Apple offered a sneak peek at its next-gen operating systems today, with updates to core apps like Phone and FaceTime, easier sharing with AirDrop, and interactive widgets. It also tipped a journaling app and a landscape view that turns the iPhone into a smart display.
Building on the lock-screen updates in iOS 16, Apple’s iOS 17 includes the option to create a Contact Poster that takes over the screen when you call someone with a customized photo and font.
Contact Posters, Stickers, and Live VoicemailUpdates to the actual Phone app, however, focus on somewhat of a throwback technology: voicemail. With Live Voicemail, you can get a live transcription of voice message on your iPhone screen as someone is leaving it. If it looks important, you can pick up, just like you could answer the phone as someone was leaving a message on an old-school answering machine.
Meanwhile, FaceTime in iOS 17 will let you leave a message.
Check InOn the security front, a Check In feature on Messages will alert trusted contacts when you’ve arrived at home safely. If you’re moving slower than expected, Check In can share info with contacts, like location, battery level, and cell service status, so they can more easily determine if something is amiss.
If you get caught in traffic or on a stalled train, meanwhile, updates to autocorrect should help you use saltier language in your texts without the phone changing your expletives to “ducking.”
Apple also promises easier sharing with AirDrop. An update called NameDrop lets you hold your iPhone next to another iPhone or Apple Watch and choose to share information like phone number or email address. It also supports photo sharing, and big files can also be shared when out of range. Or share activities like music or streaming video via SharePlay.
Journal appFeeling inspired? A new Journal app will prompt you to write about experiences related to your iPhone activity. “Suggestions are intelligently curated from recent activity, including photos, people, places, workouts, and more, making it easy to start a journal entry, and scheduled notifications can help build a journaling habit,” Apple says. Journals can be locked to keep your musings from prying eyes.
If you're a more visual person, Live Stickers will let you turn photos into stickers.
If your desk or bedside table is crowded with smart devices, meanwhile, iOS 17 will let you turn your phone into a glanceable display in landscape mode, effectively turning the device into a small smart display, particularly via the always-on display on the iPhone 14 Pro. Swipe up to choose from clock styles, swipe to the side to look at photos, and add widgets.
iPadOS 17
On the iPad, Apple also talked up interactive widgets, a more interactive lock screen, and easier PDF management. It’s also bringing the Health app to Apple’s tablet for a bigger view of the workout and health data that was previously locked to iPhone.
MacOS Sonoma
This year’s macOS update is largely about bringing the desktop OS more in line with the mobile ones. Widgets get an upgrade; pull them out of the notification center and lock them to the desktop. To cut down on distraction, these widgets will fade when you have another app open.
Apple also promised an “optimized gaming experience with smoother and consistent frame rates.” To drive home the point, it brought out Hideo Kojima to tease Death Stranding Director’s Cut coming to Mac later this year.
For those who like to be on display during video calls, meanwhile, macOS Sonoma will let you overlay yourself atop a presentation, in either a small chat-head bubble or a newscaster-green-screen-style takeover.
Reaction effects we've seen on Messages (balloons, confetti, hearts) will also come to video chats, but you can trigger them with gestures. Two thumbs up, for example, will result in fireworks. For better or worse, these effects will work across apps, from FaceTime and Zoom to Microsoft Teams and Webex.
On Safari, Apple previewed some security-focused features, like the ability to lock private browsing windows when you're not using them, the ability to lock trackers from loading, and the removal of URL trackers.
You'll also be able to share passwords and passkeys with trusted contacts and create profiles to keep your web browsing separate from other people who may use your Mac, or just to create separate work and personal profiles for yourself.
How to Get iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and MacOS Sonoma
Apple is releasing an early version of its OSes to developers today. A public beta will follow in July, while a wide release is expected in the fall, likely alongside new iPhones.
