iOS 17: Improving Communication and Personalization

Apple has unveiled iOS 17, a game-changing release that revolutionizes the way we communicate through enhanced Phone, FaceTime, and Messages features. Additionally, sharing content is now easier than ever with AirDrop, while typing becomes more intuitive and accurate with intelligent input. Notably, iOS 17 brings novel experiences with the introduction of Journal, a gratitude-based app, and StandBy, a unique way to access glanceable information while your iPhone is charging.

Major Upgrades to the Phone Experience

The Phone app takes center stage with iOS 17, offering users personalized Contact Posters for expressing themselves in a new way. These posters allow customization of appearances, enabling a fresh look for incoming calls with stunning typography, font colors, and treatments for photos or Memoji. Contact Posters will also be available for third-party calling apps, expanding their creative potential.

Live Voicemail is another welcomed addition, enabling users to view real-time transcriptions while callers leave voicemails. Users can even pick up the call while the message is being recorded. To combat spam, calls identified as such by carriers will be instantly declined, ensuring a seamless and secure experience. Powered by the Neural Engine, Live Voicemail’s transcription remains private as it is processed on the device.

FaceTime: Enhanced Audio and Video Messages, Reactions, and Apple TV Integration

FaceTime receives significant enhancements with iOS 17, including the addition of audio and video messages. This feature allows users to leave messages for contacts who are currently unavailable, ensuring seamless communication. Moreover, FaceTime calls become more expressive with Reactions, which include hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, rain, and other effects. Simple gestures activate these effects, and even third-party video-calling apps can leverage them.

Excitingly, FaceTime now extends to Apple TV 4K. Users can initiate video calls directly from their Apple TV, or hand off a call from their iPhone to enjoy conversations on the big screen. With the addition of Center Stage, the framing remains perfect even when users move around the room, providing an immersive and dynamic experience.

A Fresh Look and Enhanced Functionality for Messages

iOS 17 brings significant updates to Messages, including an all-new stickers experience featuring emoji stickers and the ability to create Live Stickers using subjects from photos. Users can add life to Live Stickers by applying captivating effects. The new keyboard drawer consolidates all stickers for easier access across iOS.

Moreover, Messages introduces an expandable menu that enhances the app’s sleek appearance. Users can access iMessage apps with a simple tap, making communication more streamlined. Powerful search filters enable precise searches, allowing users to add additional filters to narrow down results and find exactly what they need. A convenient catch-up arrow indicates the last read message, and replying becomes as simple as swiping on a text bubble. Real-time location updates and automatic transcription of audio messages further enhance the messaging experience.

iOS 17 introduces Check In, a vital feature that notifies family members or friends of a user’s safe arrival at a destination. Upon initiating a Check In, the selected contact receives an automatic notification. In cases where progress toward the destination is not being made, useful information, such as the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status, is temporarily shared. All information exchanged is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring privacy and security.

Easier Sharing with AirDrop and NameDrop

AirDrop now offers new and convenient ways to share content with others. NameDrop allows users to share contact information simply by bringing their iPhones together or pairing an iPhone with an Apple Watch.

This gesture can also be used to share content or initiate SharePlay, allowing for joint music listening, movie watching, or gaming experiences when devices are in close proximity.

Improved Autocorrect and Dictation for Intelligent Input

Autocorrect receives a comprehensive upgrade with a transformer language model, an advanced on-device machine learning language model that enhances word prediction, resulting in improved accuracy and user experience. The design of autocorrect has also been refreshed to better support typing, and sentence-level autocorrections can now fix various grammatical mistakes. Predictive text recommendations appear inline as users type, simplifying the addition of entire words or completing sentences by merely tapping the space bar. These enhancements make text entry faster and more efficient. Dictation has also been enhanced with a new speech recognition model, further increasing its accuracy.

StandBy: A Unique Glanceable Information Experience

iOS 17 introduces StandBy, a groundbreaking feature that displays glanceable information in a full-screen format when your iPhone is charging on its side. StandBy enhances your nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk by offering various personalization options, such as displaying beautiful clock styles, favorite photos, and widgets. The inclusion of Smart Stacks ensures the right widgets appear at the right time. StandBy supports Live Activities, Siri, incoming calls, and larger notifications, making it exceptionally useful when viewed from a distance. When charging with MagSafe, StandBy remembers your preferred view. Accessing StandBy is as easy as tapping the screen, and for iPhone 14 Pro users with an Always-On display, it is always available.

Journal: Embracing Gratitude and Reflection

Journal, a brand-new app, empowers iPhone users to practice gratitude and reflection through journaling, which has been proven to enhance wellbeing. On-device machine learning provides personalized suggestions based on recent activities, including photos, people, places, and workouts, to inspire journal entries. Scheduled notifications assist in building a journaling habit. Journal guarantees privacy and security through app locking, on-device processing, and end-to-end encryption, ensuring no one, not even Apple, can access your entries. Developers can also leverage the Journaling Suggestions API to incorporate journaling suggestions into their own apps, fostering a culture of gratitude and introspection.

A step in the right direction

With upgrades to communication apps, AirDrop sharing, intelligent text input, and the introduction of Journal and StandBy, Apple continues to innovate and enhance the iPhone experience.