time and clock, and supports different clock styles, photos, widgets for weather home controls, 3rd party widgets, calendars, live activities (food delivery, scores).
You can even use it to set a timer with Siri. Standby detects low light environments and switches to a red tone that is easy on the eyes.
Maps
The Maps app supports offline download of an area including turn-by-turn navigation, ETA, and also lets you find places nearby. Users in the U.S. can find thousands of trails in parks, and charging stations for electric vehicles with real-time charging availability information.
AirTag sharing
An AirTag can now be shared with up to five other people who are on iOS 17. This is not limited to your family, so you can share it with friends too, to keep track of an item in Find My. All users in a group will be able to see the item's location, use Precision Finding or to play a sound. The feature is supported in other Find My network accessories.
Accessibility Updates
Apple has introduced Assistive Access, which can aid users with cognitive disabilities to use their iPhone with ease. It has a customizable interface, which we discussed in our previous coverage. Live Speech will help nonspeaking users an option to type and have their words spoken in person, or during phone and FaceTime calls. Personal Voice can help users at risk of speech loss to create a voice that sounds like their own. Point and Speak has been designed to assist blind or low vision users to read text on physical objects by pointing the phone at the labels.
Apple Music
Collaborative Playlists are the latest feature that have made their way to the Apple Music app, you can create playlists with your friends, and use it with SharePlay. Listeners in the group can control the music on their own device, even if they do not have an active Apple Music subscription.
Other notable changes in iOS 17
iOS 17 introduces Interactive Widgets to control devices, perform actions without opening other apps. AirPods have a new feature called Adaptive Audio that adjusts the volume and noise isolation based on background noise. The audio wearables also support Personalized Volume, and Conversation Awareness, as well as improvements to Automatic Switching and call controls.
The Home app in iOS 17 lets users view up to 30 days of activity history across door locks, garage doors, alarm systems, and contact sensors Tap to unlock and PIN codes are now supported on Matter-compatible locks. Visual Look Up now works with paused video frames, and can be used to lift individual subjects from photos and videos. It also lets you identify food, storefronts, signs, and symbols.
Photos app supports on-device machine learning to recognize a user's favorite people, and pets such as cats and dogs. Communication Safety is expanding to AirDrop, Contact Posters, FaceTime Messages and Photos picker. Sensitive Content Warning will help prevent adult users to avoid seeing unwanted nude images and videos.
List of iPhones that are eligible for the iOS 17 update
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
This means that the iPhone 8 and iPhone X will no longer receive major iOS updates. Apple will release iOS 17 along with iPadOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma in Fall 2023.
Please refer to our macOS 14 article, to find out what's new in Apple Safari.
Really the only thing I dislike about MacOS as a whole is the way Apple updates the OS with huge update file downloads. Actually 700Mb is small compared to some Apple has released which are in the gigabyte size. These large file sizes also translate to long update times as well.
I like Emre, Onur, Shaun and Eray’s articles more, Ashwin and Martin are always complaining about something instead of getting excited and sharing their excitement with the world.
Ever since I started bookmarking their pages my mood has been so much better, I’m glad to be free of the depressing vibe the two of them have. Damn it feels good to just enjoy life and not look for things to complain like I used to while I were under their influence.
Personally I really like @Ashwin and @Martin articles both equally. Please respect the authors.
You realize that none of the authors you like are real people, right? They are AI bots ‘writing’ articles that are basically taken from product advertisements (e.g., “Get Protected the Right Way With Avast Free AntiVirus” Really?) So, yes they are excited, but the excitement comes from advertising copy. No real world negativity from those sources.
My approach is to use a UBlock Origin filter to block all the articles except those by Martin and Ashwin. It has made the site readable again for me.
I would like to achieve that as well. Mind sharing some UBlock tricks & tips? :)
@ Anonymous,
Go to this link from yesterday https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4573146 and scroll down to the post by “Anonymous said on September 2, 2023 at 1:33 pm” He (or she) posted instructions on how to skip articles written by users other than Martin and Ashwin.
You might want to consider changing your name before you post to make it easier for users to identify your comments.
@Herman Cost
You can add this to your rules in uBlock Origin:
ghacks.net##.hentry,.home-posts,.home-category-post:not(:has-text(/Martin Brinkmann|Ashwin/))
@John World. Than you dude. So much better.
Why does Martin even allow this garbage to ruin his website. Every single article not written by martin and ashwin reads like sensational clickbait, I don’t care about if I should buy the latest apple product every week, new roblox cock rings that don’t pull your pubic hair, elon musk’s new body spray or whatever bullshit these bots can come up with.
I think he means your filters
+I like Emre, Onur, Shaun and Eray’s articles more
you’ve made my day
It’s not the EU’s fault that Bing is such a crappy search engine. In any event it’s built into the OS and Microsoft does its best to convince users to adopt it over Google by making it the default search tool. A great Many Windows 11 users are not technically minded and don’t know how to switch to another search engine and just accept their lot.
In any event I hope the EU Commission doesn’t allow Microsoft to pull the wool over their eyes.
Both Google and Bing are now worthless. Nowadays, Yandex is the only search engine that finds anything I’m looking for.
Try https://sear.be.
Yandex is Russian and under Putin’s control. Search results you get may not be accurate and possibly manipulated to give you a false sense of security depending on what you’re looking for.
Bing is absolutely a gatekeeper. Except for countries such as China and Russia that have their own search engines (Baidu and Yandex), most of the world’s searches relies on just two search engines: Google and Bing.
Alternative search engines overwhelmingly get their search results from Bing. DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Qwant, Swisscows, Excite, Lycos, Yahoo, You, etc. all use Bing behind the scenes for their results.
StartPage originally used the Google search engine for it’s results, but have also started using Bing as well recently.
Microsoft also use Bing as the default search engine in Windows (such as the Start menu search, Taskbar search, desktop search bar, Edge sidebar, etc.) and use Bing as the default search engine in Edge – which is the default browser on Windows. Windows has greater than 70% desktop market share and is used by more than two billion people.
Not to mention Microsoft’s anti-consumer efforts when it comes to Bing. They have a history of malicious intent by aggressively trying to trick users who use a different search engine and browser into resetting their default search engine and browser back to Edge and Bing (by displaying unscrupulous popup dialogue boxes and full screen pages prompting the user to change their settings back to the “recommended settings” – which is Edge and Bing).
@ ECJ,
Microsoft’s Bing has managed to sidestep the EU’s Digital Markets Act for now arguing that it doesn’t qualify as a gatekeeper: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3705935/eu-lists-gatekeepers-to-be-regulated-opens-imessage-and-bing-investigations.html
The easiest way to avoid Bing is never to use Edge. It’s not mandatory and you’re free to use which browser you wish. I use Floorp myself which is a Firefox fork with many extra privacy configurations. https://floorp.app/en/download/
“A report claims that Apple is developing an affordable MacBook series”
Its is time to stop posting Rumors as reports.
Apple has already a Chrombook killer. It is called : iPad.
I can see Apple getting concerned about losing sales to Chrome OS devices. Given that K-12 kids have probably been using Chromebooks and would be familiar with that platform going off to college. I remember when Apple ruled K-12 computer rooms and because they simply out priced the educational sector. Google managed to take a huge bite out of educational market especially with COVID. I never thought iPads worked in a K-12 setting, and mac’s are too expensive. I doubt Apple can really make a MacBook below $500 which would compete with Chromebooks.
I managed hundreds of ipads for schools when I worked at an MSP – ipads are certainly OK, and boy are they hundreds of times better than Android tablets. Chromebooks suck so much, their market penetration into school system became real when schools received a bunch from government
Apple has always had great diffculty grasping what “low cost” means. I don’t have much faith in them ever generating anything that can compete with a Chromebook, but I’ll buy it if they do. I don’t want a Google OS, Windows is getting painful, and I’m tired of hearing how great Linux is from people who don’t use it.
I agree with the posters above about the usefulness of using a uBO filter to limit the posts I see on this site to those from Martin and Ashwin.
While Apple has patched iOS 16 for this, they haven’t yet indicated if they’re going to for supposedly-still-getting-security-updates iOS 12 (the latest OS option for the millions of still-in-use iPhone 6) and iOS 15 (still in use on millions of iPhone 6s to 8, which can’t be upgraded to 16).
I hope they do. Long-term support is one area where Apple phones crush Android, and it’s the #2 reason I use them (#1 is because not a privacy nightmare).
Apple has now released security updates for iOS 12 and 15 to address this issue. This is how you keep loyal customers.
Released an update for iOS 15, yes; for iOS 12, no. It’s not clear from reading their release notes if this means iOS 12 is not affected, or if they’re just not bothering.
M3 won’t move the needle much on performance. Honestly, Apple has put itself in a bind making the M1 really good. Probably the first time when Mac users can have some real lasting performance. But that also means that many won’t be persuaded to upgrade as often either. I am using a M1 MacBook Air and a M1 Mac mini and have yet to even entertain upgrading to a M2 or even a future M3 model of either because I am very satisfied with the M1 performance.
I like iPhone in general have owned iPhones for many years. But I don’t see these Apple events inspiring me to want to upgrade and spend hundreds to get what few improvements offered up.
People still watch this nonsense? As I get older technology no longer excite me.
I love it – Apple took an objectively bad thing and turned it into something people don’t hate. “It’s not that our front camera/sensors cover up screen real estate, this is uhh, a dynamic island… Yeah! It’s a feature actually, you’re lucky to have it”.
@ bruh,
I like iPhone too, but you have to be a virtual millionaire these days to own one and I don’t have the kind of money required to purchase one I’m afraid.
@ TelV.
I was being a little sarcastic, more so praising Apple’s amazing marketing skill.
My brother has some variant of an iphone 6 and it’s a respectable little device, I often compare it to my S4 mini and it’s very competent. Modern apple is a bit too much for me, but evidently they do some things better – such as battery reporting…
2015??
“Sorry Series 8, Apple Watch Series 9 is as powerful as it is handsome”
“Apple to release iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 on September 18, and macOS Sonoma on October 26”
“Apple unveils the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2”
“Apple Watch Ultra 2 packs a punch to the older generation”
“Does it make sense to upgrade to iPhone 15?”
“iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max with Ray Tracing, Action Button announced”
“Apple announces iPhone 15 series with USB-C port, Dynamic Island”
Seven Applespams, all pushed out within a few hours. You should rename this site “AppleHack”.
I can’t believe people waste their money on smartwatches. The world has truly gone insane.
A total waste of money. Thats why people can’t afford basic necessities anymore. They just keep falling for Apple’s BS every year.
That is, if you don’t mind paying for Apple and their US Gestapo friends reading your most intimate data to use it against you.
> Apple also updated the macOS Sonoma 14 web page to reveal the release date of its desktop operating system. Sonoma will be released on October 26.
This is not true. The website says September 29. I have no idea where your October 26 comes from.
> Rumors suggest that Apple could announce the first M3 Mac in October, though another reliable leaker quashed hopes for any new MacBooks.
I am not aware of any _current_ rumor that suggests that there will be a M3 Mac before 2024.
Is this again an AI written article?
Just an FYI on the USB C situation.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus only use the USB-C end-connector. The actual cable attached to it transfers data at the many years old Lightning cable speed, which is USB 2.0 based. (Max 480 Mbits/s in ideal lab conditions.)
If you want iPhone USB data transfer at true USB 3.0 speed, then you have to pay more to buy the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Plus, which transfers data at actual USB 3.0 speed (5 Gbit/s in ideal lab conditions).
Just another example of Apple using absurd (and very mean-spirited, IMO) down-grading of their lower-priced phone hardware. I mean, who else would sell an $799+ phone in 2023, using a data port that transfers at USB 2.0 speed?
The USB 2.0 spec was published in year 2000, 23 years ago.
The USB 3.0 spec was published in 2008 and the USB C connector spec was published in 2014, tho not widely adopted til paird with USB 3.2 in 2017, fyi.
Man, I find this stuff so cringy – but obviously, it appeals to a certain type of person. I have no issue with Apple, my only issue is that every other hardware and software manufacturer seem to just be trying to copy Apple, instead of coming up with original ideas & visions. I don’t blame Apple for “innovating” in whatever direction they feel necessary, I’m just annoyed that nobody else is,,,
Android is looking more like iOS, Windows 11 is looking more like MacOS, I had to set up a “premium” high-spec Dell laptop recently at work which just looked like a knock-off Macbook. It’s just sad.
People aren’t going to buy stuff that strays too far from the norm. Take for example foldables. I haven’t seen anyone personally that has one, nor are they “taking the market by storm”.
RE: Android looking more like IOS:
That ‘Material You’ garbage is thankfully nowhere near iOS. I think you might be referring to Samsung’s UI though. They try to keep things like Apple to win over Apple users (I think anyways). If it weren’t for Samsung’s UI though, Android would be totally a non-option for me, as Material You is just plain ugly.
I agree that it’s all so cringeworthy and juvenile. I’ve never understood the attraction of Apple products.
Looking forward to Jpeg-XL going mainstream.
Modern hardware and displays need image formats supporting HDR and more than 8bit color depth.
I don’t see the big deal about iPhone 15. Only reason why I bought one was because I was tired of my small iPhone 13 Mini. Otherwise, the 15 is just another incremental upgrade. Unless you have a iPhone unsupported or broken. I think spending $800 plus for a smartphone every couple years is ridiculous.
Simple solution: power it off. Enjoy the freedom.
The longer it takes you to fix the comment problem, the greater the lack of respect for your readers.
I suspect that they are intentionally leaving commenting broken.
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On a side note, I’ve just bought an i15Pro and I always make it a point to decline analytics, however when I checked the location settings, it had iPhone Analytics enabled. Truly angering….
This is not true.
Love wading through the ancient, 100% unrelated garbage comment muck to get to the few actually about the post. Thanks for wasting everyone’s’ time.
Why can’t you recognise how useless and annoying that crap is???
“…However, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, defended it by saying that the deal benefits users as there was no proper alternative, i.e. no other search engine offers the quality of search results that Google provides.”
“…Cue had said that he didn’t know what Apple would have done if negotiations with Google had failed, by which he had implied that Bing’s quality was inferior to its rival search engine.”
Unfortunately, they are correct. I have never liked Google as a company and have always actively tried to avoid them, however Google Search is undoubtedly the best in its field.
For years I used StartPage search, as StartPage historically used Google behind-the-scenes for their search results, but were privacy focused – this gave the best of both worlds and I was perfectly happy. However, earlier this year StartPage started using Bing as well and I noticed the decline in StartPage results pretty much straight away. It was only when I started to investigate why their results were poor I realised that they had started to use Bing as well.
The reality is Bing is a mediocre search engine and by extension all the search engines that use Bing are going to have have mediocre results too. So that sucks, with both StartPage and DuckDuckGo using Bing, it’s been necessary to start going back to using Google again for any semi-advanced search queries.
Perhaps the antitrust case will open up more competition in the search engine field and Bing will get better, however Microsoft under Satya have become super greedy, so it will likely just result in more bullshit AI and more profits for Microsoft, but Bing will continue to be an underfunded, mediocre search engine.
It is amazing how all the article posted always blame the app or the accessory but never the phone. Maybe I am a bit pushing it for this specific issue but earlier I read an article that blames certain apps for causing the phone to overheat and now a charger for killing the wireless charging system. The iPhone itself is never accused of just being a crappy and overpriced for what it is. BMW can charge all other phones no matter where they came from without any issue whatsoever, but the almighty iPhone cannot be charged using standard wireless and the many standard USB chargers. Unless made by apple. It might take a crap when running apps developped using standard Apple development tools.