Product Category: Apple iOS
Product Price Type: Free
All Specifications
Below are all the specifications for the Apple iOS 17 operating system:
– It runs on iPhone XR, XS, SE (2nd generation or later), and newer phones.
– It features many new capabilities and enhancements that make using the iPhone easier and more enjoyable.
Which Phones Can Run Apple iOS 17?
Like previous versions of the iOS operating system, some older phones are not compatible with the latest release. With iOS 17, the iPhone X and older devices are left without an update (although they will continue to receive iOS 16 updates). To download iOS 17, you must own an iPhone XR, XS, SE (2nd generation or later), or newer phones. You can check out our article on how to get iOS 17 for download instructions.
Main New Features in iOS 17
iOS 17 includes several major features that offer new ways to customize and use your iPhone. We will explore the biggest new additions here, starting with StandBy mode.
StandBy mode is a fantastic new mode that your iPhone enters when placed horizontally on a stand or dock. Think of it as a “nightstand” mode. In StandBy mode, the display shows many useful widgets, including music, weather, stocks, clock display, and calendar. When you swipe left on the screen, the Photos app launches. StandBy mode adapts to the lighting in your room by adjusting the iPhone screen. If the room is dark, the usual white widgets in StandBy take on a bright red appearance. The glowing red text and dark screen make it an excellent bedside display. Additionally, you can set your iPhone to detect motion and automatically wake the screen. You can disable StandBy in settings, but it’s a very handy new feature you might not want to miss.
With the arrival of iOS 17.1, StandBy mode now allows you to set a screen turn-off time – a feature available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 15. You can set the screen to turn off automatically after 20 seconds or never. In automatic mode, the screen turns off when the room is dark and the iPhone is not in use. It’s a useful option, especially if you find the glowing clock face on the iPhone bothersome. Customize your contact card with Contact Posters (credit: Apple, PCMag)
Contact Posters are a new feature that allows you to personalize your contact card. This lets you set a contact image, color scheme, and font style that you want to appear when calling other people. While it’s relatively simple, customizing your contact card is a very satisfying thing. You can never have too much personalization.
Widgets are now dynamic, so you can interact with apps without opening them. Widgets have been a staple feature on Android phones for years, so it’s nice to see Apple competing in the same field. With iOS 17 widgets, you can finally play and pause Apple Music or other media directly from the home screen.
If you have a favorite contact saved as a widget, you can call that person or send them a message from here instead of opening the communication or phone apps. These are great additions, but not all widgets have this level of interactivity. Contacts, Home, Music, News, Podcasts, and Safari are the current few that offer this level of functionality. However, we can expect more first-party and third-party widgets to join now that iOS 17 is widely available.
In conclusion,
In general, personalization in iOS 17 has improved this year, although there are some weak points we would like to see addressed. For instance, the unique multi-layered lock screen photo effect introduced in iOS 16 is still somewhat unstable and doesn’t work with as many photos as we would like. Similarly, dynamic widgets are a great new addition but are only usable on the home screen. This limitation keeps your iPhone display neat and tidy, but at the cost of some functionality.
Sharing is Caring
With iOS 17, you can share files, contacts, or photos via AirDrop by bringing your iPhone close to another iPhone. Previously, you had to select the media you wanted to share and then the device you wanted to share it with (Android 14 has similar functionality with Nearby Share). This feature has significantly improved in iOS 17, requiring you to no longer open a menu to search for devices. All you have to do is tap your iPhone with another iPhone – or place them on top of each other – to start transferring files. The image or video should be displayed on your phone screen to use AirDrop.
The same functionality applies to exchanging contact information. It’s called NameDrop, and it allows you to share contact information with another person by tapping the iPhones. Of course, you must confirm your intention to send and receive the information, so you can’t silently steal someone’s info. You can also set your iPhone to receive information precisely, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally sharing personal information.
With the 17.1 update, AirDrop now supports data transfer over Wi-Fi when you move out of Bluetooth range. We tested this feature by starting a one-minute video transfer between an iPhone 14 Pro Max and an iPhone 11 placed 100 feet away. This significantly slows down the AirDrop transfer process. When within Bluetooth range, the video transfers in about five seconds; when within Wi-Fi range, it transfers in about a minute.
AirDrop and NameDrop are surprisingly easy to use in practice. The classic sound of AirDrop now includes a rising hum indicating that the phones are connecting to each other, and there is even a cool graphical effect that slides across your screen to represent the information being scanned. The process can be somewhat choppy at times; you can definitely interrupt the exchange and need to start over if you pull your device away too quickly. Apple is in the process of improving how these features work, so if you move the phones out of range after the initial tap, or if the file is particularly large, the data transfer continues over Wi-Fi. With the release of iOS 17.1, this feature is now available, so you can continue sharing files on the go.
Log Your Life with the Journal App
The long-awaited Journal app launched with iOS 17.2 and provides iPhone users with an excellent tool to log their daily activities. With Journal, you can jot down your thoughts; tag locations; or insert audio recordings, photos, and videos. The app is user-friendly and offers various tools to keep creativity flowing. For instance, you can enable push notifications to create a schedule for regular writing, allow microphone access to record your voice, and enable the camera function to capture videos or photos. This media is stored only within Journal unless you enable sharing with your photo library. If you have writer’s block, the app also offers suggestions to help you reflect and expand on your thoughts. Journal helps you log your daily activities (credit: Apple, PCMag)
To get started
The Journal app asks if you’d like to enable location services and push notifications. After that, simply tap the plus button at the bottom of the screen and start writing. Naturally, your Journal entries are saved chronologically, allowing you to create a convenient blog that you can browse and edit at any time you wish.
Are you concerned about security? Your Journal entries are encrypted when your iPhone is locked with a passcode. For added protection, you can enable a secondary passcode or Face ID or Touch ID. As mentioned, photos and videos saved in the Journal can only be viewed within the app, so your intimate thoughts and pictures remain truly private. However, you can choose to save these to your photo library via settings.
Simplifying Messaging
The Messages app also receives numerous enhancements. The most notable difference is the removal of icons from the iPhone keyboard. Apple has moved these icons to a separate menu accessible via the plus button. Similarly, voice messages no longer require you to hold down the voice recording button to save your message. In a nice touch, you can preview the message before sending it. You can edit messages in iOS 17 (credit: Apple, PCMag)
You can now swipe to reply to a specific message. Previously, you had to press and hold the message, then select reply before typing your response. iOS 17 simply lets you swipe on the message, causing your iPhone to bring up the keyboard. It’s a much more flexible messaging experience. Additionally, autocorrect is less intrusive now. While it still automatically resets misspelled words, it also underlines the word. As a result, autocorrect allows you to tap on the underlined word to revert it to the original word or select a suggested word.
Photo stickers are a new and exciting feature in iOS 17. Tap on the subject of the photo to highlight it, then select Add Sticker to add the newly cropped photo to your sticker list. You can give these stickers unique graphic effects, such as holographic reflections and outlines, and use them in all your conversations for added fun. Remember that these graphics are specific to iOS, so unfortunately, Android users cannot see them. Add flavor to your messages with stickers (credit: Apple, PCMag)
Most importantly, the Messages app allows you to share your location with others. Of course, you’d only want to do this with someone you know and trust. You do this by selecting the recipient’s name or icon at the top of the window. From here, you can choose to request location or share my location. This is a great option if you or a family member is traveling. You can share your location with someone else for one hour, until the end of the day, or permanently. This feature works in conjunction with Maps to make sharing the route easier.
Both Share My Location and the Maps tool are surprisingly accurate. My partner was able to track my progress throughout our neighborhood, and even across the city, without any issues or glitches. It may not be a feature you use daily, but it can be a blessing while traveling.
Other Notable iOS 17 Features
In addition to the standout features of iOS 17, Apple’s operating system comes with a number of tweaks, small adjustments, and improvements. For instance, the animations are smoother, making navigation between screens a cleaner experience. Aside from these aesthetic touches, many apps and settings receive new enhancements in iOS 17. Here are some changes we noticed during testing:
–
Maps receives offline options that allow you to download a map for use when you are not connected to the internet. Additionally, you can now connect with someone sharing their location with you.
– If the caller leaves a voicemail, the iPhone transfers the message onto the phone’s screen in real time, making it easy to decide whether you want to answer the call. This works regardless of whether you’re receiving a call from an iPhone or an Android device.
– The camera app has a level feature that you can turn on and off in settings. This makes aligning your shots easy. When recording video, you can now lock the white balance, so you don’t have to worry about the iPhone automatically adjusting while you move the device. The Photos app also receives some nice improvements. When zooming in, cropping grains appear in the top right corner of the screen. This lets you go directly to the editing window to make adjustments more smoothly than before. Apple has also simplified the editing tools.
– iOS 17 allows you to recover recently deleted passwords. Deleted passwords are stored in their own section in recently deleted passwords, and can be restored within 30 days.
– With the Health app, you can now set it to send reminders for medication follow-ups. This activates if you haven’t logged your medication after 30 minutes. Physical Effort is a new feature that measures the effort you exert on tasks, making it a useful activity test.
– Safari now has a new trick: listening. By selecting the reader view list (represented by the AA icon in the address bar) and then listening to the page from the pop-up menu, you can make the iPhone read the text displayed on the screen.
– Safari lets you create user profiles that you can customize with specific icons, favorites, and certain extensions.
– Privacy and security has a new setting to warn about sensitive content. This is off by default, but it automatically blurs nudity in photos and videos (you need to click on the image to view the content within it). This is a useful feature if you share your phone with children.
– Finally, Apple Music receives some updates, including changing the cover photo color, more visual song suggestions, and the ability to designate favorite songs, albums, and playlists. It also adds additional filtering options. The new preference options are great ways to organize your music, and the extra suggestions are fantastic for discovering music. Dynamic cover art can be hard to see, as this feature only applies to specific tracks and albums.
Best iPhone Operating System Yet
Overall, you should wait a little before installing a new operating system so developers can smooth out any serious bugs that may occur on launch day. However, iOS 17 is a fantastic update that comes with significant polish. There’s a lot to admire in its new customization features and standby mode, but the many little improvements are what make iOS 17 a top-tier mobile operating system – and it will get better with new feature releases next year. Therefore, it deserves our Editor’s Choice award.
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