The neural engine led the charge at WWDC 23, as Apple detailed the flashy new tricks coming to iOS 17 this fall.
The showstopper of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2023 may have been their incredible (and expensive) new “spatial computer,” the Vision Pro, but the upcoming changes coming in iOS 17 this fall were just as exciting in their own right.
A big theme of the update showcase was the neural engine, one of the key features of the Apple Silicon chips powering many of the tech juggernaut’s latest devices. It will empower the machine learning behind many of the new operating system’s handy new features, like an improved AutoCorrect. End-to-end encryption was also a theme of the day, ensuring users’ data stays protected as more involved and sensitive features come into play.
Read on to see what new tricks your Apple devices can perform in iOS 17 this fall:
iOS 17 on iPhones
The cornerstone of iOS17’s updates to the iPhone involves the three central communication apps: Phone, Messages, and FaceTime. Users can customize a Contact Poster that serves as a flashy splash screen for incoming calls and Contacts profiles. Like the flashiest “Hello, My Name Is” stickers ever made, these posters are customizable in the same way as Lock and Home Screen wallpapers. Voicemails will offer Live Transcription and the ability to pick up a call while a caller is leaving a message.
Meanwhile, in FaceTime, users can leave visual voicemails—crucial for when you try to call family to experience an important moment in real-time instead of just recording a video. Those same video calls will benefit from Reactions and advanced visual effects that gestures can trigger.
iOS 17’s updates to AutoCorrect will help ensure fewer of those ducking inconvenient typos in Messages. A transformer language model, ” a state-of-the-art on-device machine learning language model for word prediction,” will better predict the words you were actually trying to type and adapt for the future. This spearheads a host of small changes for convenience, such as a way to jump to your first unread message if the group chat got too intense while you were away and automated transcription for audio messages.
One of the best new Messages features is Check In—ideal for travelling alone at night or letting someone know when you’ve returned home safely. Simply initiate the Check In feature as you depart, and friends or family can double-check your position until you cross your threshold when a notification is automatically sent. If you get sidetracked along the way, your battery and cell service levels can be visible to those worried about you. All of this sensitive info is end-to-end encrypted for security, as is expected from Apple.
AirDrop will become more accessible than ever with the new NameDrop feature, a gesture-enabled by bringing two iPhones (or an iPhone and Apple Watch) close together. Sharing new contact info, initiating SharePlay, or sending files promises to be much simpler in iOS 17.
For those times when you’re away from your iPhone, the StandBy mode will enable users to check a full-screen display of glanceable information when the device is sideways and charging. Leveraging the iPhone 14 Pro’s Always-On Display, this view can be customized with Widgets and backgrounds and can even default to particular views when charging on individual MagSafe chargers.
Apple’s newest native app in iOS 17 is Journal, which can prompt users to reflect on their day and jot down some memories with prompts pulled from their activities. Using data from things like check-ins, app usage, and photos, Journal will remind users to slow down for a moment and memorialize the day’s big moments.
Various other new features in iOS 17 include:
- Safari will add greater protection for Private Browsing
- Users can share passwords and passkeys with a group of trusted contacts (end-to-end encrypted via iCloud Keychain)
- The Health app will see new mental health features, where 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
- Maps finally adds offline maps, so users can download a specific area and access turn-by-turn navigation, see their estimated time of arrival, and more while offline
- AirTag can be shared with up to five other people, allowing friends and family to keep track of an item in Find My
- Apple Music introduces Collaborative Playlists that make listening to music with friends easier than ever before via SharePlay
- AirPlay will extend to devices in participating IHG Hotels & Resorts hotels next year, making your traveling experience a little more like home (or your home office)
- AirPods will receive several powerful features, including Adaptive Audio, Personalized Volume, and Conversation Awareness
- Accessibility updates include Assistive Access, a customizable interface that helps users with cognitive disabilities use iPhone with greater ease and independence; Live Speech, which gives nonspeaking users the option to type and have their words spoken; Personal Voice, which gives users at risk of speech loss the option to create a voice that sounds like theirs; and Point and Speak, which helps users who are blind or have low vision read text on physical objects by pointing
On the tablet side, iPadOS 17 will enjoy many of the same new features listed above, where applicable. The update will also bring the customizable Lock and Home Screen experience from iPhone to iPad users at long last. As an added bonus, if users choose Live Photos as wallpaper, the neural engine can generate some additional frames for an improved animation effect as they wake the device.
Widgets get a big boost to productivity in iPad OS 17, becoming more interactive. Users can cross things off their to-do list from the Home Screen by clicking them in the Widget, for example.
Working on PDFs with your iPad will get even easier too, as machine learning will help identify fields that can be easily filled with info from Contacts. The Notes app will allow users to manipulate PDFs with ease and even collaborate with others in real-time or on FaceTime calls.
With all these updates and more, the upcoming release of iOS 17 will further enhance how iPhone and iPad users communicate and express themselves in their daily lives, for more on the devices that will utilize the upcoming operating system, check out our reviews of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPad Air, and stay tuned to CGM as the updates approach this fall.
