iOS 17 overview: Notable new options and streamlined touches

Your newest iPhone replace is formally right here. iOS 17 brings some substantial new options and plenty of upgrades that streamline how you employ your iPhone, particularly when connecting with different iPhone customers.

Whereas the lock display screen customizations launched in iOS 16 shaped the massive visible change final 12 months, Apple has now utilized an analogous makeover to your cellphone calls and phone lists. And at a time when there isn’t any scarcity of video name apps and companies, it’s attempting to make FaceTime much more compelling.

Once I previewed the developer build a month or so in the past, I targeted on messages and FaceTime, each of which acquired plenty of consideration on this replace. After a bit extra time with the completed product, iOS 17 appears like an enormous quality-of-life improve for iPhone customers. And not using a large tentpole function, it’s tougher to pinpoint why it’s so significantly better — however I am going to attempt.

Supported units

20 completely different iPhone fashions help iOS 17, going way back to 2018’s iPhone XR. As lots of the OS updates this 12 months aren’t significantly processor- or machine learning-intensive, you’re not lacking out on a lot with older supported iPhones. One exception is StandBy, which works finest (or the way it ought to) with Apple’s finest smartphone screens — always-on shows.

StandBy Mode

With StandBy, Apple is dipping its toe within the sensible show waters with out making you purchase one other system. (For now.)

In case your iPhone is horizontal and charging, iOS 17 will shift into StandBy mode, ditching your wallpaper and icons for large clocks, calendar information, now taking part in widgets, photographs and the remaining. (One curious oversight: no electronic mail widget.)

You’ll want an iPhone 14 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional to make sure it really works prefer it ought to — that’s, all the time on. With all the opposite units, you’ll must faucet the display screen to get your data, which defeats the purpose. StandBy additionally makes use of the identical iOS widget Sensible Stacks so you may swipe between completely different data.

With iOS 17, we lastly get interactive widgets, too, so you may toggle sensible dwelling lights or tick one thing off your to-do record with out having to launch a whole app. (One other useful function coming to Reminders and your to-do lists is an automatic grocery record function, which can detect once you’re composing a procuring record, and draw collectively merchandise you’ll usually discover in the identical place within the grocery retailer.)

Apple’s Continuity upgrades imply now you can use widgets in your Mac, even in case you don’t have the identical app put in in your laptop. There are additionally extra curated widgets for iOS 17, so you may choose a particular photograph album to populate them (no extra screenshots or very dated vacation photographs) and dedicate widgets to podcasts, Safari or your music.

Contact posters and FaceTime

Contact Posters remain the big visual twist for iOS 17. Nevertheless, I’m nonetheless ready for my iPhone-carrying pals to replace their units so I can see the shiny improve. Contact posters combine completely different profile photographs, fonts and colours and can seem when somebody calls you, FaceTimes you, or once you’re looking out by way of contacts. This picture will even seem once you try out NameDrop, Apple’s new function for contactless… contact sharing. As I famous in my preview, the profile photograph you employ doesn’t should be taken in Portrait mode to make sure the cutout impact between the picture and textual content, which is good.

NameDrop presents a level of customization, so once you share your particulars, you may select what cellphone numbers and emails to shoot throughout by bringing two appropriate iPhones shut to one another. There’s a stunning visible undulation, sound impact and haptic buzz, making it an odd delight to share your particulars. Apple additionally teased an upgraded AirDrop, in a position to switch content material on-line even in case you step away. Nevertheless, that function will arrive later this 12 months.

With FaceTime, alongside some new augmented actuality gestures, you may depart a video voicemail if somebody doesn’t reply your name. Sure, you’re simply sending a video, to be trustworthy, nevertheless it’s right here if it is advisable just do that.

Messaging will get higher and higher

So, Messages is nice now? It’s taken a while, however I’ll admit it: I need my pals to ditch WhatsApp and return to the opposite inexperienced messaging app. (And to my Android pals, I’m sorry.)

Apple has improved its sticker options, together with Stay Stickers, animated stickers taken from Stay Photographs. iOS 17 now collates all of my minimize–outs of canine, selfies and infants into one drawer. This drawer additionally homes memoji, emoji and third-party stickers. Like static cutout stickers earlier than, you may ‘raise’ topics out of photographs by lengthy urgent on them within the Photographs app. With iOS 17, you may add sticker results, like “shiny” and “puffy” that mirror fake gentle once you transfer your cellphone. Stickers can now even be used from the sticker drawer and added to photographs, paperwork, and screenshots with Markup – that’s the little pencil tip icon.

A brand new Test In function, embedded into Messages, can auto-notify somebody that you simply’ve arrived at a vacation spot. When you don’t arrive by a specified time, your iPhone will even ask you to substantiate you’re okay, and in case you don’t reply, an alert might be despatched to whoever you despatched the Test In notification to. The recipient could be knowledgeable of sign standing and battery life. You may even share the route you’re taking, in case you’re keen to.

The keyboard is far improved, however I’m undecided how

Apple has taken on board the criticism of its typically spotty autocorrect accuracy. It says it’s utilizing a brand new “transformer language mannequin” for its autocorrect strategies in English, French and Spanish. Nearly instantly, it labored higher and has improved additional over the previous few weeks. I observed my cellphone swapped ‘bbiab’ for ‘Brian’, in an electronic mail to Engadget’s head of Video.

That is made even higher by the momentary underlining in your autocorrected phrases, so you may see what’s modified — nice for once you didn’t discover your iPhone tweaking your missives.

Tapping on an autocorrection reveals a pop-up of the unique, so you may simply swap it again if you need. Predictive textual content strategies seem mildly improved too. iOS 17 ends Apple’s prudish method relating to curse phrases, so now you can save your favourite naughty phrases, and your iPhone will be taught them and (hopefully) use them appropriately.

Stay Voicemail and voice be aware transcription

Stay Voicemail is one function not but out there to me within the UK. And I’d very very similar to it, please. This voicemail improve permits you to display screen a name by way of stay transcription, with the iPhone parsing what somebody says, you may then choose up the decision in the event that they’re saying one thing you’re interested by listening to about – or simply allow them to depart a message.

I had our Government Editor Aaron Souppouris — whose London accent is incomprehensible to lots of people — check this function within the US. In case your cellphone is locked when the decision is available in, the system prompts you to unlock to learn stay. As soon as unlocked, Stay Voicemail caught each phrase he stated, which is fairly spectacular.

It’s a unique method to Google, which launched its personal call-screening methods to the Pixel years in the past. In Android’s implementation, the system screens calls and asks the caller questions. It’s a bit extra… interactive. In iOS 17, you get a stay transcript of their message and may select to interrupt them by leaving the message. Or simply get the jist. Google’s method means folks know they’re being screened which I dislike.

Machine-learning transcription isn’t new on iPhones (you’ve been in a position to dictate in your cellphone for years), nevertheless it’s the implementation in iOS 17 that’s. When somebody sends you a voice be aware on Messages, the iPhone can now auto-transcribe the contents of that voice be aware, so long as the audio is evident sufficient. I feel I made my level throughout our iOS 17 preview, however It is my favourite function this 12 months. 

Enhancements past the iPhone

The iOS 17 advantages even stretch to your AirPods — in the event that they’re the newest ones. With second-gen AirPods Professional, you’ll get adaptive audio — and dropdown icons in your cellphone to toggle the brand new options on and off. This adjusts the extent of noise cancellation in a noisier setting and is bolstered by a brand new Dialog Consciousness function, which, when it detects you talking, will decrease the amount of your music or podcast. Sadly, it does the identical once you cough. Try our deep dive on the brand new options here.

When you personal AirPlay-compatible units, iOS 17 will supply up speaker choices and routinely join once you play audio in your iPhone, additional streamlining the method. Nevertheless, with my HomePod, I needed to be very shut for the auto-connect popup to seem.

Whereas we’re speaking audio, voice assistant Siri picks up some minor, however notable, enhancements. No extra ‘Hey Siri’ simply ‘Siri’ — they’re cool like that now. Siri now handles back-to-back instructions, too.

Cross-device enhancements even attain AirTags and different Discover My-enabled peripherals. Different folks can now monitor these, so two folks can monitor the identical merchandise.

Elsewhere, Safari now presents separate shopping profiles on your work and private – or every other manner you’d wish to divide up your web exploring. iOS 17 additionally introduces group password and passkey sharing.

One other easy improve to your iPhone expertise is any two-factor authentication codes and messages despatched to your electronic mail might be routinely inserted into your internet browser, a function that’s been out there for codes in textual content messages for years. Higher but, iOS can now routinely delete these texts or emails after you’ve inserted the code, clearing out area, particularly in Messages, for the texts that matter.

Lacking elements

In the course of the large iOS 17 reveal at WWDC 2023, Apple famous that some options of the brand new OS wouldn’t be out there at launch. One of many large ones is a Journal app.

Apple says that Journal will glean particulars from different apps, like Messages and Podcasts, routinely suggesting stuff you would possibly need to recall and write about. The Journal app is scheduled to land earlier than the tip of the 12 months.

There are just a few different issues not right here on the time of public launch, too, like the improved AirDrop capabilities I discussed earlier. Music collaboration was additionally teased, with the flexibility to ask pals to your playlists and let anybody add, reorder, and take away songs – or react to poor selections with emoji.

One other function I’m ready on is clever kind detection for PDFs. Apple says iOS 17 will ultimately be capable of establish PDF varieties throughout Recordsdata, Mail and any scanned recordsdata you’ve snapped. If it means I don’t have to tug out my laptop computer each time I must fill in a PDF kind, I’m on board.

There are some main accessibility upgrades too, which could get misplaced within the barrage of options. The large one is Private Voice. After quarter-hour of speaking at your iPhone, (studying set phrases aloud), the iPhone can simulate your voice, a la DeepFake methods we’ve seen in recent times. Whereas it’s cool to have a robo-Mat, the use case is anybody who could lose the flexibility to talk, or finds it troublesome to take action now. (It additionally sounds fairly synthetic, having toyed with different comparable voixe fashions in Descript and different companies.) With Private Voice, you may convert written textual content right into a voice for FaceTime, Cellphone calls and different appropriate communication apps.

One other function tucked away in Accessibility settings is the flexibility to hurry up haptic contact. Haptic Contact is the lengthy contact function that changed the (arguably higher?) 3D Contact first discovered on the iPhone 6S. An extended press on an icon or a photograph takes longer than urgent exhausting on 3D Contact. Now you may tweak the settings (Accessibility-> Contact-> Haptic Contact). This instantly sped up all of the menu shopping and secondary options I accessed by way of lengthy presses — give it a attempt.

Wrap-up

With iOS 17, the visible variations are apparent. However underlying these are many small upgrades, particularly for iPhone customers that talk principally with different iPhone customers. When you’re utilizing FaceTime, you may depart a video message or use a handful of wacky augmented actuality gestures. When you’re calling them or messaging different iOS 17 customers, there are Stay Stickers, Test In, Contact Posters, NameDrop and voice be aware transcription — already the standout function to me this 12 months. (I’m nonetheless ready for extra of my acquaintances to rise up to hurry and obtain the replace, so I, selfishly, can use these options extra.)

When you’re already utilizing AirPods Professional, they’re higher, too. Conversational Consciousness is already making me look much less of an ass after I order my drink on the espresso store.

Alongside broader quality-of-life enhancements to typing and Messages, Apple has additionally continued to push ahead with accessibility options, too. We’re nonetheless ready on that journaling app and a number of other extra options. Nonetheless, there are sufficient notable modifications this 12 months, combining the brand new (StandBy) with the improved (predictive typing) to maintain your iPhone recent with out having to spend money on new {hardware}.