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46 most interesting features in iOS 17, including those that Apple does not boast about
iOS 17 was unveiled at WWDC 2023 along with Apple’s other new systems, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and macOS 14 Sonoma. Apple during the keynote opening of the conference presented quite a lot of new products that will go to compatible iPhones, but there was not enough time to mention all of them. Every year, there are a whole lot of those that the company did not boast of.
After the presentation, I went through Reddit and Twitter to see what people who had already uploaded the new software had discovered. I also installed the new system itself in the Developer Beta 1 version (which can be done by everyone, even without a paid developer account, because Apple changed the rules this year) to look at the changes with my own eyes and prepared a list of the 46 most interesting novelties in iOS 17.
1. iOS 17: dog and cauldron next to bubbles
The change that pleases me the most is the new feature of the Photos app. From now on, pets in the form of cats and dogs will be detected by the operating system and will get their own albums in the tab with the new name “People and pets”. I think I’ll finally turn on the Shared Family Library at home!
2. iOS 17: Interactive widgets
Until now, widgets in iOS (and iPadOS) were static, but that’s changing. From now on, you will be able to interact with them without opening the associated application. Actions such as marking reminders as done, switching a song, and texting a pinned contact can be done straight from your desktop.
3. iOS 17: Widgets from iPhone to Mac
With Continuity on macOS, you’ll be able to add widgets from apps installed on your phone to your desktop… and in a size available on the mobile-only on iPad. In addition, if the app is properly configured, such a widget will be able to launch its desktop equivalent or website. Unfortunately, you still can’t see notifications from your phone on your Mac. What a pity!
4. iOS 17: Share AirTags with your family
Another feature for families is the ability to share AirTags to follow. Thanks to this, if someone steals both a suitcase and a phone, his loved one will be able to track both of these things on his side. In total, one tracker can be shared with up to five people.
5. iOS 17: where did these watches go?
For a long time, we have been able to use the Apple Watch to track the phone by sending it a command to play the ear-drilling sound. Now it will work the other way around.
6. iOS 17: Did the remote fall behind the couch?
Good news for Apple TV set-top box owners. They’ll be able to use their iPhone to find a misplaced Apple TV remote control at home.
7. iOS 17: Check-in for family
In the new version of the system, we will be able to let family and friends know that we went for a morning walk alone and in which direction we are going. If we do not arrive on time, loved ones will receive an appropriate notification.
8. iOS 17: A better search engine
Although, unlike Google, Meta and Microsoft, Apple does not change the words “artificial intelligence” in its presentation of the proverbial all cases, it uses machine learning in various ways. This has improved Spotlight by adding options for displaying shortcuts, including a Siri Suggestions section where interactive switches can appear.
9. iOS 17: improved autocorrect and new features of the keyboard
One of the novelties announced at the keynote was improved autocorrection, which will no longer throw so many ducks into the English text every now and then. These are the hint bar, the ability to write in many languages without manual switching and entering text by flicking your finger on the screen without pressing individual letters (swipe).
10. iOS 17: tasty photo, I would eat it
From now on, iPhones will identify photos in which food can be seen, and there will be proposals for recipes allowing you to prepare something similar.
11. iOS 17: Crop Photos Easier
Until now, resizing a photo in the gallery took a few clicks. Now just zoom in on the photo and a button will appear in the corner that allows you to crop the photo or image.
12. iOS 17: Search for object information from a photo
Already in the previous version of iOS, there was an option to extract a fragment from a photo or graphic. Now you will be able to immediately look for information about the object that we have separated from the background in this way.
13. iOS 17: Shopping list in Reminders
I already use Reminders to create a shared shopping list with my fiancée, but in iOS 17 it will be even easier. You want the products you enter to be automatically sorted into categories. Added to this is the column view.
14. iOS 17: Medication reminders
I’ve been using the Health app to record medications for a year now, but sometimes I forget about them. Thanks to the changes in iOS 17, there will probably be fewer such situations – in addition to the reminder at a certain time, there will be additional notifications if we do not indicate that we have swallowed tablets. The only thing I’m missing right now is the option to set the end of the dosing term for medications that I don’t take constantly, just for a while, and we’ll be home.
15. iOS 17: Mental Health, Not Just Physical
As part of the Health application, we will be able to track not only the parameters related to our physical condition but also our mental health. The application will be able to record our mood and well-being.
16. iOS 17: iPhone is enough to buy alcohol
Thanks to the new features in iOS 17, residents of the United States will be able to confirm their identity and age using an Apple phone, including when buying alcohol.
17. iOS 17: No more unsolicited wake photo
Files sent via AirDrop will be automatically scanned by the operating system. If nudity is detected in the photo, the recipient will be able to decide whether they want to take a chance and look at it or not. Clever!
18. iOS 17: reading pages in Safari
Siri can now read an article from a website.
19. iOS 17: Easier access to Private mode
For people who do not mind watching adult content, another cool feature has been prepared. In Safari, you can launch Private mode by moving the tab bar to the left, without having to open the menu. In addition, tabs opened in this mode can be protected from outsiders thanks to Face ID.
20. iOS 17: Hotel with AirPlay
Apple will enable hotel owners to integrate TVs with AirPlay. Thanks to this, you will be able to conveniently transfer media to them straight from your iPhone. The company’s partners in this area are the IHG Hotels & Resorts chain.
21. iOS 17: AirDrop will use the cloud
A broken AirDrop transfer always annoys, but after the iOS 17 update, this problem should no longer be annoying – as long as we have a network connection. The moment two people move away from each other enough that the direct connection is broken, the phones will use the internet to complete the transfer.
22. iOS 17: Password sharing
Passwords can be shared with loved ones, which will certainly put off Netflix. In addition, you will see the option to share them via Shortcuts.
23. iOS 17: Autofill passwords and contact information without limits
The new version of the system for iPhone will allow you to insert a password or contact information into any text field. This is great news for people who use poorly coded forms.
24. iOS 17: Upload contact information and pronouns
AirDrop lets you easily share your data, such as your phone and email, with others by bringing your iPhones and Apple Watch closer together. In addition, in the People app, you can set your preferred pronouns next to new full-screen photos.
25. iOS 17: a new way to activate SharePlay
The mode of collaborative consumption of multimedia content will be easier than ever. To do this, just bring two iPhones close together.
26. iOS 17: iPhone for Grandma and Grandpa
A new simplified interface display mode has appeared, which will be useful for seniors. It allows you to interact with iOS 17 using huge large icons.
27. iOS 17: crosswords (not) for everyone
Good news: Crosswords have appeared in the News app. The bad news: the program is still not officially available in other regions (but you can still access it by changing the region to English).
28. iOS 17: Delete SMS and emails with one-time codes
From now on, SMS codes with codes for two-factor authentication can be removed as soon as they are automatically copied into the form. In addition, people who use the Mail app can automatically complete (and also delete) codes received in an email.
29. iOS 17: group conversations with Android owners will be better
From now on, connecting an Android phone owner to a group conversation will not turn off as many functions as before. Unfortunately, this will not work perfectly. It’s a shame that Apple didn’t integrate iMessage with RCS, even assigning some other colour to these types of messages, because it would solve these types of problems.
30. iOS 17: New Memoji stickers
There are three new stickers within the Memoji section of iMessage. Their names are Halo, Smirk and Peekaboo.
31. iOS 17: Automatic Voice Message Transcription
In iMessage, you will see the option to transcribe audio messages.
32. iOS 17: User Voice Generator
With Live Speech, you can type text during conversations and iPhone generates a voice utterance. For this, you can teach the phone to generate a voice similar to ours and… This is available in English.
33. iOS 17: knock knock, who’s there? News in the House
The new version of the Smart Home application has received useful novelties, including the ability to save events and view them later. Thanks to this, we can check how many times and when exactly the door to our garage was opened and what and when the security cameras recorded. In addition, the interface for selecting lighting colours and personalizing the Home widget has been refreshed.
34. iOS 17: Transition seamlessly between songs on Apple Music
People using Apple streaming will finally be able to use the cross-fade feature, making the transitions from one song to another smoother. At last!
35. iOS 17: Animated virtual disc covers
Apple Music has received the function of displaying animated album art, which we listen to not only on the artist’s website but also when playing music.
36. iOS 17: Full information about the creators of the song
The application will contain new information about the artists responsible for the tracks available in the database. Thanks to this, we will find out who exactly worked on them, what instruments they used, etc.
37. iOS 17: Karaoke on Steroids
iPhone and Apple TV owners can activate a special karaoke mode called Apple Music Sing. The coolest feature is the ability to see yourself on the screen next to the lyrics. In addition, lyrics that have not been synchronized will now have a larger font.
38. iOS 17: Create playlists together
Apple Music streaming users will be able to create playlists together. Added to this is SharePlay support when using CarPlay mode.
39. iOS 17: AirPods won’t dazzle
The pop-up window with information about Apple headphones has so far struck with white colour. After updating to iOS 17 and activating Dark Mode, this problem will disappear.
40. iOS 17: Maps saved offline
There will be another feature for people who are thinking about abandoning Google Maps in favour of Apple Maps. Users will be able to save parts of the world map in the device’s memory.
41. iOS 17: charging an electric car with Apple Maps
In the application with maps from Apple, there will be new products for owners of electric cars. iOS 17 will allow you to check the availability of battery charging stations in real-time. In the settings, you can also choose your preferred network of such chargers.
42. iOS 17: yesterday’s weather
In the Weather application, we will now be able to check archival data. Thanks to this, we can check whether it rained or the sun was shining in a given location the day before.
43. iOS 17: Edit and autofill PDFs
The feature that allows you to fill in fields in PDFs will appear not only on iPads but also on iPhones. You can add information stored on your device to your document. You will also be able to edit these types of files on your phone.
44. iOS 17: Linking notes together
The note-taking app in iOS 17 will allow you to link individual notes to each other. Thanks to this, you will be able to easily jump from one to the other without having to look for it on the list.
45. iOS 17: Easier launch of Shortcuts
The application for automating activities has been redesigned. From now on, the Shortcuts created and downloaded by the user are grouped according to the applications to which they are assigned.
46. iOS 17: Hey Siri, do this, this and this
Apple’s voice assistant will be able to be invoked with both the command Hey Siri and simply Siri. For this, you can give it several commands in a row. In addition, with its help you can operate a new mode of intelligent night light called StandBy. It’s just a shame that Siri continues to conjugate “to be” instead of “to be.”
iOS 17 – is it worth installing?
The changes promise to be great, but of course, as every year, I do not recommend uploading the development version of the software to the device on which you are logged in to your main Apple ID, because it can lead to data loss – I once reset all saved passwords in this way. For this reason, I installed iOS 17 Developer Beta 1 on the iPhone 14 Plus, not the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
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