With every new release, Apple’s iOS operating system introduces a plethora of user-experience-improving features and enhancements. In this article, we will examine the highly anticipated iOS 17 features, including their functionality and impact on Apple devices’ performance as a whole. Whether you’re an ardent iPhone or iPad user or simply interested in the latest advancements in mobile technology, this guide will provide an extensive summary of iOS 17’s remarkable features.
The iOS 17 release introduces major updates to communications apps, easier sharing with AirDrop, more intelligent text input, and new experiences with Journal and StandBy.
iOS 17 Features: Unveiling the Next Level of Apple Experience
Personalised Call Poster in Phone App
The Phone application is essential to the iPhone experience, and it receives a significant update that adds personalised Contact Posters. Users can personalise their appearance, giving incoming calls a completely new look, by selecting gorgeous treatments for photos or Memoji, as well as eye-catching typography and font colours. Additionally, Contact Posters will be available for third-party calling applications.
When you want to share contact information with someone using the new NameDrop feature, you can simply touch your phones (or an iPhone and an Apple Watch) together, and the contact cards will be exchanged. With SharePlay, you can now simultaneously share a music/video stream between two devices. It would also enable streaming music to head devices via their owners’ iPhones (you would no longer need to share your AirPods or Earphones!).
Before the launch of iOS 17, this used to be done by third-party calling apps such as TrueCaller or by manually adding a profile photo to individual contact of the person. Even, signing in to your social media profiles and synchronising the person’s social media profile picture to the user’s contact. Now, it is all done beautifully with the latest iOS 17 Feature.
Have a few contacts with the same name? Assign a Contact Poster To each person! Once you receive a call from them, you will know which Ah Chong or Abu is calling you!
Live Voicemail Transcript : See What Other Says Without Picking Up Your Phone
Not sure if people are still using Voicemails nowadays but I believe it is a good to have feature. Apple’s Neural engine will perform Live Voicemail transcription for you – translating what the other person says into text for you LIVE. This gives you the flexibility whether to pick up the phone call from the user. If the phone number is identified as SPAM carrier (i.e. Maxis, Celcom, Digi) , the phone call will be rejected automatically and there will be no Live Voicemail.
Facetime Now Supports Leaving Message
FaceTime was once a video and audio calling application. FaceTime has now evolved to enable users to leave audio and video messages for unavailable call recipients. FaceTime calls are equipped with Video Reactions such as hearts, balloons, pyrotechnics, laser beams, and rain. These are activated through basic gestures and are compatible with third-party applications.
The ability to make and receive FaceTime calls on Apple TV, or to initiate a FaceTime connection on your iPhone and transfer it to Apple TV, is perhaps the most significant FaceTime-related development.
Biggest Update To Messages App
Apple introduces a New Messages features improve user communication. A menu that can be expanded with a single swipe to display iMessage applications gives Messages a sleeker appearance. Search becomes more potent and precise with search filters, allowing users to begin a search and add additional filters to restrict the results and find precisely what they are looking for. A new catch-up indicator indicates where the user left off in the previous conversation, and replying inline is as easy as swiping on a text bubble. If a user reveals their location, the conversation will be updated in real time. When sending an audio message, it is promptly transcribed so users can read it immediately or listen to it later.
Messages also introduces Check In, an essential function for users who wish to inform family or friends that they have arrived safely at their destination. After a user initiates a Check In, their acquaintance or family member will be notified automatically when they arrive. If they are not making progress towards their destination, the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status will be temporarily shared with the selected contact. Any shared information is encrypted end-to-end.
Standby : Apple’s Landscape Mode
StandBy is what Apple names its new fullscreen experience that appears when you place your iPhone in landscape mode on a nightstand, in the kitchen, or on a desk. It displays attractive clocks, favourite photographs, and widgets, including Smart Stacks, which highlight the appropriate widgets at the appropriate time. Live Activities, Siri, incoming calls, and larger notifications are also supported to improve usability when viewed from a distance.
“Hey Siri” is Retired & Replaced With – Siri
You used to asked your iPhone questions or to search for something by calling “Hey Siri”. With the new iOS 17, you invoke the voice assistant by calling “SIRI”. Siri does support back-to-back commands but it is not as good as its competitor’s Google Assistant.
Other Updates
Journal App : Apple claims that journaling “has been shown to improve wellbeing” if you “reflect and practise gratitude” through it. The Journal app is new to iOS 17 and, as its name suggests, is all about journaling. Your recent activity, including photos, people, places, and workouts, is used to generate journal entry ideas, making it simple to start a new entry.
AI-Keyboard : New AI-enhanced autocorrect, inline predictions, and a new speech recognition model are added to the keyboard. All of these are designed to enhance the typing experience. iMessage has enhanced search capabilities with filters, a swipe-to-reply feature, the capacity to transcribe voice messages, in-app support for real-time location updates, enhanced emoji stickers, and Live Stickers with subjects extracted from photographs.
Apple Maps : Maps adds offline maps, so users can download a specific area and access turn-by-turn navigation, see their estimated time of arrival, find places in Maps, and more while offline.
Health app : Offers new mental health features. Users can log their daily moods and momentary emotions; see what might be contributing to their state of mind; and easily access depression and anxiety assessments often used in clinics, plus resources available in their region.
iPhones Supported By iOS 17 Update
iOS 17 is compatible with a wide range of iPhones. However, it’s important to note that certain older devices may not support all the features due to hardware limitations. Below is the list of Compatible devices for the coming update:-
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE 2
- iPhone SE 3
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I upgrade to iOS 17 on my older Apple device?
You can refer to the list of devices listed below that will receive iOS 17 update:-
– iPhone XS
– iPhone XS Max
– iPhone XR
– iPhone SE 2
– iPhone SE 3
– iPhone 11
– iPhone 11 Pro
– iPhone 11 Pro Max
– iPhone 12
– iPhone 12 Mini
– iPhone 12 Pro
– iPhone 12 Pro Max
– iPhone 13
– iPhone 13 Mini
– iPhone 13 Pro
– iPhone 13 Pro Max
– iPhone 14
– iPhone 14 Plus
– iPhone 14 Pro
– iPhone 14 Pro Max
Will updating to iOS 17 affect the performance of my device?
Apple strives to optimize its software updates for both new and older devices. While iOS 17 introduces new features and improvements, it is designed to enhance overall performance and efficiency. However, if you have an older device, you may experience some performance differences compared to the latest models. It is always recommended to back up your device before updating to ensure a smooth transition.
Should You Update your iPhone to iOS 17?
This question is highly subjective.
If you are into new features and updates, then updating to iOS 17 is a sure for you. For people who are doubting, I would suggest waiting for a stable version to be released, such as iOS 17.0.1 or iOS 17.1 to be on the safe side to avoid any potential bugs that can affect your normal usage.
What Should You Do Before Updating To iOS 17?
The FIRST thing to do is It is always recommended to perform a full backup of your iPhone before performing ANY updates. You can either use iCloud to perform a full backup or you can use other cloud services or even iTunes to perform a full backup before triggering the UPDATE button.
This provides security over your messages and documents and to avoid update crashing.
The SECOND most important thing is to ensure that you have a stable internet connection before performing iOS 17 Update as a bad connection will jeopardise the update and causes the iOS Update to Crash, then your phone will be forever stuck at Apple Logo.
AVOID using Public Wifi as it is accessed by numerous users and if the bandwidth supply is insufficient, which may cause the iOS Update to crash.
The THIRD Most important thing is to ensure that you have at least 100GB storage in your iPhone. This is to ensure that the update has sufficient space to extract the update files within the storage and replaces the old iOS file with a new iOS File.
What should you do if iOS Update Stuck At Apple Logo?
The answer to your question is that you can only to a iOS Full Reset and Restore.
This can be due to poor network connection and also insufficient internal storage on your iPhone, causing the system unable to extract the update files into the iOS System.
When Is iOS 17 Release Date?
Apple is expecting to release iOS 17 during Fall – which is somewhere around September 2023