From Standby to NameDrop: 17 new features in iOS 17

Did you hear? iOS 17 launched today, along with more than 100 new features, from StandBy to adaptive audio.

Some features won’t be available today but will be included in other updates of iOS 17, including AirDrop updates, the Journal app, the catch-up arrow, and Apple Music collaboration. We don’t have an exact date for these drops, but there are plenty of features to dig your teeth into while we wait.

Personalized phone calls

Apple’s iOS 17 now includes contact posters, which are kind of like wallpapers for your favorite people. When someone calls you, you can customize a poster with photos, Memojis, and names to fill your screen when they call.

Live voicemail

If you were alive during the Landline Era, you might remember that you could let a phone ring and listen to the voicemail before deciding to pick up. Cell Phones ruined that particular variety of screening, but Apple’s iOS 17 is bringing it back. When someone calls you and leaves a voice message, you’ll be able to read a live transcription of the message and pick up as they’re leaving the message. Think of how this will revolutionize getting called from unknown numbers. 

Check in

Gone are the days of yelling “text me when you get home!” to your friend as you leave drinks and then forgetting to actually text them once you arrive home, and here are the days of Check In on iPhone. You can start a Check In with a friend and it will detect when you’ve arrived safely and automatically tell your loved one. 

Search filters

Apple’s iOS 17’s search filters got a bit of a facelift. Now, you can search with more precision by combining search filters. For instance, you can search for “address” in a chat with a specific friend, instead of just finding every time you’ve asked for an address in your entire life.

Location sharing made easy

iOS 17 is giving users a much-needed update to view and share locations. You can now request someone’s location from the plus button in Messages, and the location will continue showing in a little text bubble until the location-sharing is over. And, for friends whose location you have ongoing, you can view your Find My friends at the top of Messages under their name.

Audio message updates

You can now have your audio messages transcribed, which is admittedly not the point of an audio message but it is a godsend for anyone who forgot their headphones. You can also pause recording an audio message and then continue recording the same message before sending, play them back at 2x speed, and continue listening when leaving the Messages app.

New Stickers experience

All your stickers are in one place with iOS 17, by including Live Stickers, Memoji, Animoji, emoji stickers, and other third-party sticker packs in the Plus or Tapback menu on Messages. Plus, you can even create your own stickers — revolutionary for people who like their cats a little bit too much (hi).

Leave a message on Facetime

Until now, if someone missed your Facetime, all you could do was send a “wtf I thought we were friends” text. Apple’s iOS 17 changes that, and, when someone doesn’t pick up your FaceTime call, you can now leave them a video or audio message in a voicemail.

Standby

Apple iOS 17 introduces Standby, a new full-screen experience you can unlock by putting your iPhone on its side while it’s charged to get information you can see from a distance — like a clock on your nightstand or your music on the kitchen counter.

Interactive widgets 

Widgets are getting an upgrade in iOS 17, too. You can now interact with them, like cross an item off your to-do list, pause a song, or turn the lights off when you leave a room.

NameDrop

One of the iOS 17 updates is a whole new update to AirDrop. NameDrop allows users to swap contact info by putting their iPhones and Apple Watches near each other. Your name and Contact Poster are included with your share.

Autocorrect, but better

That’s ducking right: Autocorrect is getting better. iOS 17 has improved autocorrect with more accurate fixes to mistakes in English, French, and Spanish.

Safari profiles

With iOS 17, you can create different profiles in Safari to keep your browsing, history, cookies, extensions, Tab Groups, and favorites separate for topics like “work” and “personal” and “oh my god don’t look at this.”

Adaptive Audio

This iOS 17 update really only works if you also have the  AirPods Pro (2nd generation). The new listening mode will automatically adjust the noise level controls for you and add noise cancellation. This reminds me of automatically brightness — a feature I love 95 percent of the time and absolutely hate five percent of the time. 

Offline maps

Finally! With iOS 17, you can download maps and use them when you don’t have service, which will be perfect for traveling underground on the subway or going on a long hike.

Just say “Siri”

Sorry, this is the least exciting update we’re getting from iOS 17. You no longer have to say “Hey Siri,” you can just say “Siri.”

Visual Look Up

iOS 17 is changing the way we look things up. You can find similar recipes from food you’ve taken photos of, maps to stores you see in pictures, and more. And many of these tools work on paused video, too.