Apple announces iOS 17 with 10 new features for iPhone

Apple released iOS 17 for the iPhone in June, including a variety of new features and modifications. This Monday, September 18, the free software upgrade for the iPhone XS and newer will be made available after more than three months of beta testing.

With more additions coming later this year, you’ve summarised the top 10 features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17 below. On Monday, around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time, users should be able to download and install the update. This can be done from the Settings app under General Software Update.

StandBy

According to Apple, StandBy is a new full-screen view that offers glanceable information and is intended to be viewed at a distance when an iPhone is lying on its side and charging. A variety of clock designs, a calendar, favourite images, the weather forecast, buttons for playing music, widgets, and more can be displayed on the user-customizable interface.

StandBy supports Live Activities, Siri, incoming calls, and larger notifications. It is made for charging an iPhone on a desk, kitchen counter, or nightstand. The always-on display of the iPhone 14 Pro is compatible with the feature as well.

Contact Posters

Users of iOS 17 can design a unique Contact Poster that appears on another person’s iPhone during an incoming call. The typeface and background colour of the poster can also be changed, and it is possible to add a photo or Memoji. The capability will be available through third-party calling apps in addition to the built-in Phone app.

NameDrop

By placing their iPhones close to one another, users can quickly share contact information with one another via NameDrop. Both parties can decide the exact phone numbers or email addresses they want to exchange, as well as their respective Contact Posters.

Live Voicemail

As a voicemail is being left, Live Voicemail displays a real-time transcription on the screen. The user can answer the phone while the caller is leaving a voicemail if they believe it to be important. According to Apple, calls that are flagged as spam by carriers are not transcribed but are instead immediately rejected.

Users may now send an inline reply by swiping right on any message in the Messages app.

Interactive Widgets

The iPhone now has interactive widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and the brand-new StandBy view. As third-party apps are updated with support in the coming months, there will be a lot more applications for interactive widgets. Apple provided some examples of what interactive widgets can be used for, including marking a reminder as completed, playing or pausing a song or podcast, and controlling accessories in the Home app.

Home Screen widgets had limited functionality up until recently since Apple forbade developers from adding animations, buttons, or scrolling.

Improved Autocorrect

According to Apple, iOS 17 has a state-of-the-art language model for word prediction that will significantly enhance autocorrection on the iPhone. On-device machine learning will intelligently repair typos with higher levels of accuracy when typing. Additionally, users will now get predictive text suggestions inline as they type, allowing them to add additional words or full sentences by tapping the space bar.

The upgraded version of autocorrection on iOS 17 now briefly underlines the autocorrected word. It’s simple to swiftly undo the alteration by tapping on an underlined word to see the original term that was inputted. The technology will also gradually learn the user’s typing patterns and prevent some corrections, according to Craig Federighi, head of software engineering at Apple, and is intended for “those moments where you just want to type a ducking word.”

Apple Maps Offline

With the addition of the option to download maps for offline use in iOS 17, Apple Maps is catching up to a key Google Maps feature. When an iPhone is not connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network, Apple claims users can download a specified map area and get turn-by-turn navigation, see their anticipated time of arrival, identify locations, and more.

Stickers Drawer

On iOS 17, a brand-new stickers drawer gives users access to all stickers, including iMessage sticker packs, Live Stickers, emoji, and Memoji, in one spot. You can make Live Stickers by touching and holding a picture of a cat or a dog, for example.

“Hey Siri” Shortened to Siri

The voice command to activate Siri on the iPhone and other Apple products, such as the iPad, Mac, HomePod, and the most recent AirPods Pro, has been made simpler by Apple. Users can now activate the voice assistant just saying “Siri” rather than “Hey Siri,” and they can issue numerous commands at once without saying “Siri” again.