Top Features in Apple’s iOS 17 and iPadOS 17: Compatible Devices, Release Date

Your iMessage apps are no longer going to clutter up the top of the keyboard but now live inside a little “+” icon. Tap it to expand them, and it’ll sort the list by the apps you use the most. You can swipe up to see the rest of your iMessage apps. And when you join a chat with dozens of new messages, you can tap on a new “catch-up arrow” to jump all the way to the first new message. You can also swipe to the right on any message to send a reply. 

When someone shares their location with you in iMessage, you’ll now be able to see this directly in the conversation without having to leave the app. If they send an audio message, you’ll see the transcription immediately under it, which is handy if you can’t listen to it immediately.

As for FaceTime, you’ll be able to leave a video or audio message for anyone who doesn’t answer your call (about time!). FaceTime is now also making its way to Apple TV, and you can use your iPhone as a camera. During the call itself, you can create augmented reality “reactions,” like confetti, hearts, or fireworks, with certain hand gestures. You know, in case the person is bored with your normal reactions. 

Sticker Mania

Apple is placing a big emphasis on Stickers in iOS 17, so much so that they’re now built into the emoji keyboard, making them more accessible in third-party apps. Last year’s iOS 16 brought the ability to cut out a subject from any image you capture by just tapping and holding it, and now you can turn these into your own stickers for big meme potential. You can add effects to these stickers and even create “Live Stickers” with Live Photos. Make embarrassing stickers of friends on demand. Truly, we’re in the best timeline. 

iPhone on StandBy

Google Pixel phones have a feature that turns them into a smart display when placed on one of Google’s own wireless chargers, but Apple is going even further with StandBy. This enables any iPhone, when placed in landscape mode while charging, to turn into a more useful display. You can have it show the clock (you can choose from different clock designs), photos from your library, or interactive widgets. If you specifically place it on a MagSafe charger, your iPhone will remember your preferred view. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro with the Always on Display, this feature will always be on, but if not, you’ll have to tap the screen. 

A New Journal App

iOS 17 comes with a brand-new app! It’s called Journal, and as the name suggests, it tries to get you to write down your thoughts and memories. You can add photos, audio recordings, and music to your journal entries and even make goals. Apple says Journal uses on-device machine learning to suggest moments to write about too. 

Better Autocorrect

Do you late hate Apple’s autocorrect? You’re not alone, but the company is finally making it better. Autocorrect now uses a “transformer language mode” for better word prediction. It’ll correct more types of grammatical mistakes than ever before, and you’ll even see predictive text recommendations as you type, just like what you’ll find using Gmail’s Smart Compose. These improvements also extend to voice dictation, which uses a new speech recognition model that purportedly makes it more accurate. 

New Communication Safety Features

Apple’s Communication Safety feature, which helps prevent kids from seeing nude images in iMessage, is expanding its reach in iOS 17. Now, it’ll bring these protections to other services and apps in iOS, from AirDrop and Contact Posters to FaceTime messages. It works with video content too. Adults can also take advantage of the feature, as it can blur sensitive videos and photos and let you choose whether to view them. Apple maintains that all image and video processing for these protective features happens on your device, and nothing is sent back to Apple.  

Other New Changes

There are quite a number of small improvements worth noting: 

• Adaptive Audio: If you have the second-generation AirPods Pro, there’s a new listening mode called Adaptive Audio. This is a blend of Apple’s Transparency mode and Active Noise Cancellation, so you can block out annoying sounds but hear important ones. If you start speaking, Conversation Awareness will automatically lower the media volume, reduce background noise, and enhances the voices in front of you. Also new is the ability to tap the stem of the AirPods Pro (first and second generation), AirPods (3rd gen), or the Digital Crown on AirPods Max during a call to mute and unmute. 
• CarPlay gets SharePlay: On a road trip? If the car has CarPlay and everyone inside has an iPhone, anyone can control and contribute to the playlist. 
• Hotel AirPlay: Apple is bringing AirPlay to hotel rooms. You can just scan a QR code from the TV to share videos, photos, and music from your device to the big screen. Apple says it’s starting with brands from IHG Hotels & Resorts. 
• Offline maps: Google Maps has had it for years, but Apple has finally…