iOS 17 for the iPhone arrives mid-September and comes with hundreds of improvements and new features. Here’s a sample of the highlights.
iOS 17 Top 10 Features
- Customized Call Screen – Create a unique screen people see when you call. Use photos, bitmoji, and stylized text.
- Live Voicemail – Watch a message transcribed as a caller leaves a voicemail and decide if you want to pick up.
- FaceTime Message – FaceTime callers can now leave a video message.
- Autocorrect – Improved machine learning allows autocorrect to pick up words and phrases you commonly use. Autocorrected words are underlined and can revert to the uncorrected original with a simple tap. Tap the spacebar to finish words or entire sentences.
- Audio Message Transcription – Audio messages in the Messages App are now transcribed.
- NameDrop – Hold your iPhone near another iPhone user to share your phone number, and email address, along with your Contact Poster.
- CheckIn -Automatically notifies a friend or family member when you arrive at a destination, e.g.; home, school, or concert venue.
- Live Activities In Full Screen – It’s even easier to track live activities like food delivery, Uber arrival, or game scores.
- Siri – “Hey Siri” is gone. Now you only need to say “Siri” to get the attention of your personal assistant. Siri can now take back-to-back requests and now provides rich results that are easier to read at a glance.
- Lockdown Mode – Provides enhanced protection against sophisticated cyber attacks.
Other Features and Improvements
React With Hands – Share a unique reaction, like confetti, balloons, or hearts, just by making a hand gesture when you are on a Facetime call.
Facetime On Apple TV – Use your iPhone as a camera and make a Facetime call on your Apple TV.
StandBy -Turn your iPhone on its side while charging to reveal a host of new easy-to-read custom screens.
Interactive Widgets – Tap a widget on your iPhone screen and it expands to provide a more complete experience.
SharePlay – Hold 2 iPhones together to initiate Shareplay.
Journal – An App that helps preserve your memories. Journal provides writing suggestions and is accessible only by you.
Share Passwords – Share Passwords and Passkeys with trusted contacts.
Playlist Collaboration – Invite friends to join your playlist and everyone can add, reorder, or remove songs.
Offline Maps – Save an area in Maps to use when you are offline. You can still get hours and ratings for businesses, and access walking, riding, or driving directions.
Visual Look Up – Look up photos and videos to identify plants, animals, landmarks, and foods. Food identification will also suggest recipes based on that item.
Health App – New vision and mental health features make this App even more powerful.
Sensitive Content Warning – You now have the option to blur sensitive photos that you recieve and then decide if you wish to view them or not.
You will be able to upgrade to iOS 17 on the following iPhones:
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).
If you need help upgrading, please call us at (310) 621-5679.
What’s Next?
In mid-September, Apple will release iPadOS 16, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma.
iPadOS 16 has dozens of new features to help you share, communicate, and collaborate. Click to preview iPadOS 16 on Apple’s website.
watchOS 10 offers comprehensive app redesigns for more information at a glance. It’s the biggest update since the introduction of the Apple Watch. Click to preview watchOS 10 on Apple’s website.
macOS Sonoma is the next operating system for the Mac and I’ll be looking at it in my next blog post.
