All IOS 17 Features Announced by Apple at WWDC
While the Internet may be buzzing about the expensive Apple Vision Pro VR headset, there has been a lot of other news about WWDC 2023 . For those of us with iPhones, the biggest story might just be iOS 17. While the update won’t be the most groundbreaking Apple has ever released, it does add a host of new features to try as long as your iPhone is compatible. .
New phone app
The Phone app might be the last app you’d expect Apple to try to update, but they have an update. In iOS 17, Apple is introducing Contact Posters, a custom caller ID you create for your contact card. It works like the iOS 16 lock screen editor: you choose a great photo of yourself (or your Memoji), add dramatic effects, and turn on dynamic text to make the card stand out. Every time you call someone on your iPhone, they will see your contact poster fill their screen.
Another important phone feature is Live Voicemail. When you transfer a call to voice mail, you can view a live transcript of the voice message that the caller leaves. It’s a great way to view calls and know if you want to answer them now or return to them later. If your son calls you, for example, during a meeting, you can read about how he found a family of raccoons living in the basement and that he would like to bathe them in your bath, which may be reason enough to leave the meeting and answer the call. (No, that’s the example Apple used in this part of the presentation.)
Apple notes that if you have “Disable Unknown Callers” turned on, iOS will immediately send the call to live voicemail, and instead, any call deemed spam will be rejected.
New updates for iMessages
Starting with iOS 11 , Apple stores your iMessage apps in the app drawer below the text box. It’s…well, but it’s never been a great experience. You can hide these apps by tapping the “A” app icon, but even that won’t hide the camera. Now all these apps are in a new icon (+) next to your text box. If you want to access anyone, click (+) and choose which app you want to use. It starts with standard options like Camera, Photos, Audio Messages, and Location, but you can swipe down to see the rest.
Apple is also focusing on security with its latest update, introducing the “Check In” feature that lets a friend know when you’ve reached your destination. If your iPhone detects that you’re not making progress or have deviated significantly from your route, that friend can see your location, iPhone battery level, and cellular service to make sure you’re okay. This is perfect for those of us who use features like location sharing so our friends and family can get home safe and sound.
Speaking of locations, you can now see shared locations right in Messages. You can also refine your message search by adding filters and terms, and read transcripts of audio messages to catch up without listening to them.
When you open a busy chat thread you missed, a new “layout” appears that takes you to the first unread message. Plus, you can swipe right on any message to send an inline reply instead of long-pressing it first.
Now anything can be a sticker
Apple is releasing stickers with a big update this year, as the sticker can be anything. It works with last year’s feature that allows you to capture a subject from any photo . These themes can now be a sticker that you can add to any message on your iPhone – even in third-party apps. You can apply effects to these stickers and even create Live Stickers from Live Photo.
Leave an audio or video message in FaceTime
One of the iOS 17 features I’m most looking forward to is this: when you FaceTime someone and they don’t answer, you can now leave an audio or video message for them. It’s like voicemail, but with your face! Plus, they can watch your message on their Apple Watch, which is great fun.
Also new to FaceTime are the 3D reactions you might be used to on your favorite video conferencing app. As with some of these apps, you can initiate these reactions with gestures (e.g. lift the camera’s thumb to activate the thumb up reaction). You can also start a FaceTime call from your Apple TV using your iPhone’s camera.
Standby mode
StandBy turns your iPhone into a smart display anytime it’s on its side and charging. You can customize large widgets to display useful or fun information, such as the time, calendar, or weather. You can even use large live actions to keep track of things like food delivery or the score of a game you’re tracking. If you use it at night, the screen turns red so you can check the time in the middle of the night without burning your eyes.
Big improvements to interactive widgets
Finally . Home screen widgets were a fun addition to iOS, but they weren’t particularly useful: while they display important information, tapping one takes you to the app itself, which feels like an unnecessary extra step. Now we can avoid this step altogether: you can interact with widgets right from the home screen, including actions like checking your to-do list, playing music, or turning on the lights in the Home widget.
AirDrop gets a big update with “NameDrop”
With iOS 17, AirDrop is getting its biggest update yet. Now you can share data by simply bringing your devices closer to each other. It’s great for everything you use AirDrop for, including SharePlay, but this year Apple is putting more emphasis on sharing contact information with a new feature called “NameDrop.” Hold your iPhone close to another person and you can share your contact information, including your contact poster.
And while it won’t be ready to run, you should be able to complete your AirDrop transfer over the Internet. This way you can start the transfer and then leave the AirDrop range before it is completed and the transfer will continue over Wi-Fi.
A new way to keep a digital journal
It is likely that some third-party developers are unhappy with this update as Apple is building its own journaling app dubbed Journal. Unlike traditional diary apps, Journal is tightly integrated with your daily habits on iPhone. It takes what you did that day, including the photos you took, the music you listened to, and your workouts, and generates journal entries about those events. He then invites you to write a letter so that you can fill in the gaps with your experience.
AutoCorrect will no longer turn “fuck” into “duck”
Apple is done hiding. AutoCorrect is getting better, which means it will learn when you actually want to say “fuck” rather than “crouch down”. This will also give you the option to click on a fix and revert it back to what you originally wrote, which also aids in learning it.
You’ll also see Google-style predictive text input options. iOS will guess what you’re trying to say, and if you want to use it, you can tap on the text to paste it into your message.
Profiles in Safari
Safari is the default browser on any Apple device, but it has always lagged a little behind other browsers in many ways. Apple hopes to fix some of those gaps this year: for the first time, we finally have profiles in Safari, even on the iPhone, so you can separate personal use from work.
Private browsing has also been improved: your private browsing windows can be locked when you leave them, so only you can access what you’re browsing. Private Browsing now blocks trackers by default and even removes them from URLs.
2FA codes will also work via email.
Everyone loves the iOS feature that automatically fills in your 2FA password when you get it in text. Now the same applies to 2FA codes from emails. Plus, you can easily share your passwords and access keys with friends and family.
Music will let you SharePlay with CarPlay
Apple hasn’t announced many changes to the Music app, but there are two key new features: Anyone can now share their music using CarPlay, as if you were streaming a wireless aux. In addition, you now have the ability to collaborate on playlists, which is very useful for groups of friends who are constantly sharing music with each other.
Airplay gets better
Apple learns your AirPlay habits over time and shows you the most relevant devices you’re likely to stream to first. In addition, AirPlay will soon be available in hotel rooms, so you can stream directly to your hotel TV without having to connect or pay for anything.
AirPods
AirPods are having a moment with iOS 17. There’s adaptive audio, which combines active noise cancellation and transparency to boost conversations and dampen loud sounds at the same time; you can mute or unmute your audio during a call with the stock AirPods Pro; and you can switch devices to AirPods faster than ever. We’ve covered these new details, including compatible AirPods models, in our guide here .
Apple Maps may turn off
Apple Maps now supports offline maps, perfect for when you don’t have internet access when you’re away from home. If you have an electric car, you will also find information about the availability of charging stations in real time during your current trip.
Siri no longer needs “hello”
“Hey Siri” is dead. Long live Siri. Apple is ditching “hello” by allowing us to boot with an assistant just by saying her name. I can imagine that this could cause more random triggers than before, but it could also be more convenient. Speaking of convenience, you can also ask questions in a row to keep an eye on Siri without having to formally launch Assistant again.
Spotlight includes app shortcuts
With Spotlight updates, Apple adds app shortcuts to search. For example, if you search for “Photos”, iOS may prompt you to navigate to the “Favorites” album if it’s an album you visit frequently. There is also a slight visual overhaul here.
visual search
Apple hasn’t said the word “AI” once, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t adding more AI features to iOS 17. Now you can point your camera at a dish and find the recipe for it. It will be interesting to try this on dishes you order at a restaurant, so you might want to try making it at home. You can also use visual search for any object you capture from a photo, as well as any frame of a video.
Health app adds mental health feature
The Health app now has a mental health feature: you can let the app know how you’re feeling with visual feedback, and use this feature to monitor your mental health over time.
Privacy and security help blur sensitive photos
Apple has updated Communication Safety, its parent feature for Messages, to monitor sent or received sensitive videos and photos. But now this feature extends beyond Messages to other parts of iOS. You can also blur photos and videos containing sensitive content instead of opening them.
You can also select specific photos to share within the app without revealing other photos in your library, and you can add an event to the Calendar from within the app without the app seeing your information. Finally, Apple has expanded the Block Mode to be more powerful against attacks.
Availability
Apple announced these features ahead of WWDC and didn’t mention them on stage, but iOS 17 brings some interesting new accessibility changes. Chief among these is Personal Voice: iOS will ask you to read certain prompts aloud and then create an artificial voice that sounds like you from those examples. You can use this personal voice to read anything on your iPhone aloud with your voice, another example of Apple’s AI work.
PDF files in notes
Apple put a lot of emphasis on PDFs during the iPad launch, but some of those features are coming to the iPhone as well. Namely, you can view and edit PDF files in Notes, and you can also use auto-complete to automatically enter information into a document.
Photos get to know people better
You’ll notice that the Photos app is better at recognizing your friends and family in the People album, and can even now recognize specific dogs and cats.
Apple hasn’t announced everything
As usual, Apple didn’t pay attention to every new feature in their keynote. When you finally get iOS 17 on your phone later this year, you’ll no doubt be hit with the little features and changes that are a must for any new software. However, we are already aware of many of these features and we have a summary of the best of these changes here .