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May 13, 2023

11 Best iOS 17 Features You Should Check Out

The ultra-buzzed and much-awaited iOS 17 is finally here! Apple introduced its

The ultra-buzzed and much-awaited iOS 17 is finally here! Apple introduced its next generation iOS update at WWDC 2023. The latest iOS 17 updatebrings some worthy improvements and new features, including Contacts Poster, Live Voicemail, NameDrop, StandBy, and more. Currently, iOS 17 is in Developer Beta, with the polished version coming later this fall with the launch of the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

For all the tech-savvy and early adopters who are planning to download the iOS 17 Developer Beta on iPhone and check out what's new, we have got you covered. Here's a summary of the best new iOS 17 features:

With iOS 17, the Phone app gets a new feature named Contacts Poster that lets you attach emojis or images to express yourself to specific contacts. Your personalized contact posters will appear full-screen on the recipient's iPhone when you call them.

This iOS 17 feature follows the same design language as the iOS 16 Lock Screen, so you can customize contacts posters with colors, fonts, and more. The Contacts Poster feature will also work with third-party VoIP apps.

iOS 17 brings a Live Voicemail feature that shows the real-time transcription of the message the caller is leaving. The translation is handled on the device and is end-to-end encrypted. This iOS 17 feature will be particularly useful in situations when you’re in an important meeting. You can choose whether to take the call or not depending on the contents of the voicemail.

Until now, if someone missed your FaceTime call, they could only see a notification of the missed call. With the newest iOS 17 update, you can record and leave a custom audio/ video message if someone doesn't pick up your FaceTime call. It will be supremely handy in situations where you don't want to let go of a precious moment.

iOS 17 also makes FaceTime more expressive with hearts, balloons, fireworks, and other reactions. One of the major FaceTime upgrades is Apple 4K TV compatibility. Yes, iOS 17 extends FaceTime to your home's biggest screen. So, you can now start FaceTime calls directly from Apple TV 4K or make a call from your iPhone and then hand it off to your big screen.

The Messages app also gets several updates with iOS 17. The app gets sleeker with an expandable menu that can display iMessages with a simple tap. Next is Search Filters, which lets you search anything from a contact in an easier and faster way. Simply type the contact name followed by your query and the Messages app will help you find exactly what you’re seeking.

Another new iMessage feature in iOS 17 is Catch up, which shows the latest unread messages in the specific conversation. When you open an unread conversation, you will see a new arrow that indicates the last unread message.

The existing stickers feature in the Messages app gets a nice overhaul with Live Stickers. You can add any emoji or photo cutout as stickers to make your iMessage conversations more fun. That's not all. The latest iOS 17 gives you all the freedom to turn Live Photos into stickers and customize them with some cool effects.

The slew of new iMessage features doesn't end there. We also have a new iOS 17 feature called check-in to help you share live location and status with your family & friends. It can automatically notify your family when you’ve reached your destination safely, cutting all the stress down. Also, it can share your cell service status and phone's battery level to let your loved ones know if you’re in a dead zone.

In line with recent rumors, iOS 17 drops "hey" from "Hey Siri" to give a much-needed boost to Apple's virtual assistant. So, activating Siri on iOS 17 will be much faster than previous iOS versions. Moreover, with iOS 17, Siri can recognize back-to-back commands.

Apple brings a clever new AirDrop feature in iOS 17 called NameDrop. It offers a shortcut to share contact information with new people you meet at conferences or parties. When you bring two iPhones close to each other, you can quickly exchange numbers, email addresses, and posters.

This feature also works between an iPhone and Apple Watch. Two users can also bring their iPhones closer to share content or start SharePlay to watch a movie or play a game together. Moving on, if you move out of range during an AirDrop exchange, iOS 17 will use the internet to complete the transfer.

With iOS 17, the keyboard also gets some worthy upgrades, including enhancements to Autocorrect, which now relies on a machine-learning language model for better accuracy and user experience. There's also a shortcut to revert to the original word you wrote.

Further, sentence-level autocorrections can correct more grammatical mistakes so your text looks clean and professional. Lastly, the inline predictive text recommendations make it super-easy to complete words and sentences. Dictation also uses a new AI model, which makes it much more accurate.

iOS 17 marks the debut of a new iPhone app called Journal, which helps users practice gratitude and appreciate little moments of their lives. This iOS 17 feature uses on-device learning to automatically suggest moments you might want to lock down in a journal entry.

The app offers personalized suggestions based on recent activity, photos, workouts, places, and more. You can lock the app to ensure your entries remain private. With on-device processing and end-to-end encryption, Journal protects the user's privacy so that no one (not even Apple) can access the entries.

Next on our best iOS 17 features list is Standby, a new mode for charging that offers a full-screen experience with glanceable information like date & time and incoming calls. You can personalize the iOS 17 StandBy mode to display your favorite photos, widgets, Live Activities, Smart Stack, and more. StandBy lets you see your iPhone from a distance, making it a fantastic mode for your nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk.

All iPhone XS and newer models support the latest iOS 17. It's worth knowing that Apple has dropped support for iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. The upcoming iPhone 15 models will ship with iOS 17 out-of-the-box.

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