Apple has started rolling out iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10 to users of eligible devices. As is usually the case, the first on the list would pretty much indicate what you can expect from the tablet OS, a few tablet-exclusive features notwithstanding. As for the last one on the aforementioned list, there are some parallels, but you can also expect more watch faces in addition.
Starting off with iOS 17, one of the new features that the new OS version introduces is Contact Posters. Normally, it’s up to the person on the other end to assign a photo to your number in their phone book, but this feature lets you do it for them, if that’s your kind of thing. There’s also the ability for you to leave the video equivalent of a voicemail when your FaceTime calls are unanswered. Speaking of which, there’s now also Live Voicemail with real-time transcriptions.
Beyond these, prompting Siri in iOS 17 now does not require you to also say “hey” first. More substantially, this new OS version also adds adaptive audio, personalised volume and conversation awareness to connected AirPods. Other enhancements coming with iOS 17 include downloadable offline maps for when using Apple Maps without an internet connection, and the ability to swipe right on a text to reply to it. About time for the former, considering Google Maps had this ability since 2015.
For the most part, iPadOS 17 gets the same upgrades as iOS 17. But it also got some leftovers from iOS 16 that didn’t make the initial cut as well. This includes a customisable lock scteen and interactive widgets. Stage Manager is also improved, but if that doesn’t cut it, the USB-C port now also supports webcams and mics.
And finally, for watchOS 10, this adds the Smart Stack widget roll, as well as letting the side button activate the Control Centre. You also get more watch faces with the new update, as well as enhancements to some health-related trackers.
As mentioned at the start, you can start checking if your turn to get these new OS updates today, providing you have the eligible devices. For iOS 17, this means using an iPhone Xs or newer, while for watchOS 10, this is for the Apple Watch Series 4 or newer.
As for the iPadOS 17, as usual this gets a bit complicated with the multiple variants in the range. But available tablets include the iPad mini 5 or newer, 6th generation iPad or newer, iPad Air 3 or newer, 2nd generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro or newer, all iterations of the 11-inch iPad Pro, and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. You can check the full changelog by hitting the links below.
