Apple shared information about iOS 17 early this morning with this operating system coming with various new features and functions starting next September 19. Without further ado, here are the 17 most exciting features of iOS 17 in our opinion .
1. Contact Poster – Personalize Different Individual Phone Call Screens
In iOS 16 the feature of personalizing the phone's lock screen has finally arrived on the iPhone. On iOS 17, Contact Posters for different individuals were introduced. Device owners can display pictures, Memoji or different graphics for specific people through Contact Poster.
Like the lock screen personalization feature, the phone's screen can also be decorated with the same system such as different text, text that hides behind objects, various color filters for pictures and vertical Japanese/Chinese language support. You can also create a personal Contact Poster which is then shared with other contacts through the Name Drop feature below.
2. NameDrop – Share Contact Posters Touchlessly
Business cards have existed for hundreds of years for the purpose of exchanging information between new contacts. But who has time to print physical cards these days? The existing physical card may be lost before the information can be saved to the phone's address book. With NameDrop, personal Contact Posters can be shared to iPhone or Apple Watch users contactlessly. Just bring these two devices together and press share when it appears on the screen. The exchange of Contact Posters between the two device owners is as fast as AirDrop.
3. AirDrop Can Send Unlimited Distance
Previously AirDrop required two or more iPhones to be within 10 meters to send photos, videos or any type of document. If one of the devices moves out of this range before the transfer is complete, AirDrop will stop. Through iOS 17 this is no longer an issue because when outside AirDrop range, files will be sent using the internet connection as long as both devices have an iCloud account.
4. StandBy – iPhone Becomes a Smart Screen
Apple feels that consumers do not need a smart screen like those produced by Google, and Amazon. On the other hand, the StandBy feature was introduced in iOS 17 which turns all iPhones into smart screens when placed in landscape position. It can display the time, daily agenda, music playing, calendar, music player and widgets to control various internet of things devices in the home. Equipped with a special MagSafe dock, iPhone owners don't need to buy an alarm clock or smart screen. Existing iPhones can do the same.
5. Leave a Video Message on FaceTime
Often people who want to contact using FaceTime do not answer video calls for certain reasons. Starting with iOS 17, owners of the Apple ecosystem can leave messages in the form of videos sent in FaceTime. The world has changed and leaving a message on voicemail is a thing of the past. Time to move to the FaceTime video vault with iOS 17.
6. Live Voicemail – Automatic Transcript For Voicemail
The voice mailbox is not forgotten by iOS 17 either. When an audio message is received, iPhone users can choose to read the transcript that is automatically generated. With this you can still read the message left if you can't hear the audio for some reason. At this time this feature is only shown to support English.
7. iMessage – Automatic Transcript For Audio Messages
We almost forgot that in addition to automatic transcription support for voice mailboxes, it is also provided in iMessage. All messages in audio form will be present with a transcript clearly displayed in the application. Very useful not only for those who cannot play audio but also for the hearing impaired.
8. FaceTime – iPhone Becomes a Camera For Apple TV
We continue with another new feature for FaceTime that is now supported on Apple TV. The iPhone camera can be used as a camera to make video calls through Apple TV. It's as easy as starting a call on iPhone before transferring the FaceTime call to Apple TV.
9. Look Up - Search Directly From Within the Video
Last year's Look Up feature allowed text from within a video to be copied directly without having to take a screenshot first. This year this feature has been improved again with the search for objects in the picture and can use the Look Up feature. Just tap the subject image in the paused video. A Look Up menu will appear so you can directly search what type of cat, car model or person's name is in the video.
10. LockDown Mode On All Devices Simultaneously
Lockdown Mode limits the access of various applications to the device's network and system when the owner feels it has been hacked. This feature was introduced to help activists, politicians or journalists who. feel they are victims of malware. Previously this feature could only be done on one device. Starting with iOS 17 when Lockdown Mode is activated, all other devices owned will enter this mode simultaneously.
11. More Accessibility Features
People with disabilities should not be left out because modern devices do not have the features that allow them to be used. Various accessibility features that were announced last May will be provided through the update to iOS 17. Among them is Live Caption which produces subtitles in real time with the audio coming out of the speaker. This is a feature that is definitely useful to the hearing impaired.
Also to be provided is VoiceOver which is a text reading feature on the screen for the visually impaired with support for 20 more new languages such as Malay, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Meanwhile, Door Detection identifies doors for the visually impaired. On the iPhone it can tell the user the position of the door, the distance, whether it is open or closed and how the door can be opened (turn, push or pull).
It can also read the text on the door to inform the user of the room number and various other information. To ensure accuracy, Door Detection uses the iPhone's LiDAR system.
12. Series – Shorter Exclamations With Continuous Command Mode
Siri was the earliest virtual assistant on smartphones but is now one of the most frustrating. Google Assistant is getting smarter and ChatGPT is now able to chat like a human. At the same time Siri is still on the same notch as it was five years ago and often fails to obey commands.
Through iOS 17, Siri will become smarter as it can be invoked by simply saying "Siri". After the command is given, the owner can continue to give the next command without having to say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” again. This is similar to the context understanding feature already supported by Assistant since 2021.
13. Sharing Passwords And Apple Passkeys
Sometimes you want to share the password with your children, wife, siblings or close relatives. We do this with several subscription streaming platforms. But often they also complain that the application cannot be used because it is kicked out. We are not comfortable sharing passwords because it can be risky.
In iOS 17 there will be a feature to share passwords and passkeys with a group of truly trusted users. With this feature when you want to log in it is already shared using this feature without them having to enter the real password.
14. Safari – Different Profiles For Work, Personal and Entertainment
We have been using the internet since 1994 and currently have thousands of bookmarks for favorite websites. It's stringy because it's not well categorized. On Safari in iOS 17, the profile feature is used to browse the web for different purposes. Each profile has a history of visited pages, bookmarks, tabs, and different plugins. With a profile, work, personal and entertainment can be distinguished more easily.
15. Live Stickers – Generate Animated Stickers
Live Stickers animated stickers can be created by iOS 17 device owners themselves using Live Photos that have been taken. In addition to animation, these self-designed stickers can also be changed using the provided templates. These stickers are then stored locally to enable use on various platforms or other applications.
16. Check In – Ensuring Safety is Guaranteed
Lockdown Mode ensures electronic security but Check In ensures security in the real world. iPhone owners with iOS 17 can send messages to family members saying they've arrived safely. If they fail to arrive at the promised location, a family member or closer friend will be given a complete notification with the last GPS location.
17.Journal – Writing And Keeping Memory
Apple wants to bring back journaling as a daily activity. Once upon a time producing a journal was normal before it became a blog. Through the Journal feature, a journal can be written with it combined with sports activities, pictures, videos and music related to the day the journal is written.
It becomes a place where memory is kept for those who still want to write like the early 2000s. It can then be encrypted before being backed up to iCloud. Is this a sign from Apple to produce a serious journal?