After Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), public betas for iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 followed, giving early adopters a sample of the improvements to the company's mobile operating systems. With the software soon to be officially available alongside the iPhone 15, these are the new features we're most looking forward to using:
(Credit: Brian Westover)1. Contact Posters
Apple's iOS 17 brings deeper personalization to the Phone app with the introduction of Contact Posters. Much like how you can customize your Lock Screen, you can now create a Contact Poster with a photo or emoji to craft a unique contact card. It appears in your Contacts, as well as when you place or receive a call. You can choose to share these with everyone or a select few.
Live Activities on iPadOS (Credit: Apple)2. New Lock Screen Tools for iPads
With iPadOS 17, Apple's tablets gain Lock Screen customizations already available on iPhones. "Users can select a photo from their personal library, a dynamic set of photos that shuffle throughout the day, or a Live Photo for a smooth slow-motion effect whenever they wake iPad," Apple says. Live Activities also come over from iOS, placing live alerts on the lock screen, like sports scores or the status of an Uber Eats order. Home screen widgets become more interactive, letting you play music or dim the lights rather than opening the full apps.
(Credit: Apple)3. Live Voicemail
Is that incoming call a telemarketer or something important? With Live Transcription, your iPhone transcribes a voicemail as someone is leaving it. If it looks important, you can pick up the call, just as you would with an answering machine back in the day.
(Credit: Apple)4. Audio Message Transcription
Apple executives must get a lot of voice messages because the transcription theme continues with the Messages app. For example, when you send a voice message to another iPhone user, the recipient receives a transcription alongside the audio.
(Credit: Apple)5. Leave a Message on FaceTime
Trying to FaceTime someone who doesn't pick up? Right now, you can switch to the Messages app to instead send a text or voice note. With iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, you'll be able to leave an audio or video message when a person doesn’t answer.
(Credit: Apple)6. Search Filters in Messages
Much of our communication these days is done via text, so Apple's iOS has a search function to help you comb through the many messages. With iOS 17, you can add more than one search term to help you find the message you're looking for with greater speed. And for those times when you return to an active group chat, a new upward-facing arrow takes you back to where you left off. No more endless scrolling.
(Credit: Apple)7. Check In
Do you have anxious friends or parents who request that you text them when you arrive home safely? With Check In on iOS 17, your iPhone notifies them for you. Just activate it as you head home, and Check In alerts designated friends or family once you reach your abode. On the off-chance you're delayed or don't make it home, Check In alerts the appropriate people so they can see your device’s location, as well as its battery level and cell service status, to determine if assistance is needed.
(Credit: Brian Westover)8. NameDrop Your Number
With NameDrop, you won't have to type in a long email address or hand over your phone when exchanging contact information with another iPhone owner. Just hold two iPhones (or an iPhone and Apple Watch) near each other and grant the other person permission to see your details.
This gesture also works with SharePlay if you want to listen to music, watch a movie, or play a game while in close proximity between iPhone devices. Content shared via AirDrop continues to send if you leave AirDrop range, as long as both devices are signed in to iCloud.
(Credit: Apple)9. Blur the Nudes
Remember when that pilot threatened to turn a plane around if passengers didn't stop sending unsolicited nudes to each other via AirDrop? It's an amusing story, but the sharing of sensitive photos without people's permission is a real (and growing) problem. With iOS 17, Apple aims to give people a heads up when they may be about to view sexually explicit content, and let them reject the images in Messages, AirDrop, the systemwide photo picker, FaceTime, Contact Posters, and third‑party apps. Similarly, there's an option to blur sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them.
(Credit: Brian Westover)10. Write It Out in the Journal App
Chronicling your day is therapeutic and healthy. Apple is poised to change that with Journal, an app that taps your iPhone’s machine-learning capabilities to suggest possible journal entries based on recent activity, including visited locations and photos. Don’t fret over prying eyes, though. Journal uses end-to-end encryption, and lets you lock your entries.
(Credit: Apple)11. StandBy, Your New Bedside Companion
With StandBy, you set your iPhone on its side to enjoy a host of features. At its most basic, you can use it as a bold, bedside clock display, but it can also be used to showcase photos and widgets. Want more? StandBy lets you receive incoming calls, activate Siri, and enjoy notifications in a larger, easier-to-see view.
(Credit: Brian Westover)12. Better PDF Support
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with PDFs, and on iPad, it's probably more hate. However, iPadOS 17 can identify fields in PDF files, so you can add contacts, addresses, and details in a quicker fashion. Likewise, opening PDFs in the Notes app now displays them full width, making it easier to flip through pages, add annotations, or sketch directly on the document. Collaborators working on the document will also be able to see your edits in real time.