iOS 17 for iPhone, which was just unveiled at the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference, will make it possible to screen your calls, tell your friends and family you got home safely, leave FaceTime video messages and turn your iPhone into a clock when you’re not using it.
Apple also unveiled iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma and watchOS10 which also introduce a range of new features and capabilities.
Here are the new features of iOS 17
LIVE VOICEMAIL
Users can see a real time transcription of an incoming call and decide whether they want to answer the call. This feature also makes it possible to take a call during a meeting to see what it’s about and if it’s urgent without disturbing anyone around you.
CONTACT POSTERS
iOS 17 lets you express yourself with an enriched contact poster which can be configured like a lock screen.
NAMEDROP
This lets users share their contact information and contact posters simply by bringing their iPhones together or bringing an Apple Watch and iPhone together.
FACETIME MESSAGES
If you can’t get through on FaceTime, iOS 17 now offers a way to leave a video message that can be enjoyed later.
FACETIME CONTINUITY
If you receive a FaceTime call on your iPhone, you can hand off to your Apple TV so you’re using your TV to see your friends and family.
iMESSAGE
There is a new expandable menu to share content and stickers while a new catch-up arrow brings you back to where you left off in a conversation. iMessage also introduces Check In so friends and family members can be notified when they arrive safely at their destination.
STANDBY
When you’re iPhone is not in use and resting on a MagSafe charger, simply place it on its side to turn it into a display for the kitchen counter, night stand or desk with a larger clock, notifications and calendar events.
JOURNAL
This is a brand new app to reflect on your day and includes photos and people and is curated from recent activity and locations.
Here are the new features of iPadOS 17
LOCKSCREEN
The iPad now offers similar configurable locks screens like the iPhone with your choice of fonts and images.
IMPROVED WIDGETS
Widgets on the iPad are now more powerful and interactive on the lock screen and the home screen.
PDFs
It is now a lot easier to work with PDFs so you can easily write on them and annotate them with Apple Pencil. You can also find and fill in text areas and easily sign a document with a saved signature or a fresh signature with Apple Pencil.
HEALTH APP
The Health app is now on the iPad so you can see your health data in even more detail. It has been re-designed and optimised for the larger display so you can interact with charts and other information.
Here are the new features of macOS Sonoma
INTERACTIVE WIDGETS
Now you can place widgets right on the desktop so you can see information at a glance but they will also blend into the wallpaper so they are not too distracting.
BETTER VIDEO CONFERENCING
The enhanced video conferencing allows presenters to still be seen during their presentation either in a video bubble or on top of their content. And users will be able to react with hand gestures to set off fireworks and confetti if they like what they see.
SAFARI
The Safari browser has improvements to private browsing to further prevent tracking as well as the ability to create profiles so you can sign into sites with either work or personal credentials.
NEW SCREENSAVERS
macOS Sonoma offers stunning new screensavers with slow motion videos above Hong Kong, Monument Valley in Arizona and the rolling hills of Sonoma.
Here are the new features of watchOS 10
REDESIGNED APPS
The native Apple Watch apps like Weather, Stocks, Maps and Messages now take up more of the display with more glanceable information.
SMART STACK
This contains widgets that displays information you can access with a turn of the digital crown right from the watch face.
NEW WATCH FACES
Palette and Snoopy are the new watch faces, Palette has a wide variety of colours and overlapping layers as the time changes while Snoopy and Woodstock interact and play with the watch hands.
CYCLING
Apple Watch becomes a better device for cyclists with workout reminders, calorimetry for e-biking and new metrics. Workout views offers Heart Rate Zones, Elevation, Race Route, Custom Workouts and a new Cycling Speed View. Apple Watch will also connect to Bluetooth accessories like power meters, speed sensors and cadence sensors.
MENTAL HEALTH
Users can gauge how they are feeling, select what is having an effect on them and describe their feelings. By logging this information it could indicate and possibly offset the effects of depression and anxiety.
VISION HEALTH
Myopia, also known as short-sightedness, is the leading visual impairment and watchOS 10 introduces a new feature that can measure the time spent in daylight and when viewing a device too closely which is deemed at closer than 30cm.
* Stephen Fenech travelled to the Worldwide Developers Conference as a guest of Apple