Apple is releasing the initial versions of most of its major operating system updates today, following their announcement at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June and the unveiling of new iPhone and Apple Watch hardware last week. Compatible devices can now download the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 updates without signing up for one of Apple’s beta programs.
The iOS 17 update this year is fairly mild; it includes a smart-display-esque feature called StandBy that can keep your screen on when your phone is plugged in and placed on a stand, plus “contact posters” that display full-screen photos when someone in your contacts list is calling, improved autocorrect, and live voicemail transcription.
Many of iOS 17’s announced features, including a new journaling app, several Messages improvements, and Internet-enabled AirDrop transfers, will be coming in later iOS 17 releases. This is a pretty typical practice for Apple these days, though the list of “later this year” features (via MacRumors) does seem a bit longer than usual.
Read 8 remaining paragraphs | Comments