Apple’s iOS 17 is official, making its debut on WWDC 2023’s keynote stage. Highlights include redesigned contact cards and live voicemail.
Your contact book is getting an update with a new feature called posters, which turns your contact information into flashy marquee-like images that show up full-screen on your recipient’s iPhone when you call them. There’s also a new live transcription feature for voicemail that lets you view a transcript of the message a caller is leaving in real time. You can choose to ride it out or pick up the call.
Some updates to messages include transcriptions of voice messages — similar to what the Pixel 7 series introduced — and a series of new features called Check In to help communicate your live location and status to someone you’re meeting up with. Stickers are getting an overhaul, with the ability to add any emoji or photo cutout as a “sticker” positioned on iMessages or anywhere within the system.
AirDrop gets an update to send contact information — cleverly called NameDrop — which will send your selected email addresses and phone numbers (and your poster) just by bringing two iPhones near each other. Photos can be shared the same way, and if the file is a big one it’s now possible to move out of range while continuing the download.
iOS 17 also includes keyboard updates including enhancements to autocorrect. It now relies on a new language model, plus an easier shortcut to revert to the original word you wrote if necessary. Dictation uses a new AI model, too.
This version of iOS follows a meaningful update in iOS 16, which included a major lock screen overhaul, useful iMessage features like editing and unsend, and the time-sensitive Live Activities surfaced in the Dynamic Island. It was an update that centered on helping you do more with your phone while having to dive into apps less for simple tasks.
There was plenty to like about iOS 16, but it wasn’t exactly a seismic change. It presented some valuable quality-of-life upgrades but nothing that fundamentally changed how we use our phones. It also emphasized the divide between the iPhone 14 Pro and the regular iPhone 14 since only the Pro offers the always-on display and Dynamic Island features that make the most use of the updates.
