TL;DR
- iOS 17 beta is now accessible for FREE to everyone.
- The iOS 17 release date is expected in mid-September.
- Compatible devices and exciting innovations.
- iOS 17’s focus is on personalization and accessibility.
iOS 17 made its grand debut at WWDC, marking Apple’s most significant annual software overhaul for iPhone enthusiasts. In the realm of iOS 17, novelties abound in Messages, FaceTime, and widgets.
Proceed below for a comprehensive exploration of our coverage, the introduction of new features, insights into beta versions and their release schedules, and more.
iOS 17 Beta Iterations
As of June, iOS 17 extends an exclusive invitation to developer beta testers exclusively. However, there’s a noteworthy alteration in the developer beta testing regimen this year.
In the bygone days, iOS developer betas were solely within reach of registered developers who disbursed a sum of $99 per annum.
However, for iOS 17, Apple is democratizing beta access, accessible to anyone who takes the time to register for a complimentary developer account. A subscription costing $99 per year is no longer a prerequisite.
Yet, a word of caution is in order. Apple designates these as “developer” betas for a rationale. The iOS 17 beta harbors numerous glitches, performance hiccups, and a substantial toll on your device’s battery life.
The complementary nature of the iOS 17 developer beta should not lull you into a false sense of security.
In the ensuing month, Apple will unveil a public beta of iOS 17, still bearing some flaws and peculiarities but in a more mitigated fashion compared to the developer betas.
When will iOS 17 extend its embrace to the masses?
Post the beta phase’s culmination, Apple will usher iOS 17 to the general populace. Per historical precedent, this transition usually transpires in September. To substantiate this, let’s reminisce on previous iOS update releases during September past:
- iOS 16: September 12, 2022
- iOS 15: September 20, 2021
- iOS 14: September 16, 2020
- iOS 13: September 19, 2019
- iOS 12: September 17, 2018
Apple’s consistency in adhering to its September iOS launch schedule leads us to anticipate that iOS 17 will adhere to this customary timeframe, releasing somewhere in mid-September.
iOS 17 Device Compatibility
Significantly, iOS 17 mandates the A12 Bionic chip or newer for compatibility. Consequently, the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus—launched in 2017—won’t partake in this year’s update festivities. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive roster of iOS 17-compatible devices:
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 12 and 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 13 and 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd gen)
What Innovations Beckon in iOS 17?
With the mundane out of the way, let’s plunge into the trove of novel features that iOS 17 unfurls. Apple avows that the overarching objective of iOS 17 is to render your iPhone “more personalized and instinctive,” a feat achieved through a plethora of groundbreaking features.
iOS 17 introduces “Contact Posters,” a distinctive feature empowering you to tailor the presentation of your profile when engaging with fellow iPhone users.
This customization encompasses profile photos, unique typographical choices, and an array of font hues.
For FaceTime, both audio and video interactions welcome a game-changing addition: voicemail support. Now, when a call goes unanswered, you can leave a voice message to elucidate your intent.
In the realm of FaceTime, Apple debuts an assortment of fresh Reactions, including hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, and rain. These whimsical effects can be summoned through specific gestures and are also harmoniously integrated with third-party applications.
iOS 17 also delivers enhancements to AirDrop.
Among them, “NameDrop” stands out, facilitating the effortless exchange of contact information with fellow iPhone or Apple Watch users by mere proximity.
Furthermore, aligning two iPhones initiates Share Play, enabling collaborative engagement in video, music, and gaming experiences.
AirDrop elevates its capabilities by enabling content transfers between closely adjacent phones, encompassing photos, videos, and files. As a prospect, AirDrop will empower the transfer of substantial files between proximate devices, with finalization orchestrated via iCloud.
The Music app undergoes a comprehensive overhaul, embracing collaborative playlists and long-awaited cross-fade functionality. CarPlay likewise welcomes Music app enhancements, now incorporating SharePlay support to grant every passenger a voice in the current audio selection, provided you dare to yield such influence.
iOS 17 heralds a momentous revolution in autocorrect, finally affording you the liberty to express precisely what you intend. Powered by machine learning, the revamped autocorrect system imbibes insights from your typing patterns, streamlining error corrections, and intuitively auto-populating your phrases as you type.
Simultaneously, dictation receives a boost, armed with an upgraded speech recognition model to heighten its accuracy, according to Apple.
“StandBy” constitutes one of the standout additions for iPhone enthusiasts this year. When your iPhone rests horizontally on a charger, it metamorphoses into a custom smart display, featuring widgets for easy access to elements such as the time, calendar, alarms, and more.
For ardent adherents of Home Screen widgets, iOS 17 ushers in a significant upgrade with support for interactive widgets.
This empowers direct interaction with the widgets themselves, obviating the need to navigate to the respective app. For instance, you can manipulate play and pause controls for the Music app widget right from your iPhone’s Home Screen. In parallel, Apple introduced Home app widgets.
Accessibility undergoes a comprehensive upgrade in iOS 17, exemplified by “Assistive Access.” This innovative feature furnishes a customizable interface, catering to users with cognitive disabilities and rendering iPhone usage more accessible. “Personal Voice” empowers individuals at risk of speech loss.
In iOS 17, the Messages app goes through a significant makeover with a variety of new features based on stickers, reactions, and more.
With seamless access to features like the camera, Photos app, location sharing, GIFs, and more, the iMessage app layout has undergone a significant redesign.
Source(S): 9TO5MAC
