Apple at Worldwide Developers Conference 2023 unveiled a new mixed reality headset, a 15-inch MacBook Air and new operating system versions for iPad and iPhones- iPadOS 17 and iOS 17 respectively.
The iOS 17 brings several improvements across Phone, FaceTime, Messages, AirDrop, and more. It also includes an enhanced Lock Screen experience, improved widget interactivity, and streamlined PDF handling.
The iPadOS 17 brings improvements to AutoFill, Notes, Messages, and more. The Health app comes to iPad with interactive charts, and HealthKit enables developers to create innovative experiences designed for the iPad display.”
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“With interactive widgets on the Lock Screen, updates to PDFs and Notes, as well as enhancements to Messages and FaceTime, iPadOS gives users even more ways to get things done easier and faster than ever,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering.
Everything to know about iOS 17
The iOS 17 brings major upgrades to Phone. It brings personalised Contact Posters which users can customise as per their choice. Contact Posters will also be available for third-party calling apps. The Live Voicemail feature lets users read a written version of a voicemail message as it is being recorded. They can even choose to answer the call while the person is leaving the message. It also automatically rejects calls that are identified as spam. The transcription of voicemail messages is processed on users’ device and is kept private.
FaceTime now supports audio and video messages so when users call someone who is not available, they can share a message that can be accessed later. FaceTime calls now have added features called Reactions, which include things like hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, rain, and more. These effects can be activated by using simple gestures. Even third-party video calling apps can use these effects. FaceTime now also supports Apple TV 4K. User can start a video call directly from Apple TV using Continuity Camera. Alternatively, it can also be done on iPhone and then transferred to Apple TV. With Center Stage, the camera will automatically adjust and frame perfectly even if user moves around the room.
Messages gets new stickers experience with new emoji stickers and the ability to create Live Stickers by lifting subjects from photos. Users can add effects to Live Stickers to make them come to life. iOS 17 brings a new drawer in the keyboard for easy access to all stickers across iOS. There’s also an expandable menu for iMessage apps, improved search with search filters, Catch-up arrow to indicate where the user last left off in the conversation, inline replies by swiping on a text bubble, real-time location updates in conversations and automatic transcription of audio messages.
With iOS 17, AirDrop gets new ways to share. NameDrop allows users to easily share contact information by simply bringing their iPhones together, or by bringing an iPhone and Apple Watch together.1 With the same gesture, users can also share content or start SharePlay to listen to music, watch a movie, or play a game while in close proximity between iPhone devices. New ways to share files and photos quickly.
Autocorrect receives a comprehensive update with a transformer language model for word prediction. It gets a refreshed design and sentence-level autocorrections. There’s inline predictive text recommendations and improved accuracy for Dictation with a new speech recognition model.
iOS 17 brings StandBy, a full-screen glanceable information display when iPhone is charging on its side. It shows personalised clock styles, favourite photos, widgets, including Smart Stacks. It is always available on iPhone 14 Pro with the Always-On display.
It is a new app for reflection and gratitude journaling. It offers personalised suggestions for journal entries based on recent activity.
It includes Safari enhancements for Private Browsing with advanced tracking and fingerprinting protections, password and passkeys sharing with trusted contacts through iCloud Keychain, new mental health features in the Health app, including mood logging and resources, offline maps and support for electric vehicle drivers in Maps, enhanced sharing capabilities with AirTag for up to five people, collaborative Playlists and SharePlay in Apple Music, on-device intelligence for AirPlay content sharing and support for televisions in hotels, extended activity history and new lock features in the Home app, grocery list grouping in Reminders and more.
Availability: The developer beta of iOS 17 is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today, and a public beta will be available next month at beta.apple.com.
Everything to know about iPadOS 17
Apple has unveiled a preview of iPadOS 17, introducing new features to personalise the Lock Screen and interact with widgets. The update includes improvements to working with PDFs, such as AutoFill that intelligently identifies and fills fields in forms. The Notes app brings a new experience for marking up and collaborating on PDFs. Messages receives significant updates, including a new stickers experience and the ability to leave FaceTime video and audio messages. The Health app makes its debut on iPad, offering interactive charts and enabling developers to create innovative health experiences. iPadOS 17 is currently available as a developer beta and will be released as a free software update in the fall.
One of the key updates in iPadOS 17 is the ability to customise the Lock Screen with rich photo features. Users can choose their favourite images, set dynamic photo sets, or use Live Photos for a slow-motion effect. Additionally, users can select wallpapers from the Lock Screen gallery, customise font styles and colours for the date and time, and create unique designs with emoji and colour combinations. Live Activities on the Lock Screen provide real-time updates for various events and activities.
Widgets become more powerful and interactive in iPadOS 17. Users can now perform tasks directly from widgets, such as turning on lights, playing songs, or marking reminders as complete. Developers can also build interactivity into their widgets using WidgetKit. Interactive widgets are available on both the Lock Screen and Home Screen, seamlessly blending with the wallpaper.
Working with PDFs is made easier with the introduction of AutoFill, which uses machine learning to identify fields in PDFs and allows users to quickly add details from their contacts. The Notes app receives a major update, making it easier to organise, read, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs. PDFs now appear full width, allowing users to flip through pages, make annotations, or sketch directly in the document using Apple Pencil. Live collaboration enables real-time updates when sharing notes with others.
Messages gets enhanced communication tools, including a new stickers experience with emoji stickers. Users can create Live Stickers from their own photos, add effects to bring conversations to life, and access all stickers from a centralized drawer. The search experience in Messages is improved with filters for more specific searches, and users can easily jump to their last-read message in a group chat. Audio messages can be transcribed for easy reading or listening.
FaceTime introduces the ability to leave audio and video messages when calls are unanswered. Reactions, such as hearts, balloons, and laser beams, add more expressiveness to FaceTime calls. FaceTime is also extended to Apple TV 4K, allowing users to initiate video calls directly from the TV or seamlessly hand off calls from iPad to Apple TV. Center Stage ensures users remain in perfect framing even while moving around the room.
Safari brings productivity improvements with the introduction of Profiles. Users can keep their browsing separate between different topics or purposes, with each profile having its own history, cookies, Tab Groups, and Favorites. Private Browsing now allows users to lock windows with Face ID or Touch ID and removes trackers for cross-site tracking. Safari’s search experience is also enhanced with increased responsiveness and more relevant search suggestions.
The Health app makes its way to iPad, providing users with detailed health data insights. Users can view Trends, Highlights, and interactive charts optimised for the iPad display. The Health app also introduces features like medication tracking, Cycle Tracking, mood logging, and access to health records from multiple institutions. HealthKit on iPad enables developers to create innovative health experiences with user-shared data and robust privacy and data security protocols.
Availability: The iPadOS 17 developer beta is now accessible at developer.apple.com for Apple Developer Program members. Next month, a public beta will be available at beta.apple.com for iPadOS users. In the fall, new software features will be released as a free update for various iPad models, including iPad (6th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation and later), 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation and later).