Apple has unveiled some of the new features coming to iOS in the fall.

Journal – Brand new app that builds on Memories in Photos to bring a new way to relive special moments. New way to remember and write about experiences with text, location and photos and more. You chose what to include. Suggestions API for developers to use in their apps.

StandBy – Borrows from the Apple Watch. Put the phone on a stand at night and see the time with a clock and a range of clock styles. Shuffles through best shots. Uses widgets. You can also see Live Activities, like game scores. StandBy adapts to red light – red tone to help you sleep.

Contact Posters – let you personalise how you appear in calls and on your contact card. You can customise your poster with image, font and colour. This works with Call Kit so it can be used in third-oarty VOIP apps.

Live Voicemail – If someone calls and leaves a message you will see a live transcript as they speak. That way you can see if you want to answer it. When you know what the call is about you can decide whether to take it.

FaceTime – Is getting the ability to leave a message as as FaceTime video.

Messages – will be faster and more convenient. Search filters will let you add terms to a search to narrow the results. Jump to the first message you haven’t seen in a group chat. Swipe to reply on any bubble. Audio messages are transcribed.

You can check in with a family member and friend to let them know you got home. It will recognise you aren’t making progress towards the destination and ‘check in with you’. They can also see your battery level and cell status so they know if you can take a call. Sleek new look so you can see the things you see the most.

Stickers – See all the stickers in one place. All emoji are now stickers. You can peak and stick and resize it. Subjects from photos can be lifted out of photos and turned in to stickers. You can turn live animated photos into moving stickers for Live Stickers. Stickers have been added systemwide wherever you can access emoji.

AirDrop – Change to the way it works. NameDrop means you can bring your phones close together and easily chose the phone numbers and email addresses you want to share and share them must like that. You can also share with and Apple Watch. To share photos just bring phones close together to simply share. You can then step away and the content will continue to share over the internet. This works with SharePlay too, so you can just bring phones together to share.

Keyboard and dictation – Autocorrect will be “more accurate than ever”. Tap the underlined word to get the option to revet to the word you had typed. You can get predictions in line as you type and just tap the space bar to add them.

Dictation – Improvements.

Siri – No need to say Hey everytime! Just the first time.

Photos – can identify cats and dogs that are part of your family.

We will update this story as the news breaks, please reload this page for the latest news.

— Here are the rumors —

Each year Apple releases a major update for iOS, the operating system on your iPhone. The current version, released last year, is iOS 16, and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that 2023 will see the launch of iOS 17. This free software update will bring a raft of interface tweaks, bug fixes, and new features. It’s like getting a new iPhone without paying a penny.

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about iOS 17. We cover its release schedule and when you can expect the beta and final versions to come out; how to get it when it does; the models of iPhone that are likely to be able to run iOS; and the features we expect and hope to be added in the new OS.

iOS 17 release date: When will iOS 17 arrive?

iOS 17 will be announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 on June 5, and then rolled out to iPhones across the world in fall 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. (The last time an iOS update was released outside September was iOS 5 back in October 2011.) It’s likely to follow closely on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event. There was a gap of five days between the iPhone 14 and iOS 16 update in 2022, and six days in 2021. Over the past several years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent:

• iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022
• iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021
• iOS 14: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
• iOS 13: Thursday, September 19, 2019
• iOS 12: Monday, September 17, 2018

Before this happens, a series of beta versions of iOS 17 will be released to testers, beginning with the first developer beta likely released on the first day of WWDC 2023. Here’s our expected timeline:

• Early to mid-June 2023: iOS 17 is announced at WWDC, and the first developer beta is released.
• July 2023: Apple releases the first public beta of iOS 17.
• June to September 2023: Apple releases a series of additional developer and public betas.
• Early September 2023: The iPhone 15 is announced.
• Mid-September 2023: The final public version of iOS 17 is released.

iOS 17 compatibility: Which iPhones will be able to run iOS 17?

Our best guess is that the iPhone XS and later will be able to run iOS 17. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the iPhone X which came out the same year, are all on the borderline. They may miss out, or they may squeak through and get another year of software support.

Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t follow a strict system where iPhones lose support after a specified number of years. Some years Apple doesn’t remove any devices from the list of supported devices; last year, by contrast, it removed the 6s and 7 generations in a single stroke. (Optimists may hope that this unusually harsh year will be followed by a more lenient one.) If you’ve got an iPhone 7, 1st-gen iPhone SE, or anything earlier than those devices, however, you definitely won’t be able to install iOS 17 since they aren’t compatible with get iOS 16.

• iPhone 7, iPhone SE (2016), and earlier: Not compatible
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Possibly compatible
• iPhone X: Possibly compatible
• iPhone XS, XS Max, XR: Probably compatible
• iPhone 11 and later: Definitely compatible

In April, there were conflicting reports of compatibility. On Twitter, Fame_Monsters reported that the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X would lose support when iOS 17 arrived, but Anonymous A.S on the Macrumors forums claimed the rumor was “simply incorrect” and iOS 17 would support the same phones as iOS 16.

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. Last year, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to its older processor. For more information take a look at Every version of iOS released so far.

iOS 17: How to install the beta and full version

Once the final release comes out, installing iOS 17 will be a breeze. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update; iOS will check for any available updates and guide you through the process of installing them. You simply have to follow the instructions, which we explain in our iOS updating guide. And it’s easier still if you’ve turned on Automatic Updates, which you can do from the same screen.

But you can also install betas both leading up to the main release of iOS 17 and through the year following its release. There are two types—developer betas, which arrive first, and public betas, which generally show up a day or two later.

If you want to install a developer beta, you need, unsurprisingly, to be a registered Apple software developer. This costs $99 a year and will give you priority access to all of Apple’s betas, including macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. A better option for most would be to go for the public beta instead: these come out later than the developer betas, but they are free, and still give you bragging rights with your friends. Apple has changed the way betas are installed in iOS 16.4, and they are now tied to Apple IDs rather than profiles, so the process is a little friendlier than before. You can sign up to receive betas at the Apple Beta Software Program site.

In either case, it’s important to stress that betas are not finished software and are likely to contain bugs. That’s kind of the point of testing them. So be prepared for things to go wrong, maybe catastrophically, and we don’t recommend that you install a beta on your primary device. If that doesn’t put you off, follow our iOS beta installation guide. For more on joining the program read: How to join Apple’s beta program and try out new software.

iOS 17: Rumored new features

After including numerous new features in iOS 16, including a redesigned Lock Screen, unsending iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library, but early reports indicate that iOS 17 will have ‘fewer major changes’ than usual. However, there are signs that we’ll still get some pretty great features. A report by Mark Gurman in March claims that Apple has shifted its plans for iOS 17 and it is now “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features.” He doesn’t offer any specifics other than to say the new features will be among iPhone users’ “most requested features” but will still lack “a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”

Smart display mode: According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (a rather reliable source of leaks and rumors), iOS 17 will turn your iPhone into a smart display of sorts when locked and turned to a horizontal orientation. The feature will build on the lock screen widgets work from iOS 16, and use a dark background with bright text to make it easier to read. Apple is also working on a new horizontal iPad interface but that work is slower. Gurman also mentions changes to the Wallet app and its location services, a new journaling app, additions to the Health app, and upgrades to SharePlay and AirPlay.

Control Center: A MacRumors forum member says that iOS 17 will have substantial changes to Control Center, the first in many years. “Website forum member” is not typically strong providence for info leaks, but this same person has previously leaked accurate information about the Dynamic Island before its unveiling.

Camera and Health improvements: In April, a Twitter thread from prolific leaker @analyst941 detailed several new features they claim are from a development team insider. This leak is sketchy, but the individual reported updates are all vague and predictable enough that they seem likely. They include:

• Major changes to the Control Center UI and customization
• New features for the Dynamic Island
• Additional always-on display settings
• More Focus Mode filters
• Health app UI changes
• Camera app changes
• Notification changes and additional options
• Heavily improved Search/Spotlight

Lock Screen sharing: A post on Weibo from an account that accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 color (although at a fairly late date) details some supposed improvements in iOS 17. They include:

• Control Center UI changes
• App Library supports custom folders
• Apple Music lyrics on the lock screen
• Apple Music interface improvements
• Infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness
• Sharing lock screen setups
• Font size adjustment for Lock screen and emoji wallpaper

Lock Screen Maps: Analyst941 on Twitter, who has made several prior iOS 17 leaks, shows a new lock screen interface for Maps that shows the time and notifications count, unlike the current full-screen takeover.

iOS 17: New features we hope to see

Since this year’s release is rumored to be more maintenance and smaller improvements than flashy new features, this year’s wishlist is focused on things we want to see improved in iOS 17—little tweaks that will make a big difference in how we use our phones.

Apple certainly doesn’t come to us for advice about this stuff (and it’s too late to make major changes anyway), but it’s instructive to see how well “what we want” lines up with “what Apple delivers.” For what it’s worth, Apple actually delivered several of our iOS 16 Wishlist features, and if iOS 17 brings us more of the changes on this year’s list, we’ll consider that a success. Here’s what we want to see this year:

App Library overhaul

First introduced with iOS 14, the App Library is a good fundamental idea: Let your home screen be cluttered with only those apps you truly use every day and hide the dozens of other apps on your iPhone away from view.

It’s just a bad design! Apps are stuffed automatically into category folders that don’t always match up with what you’d expect. I have two Fender guitar apps on my iPhone. Fender Tune is in the Entertainment folder where it doesn’t belong, and Fender Play is in Other. Intuitively, these belong in the same folder, which should probably be Creativity. Everyone I know has numerous examples like this.

The folders are represented by four icons, three of which are actual app icons that open the app when you tap on them and the fourth is a group of four more tiny app icons that open the folder. This is an interaction and interface model that doesn’t exist anywhere else in iOS and iPadOS, and it’s not intuitive. Oh, and all the folders and their contents move around and change so you can’t develop muscle memory.

We have a few simple suggestions. Tapping the search box at the top of the App Library gives you an alphabetical list, which is a much simpler and intuitive way to find an app. It should be the default view—or be able to be set as the default view.

At the very least, make the folders in the App Library work like folders throughout iOS. Don’t move them around, make them so you open the folder when you tap on them and never one of the apps within. And maybe incorporate a number showing how many apps are in the folder.

Third-party app stores

A recent report claims that Apple will start to open up the iPhone in iOS 17, allowing the distribution of apps outside of Apple’s own App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers that don’t have to use Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. It’s all necessary to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, and the expectation is that it will only apply to those iPhones running iOS 17 in the regions covered by EU law.

Apple should go ahead and make the changes–whatever they are–global. Naturally, we expect Apple to do the minimum possible to be in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and we’re probably going to be in for a round of hearings and lawsuits and such saying that Apple isn’t in full compliance.

I still think whatever limited additional choice and freedom the EU iPhone users get will be a good thing, and would be good for users the world over, on balance. Moreover, it might be a smart move by Apple. The company is under antitrust scrutiny in several other markets, including the U.S. It could take a lot of heat off itself by offering the same solution that satisfied EU regulators, possibly preventing even stricter remedies in other regions.

It would also make iOS easier to maintain and test as a single cohesive release, rather than fragmenting iOS into regional variants.

Better Siri

Siri is definitely getting better and got a nice set of improvements in iOS 15 and iOS 16. It finally got offline processing, which speeds things up a lot and improves privacy. It also got a bit smarter and more reliable and is a lot better about understanding what is on the screen and reacting to it.

But Siri simply isn’t getting good enough fast enough. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask my Google Assistant something to which I get a good answer, and then—just out of curiosity—I ask Siri as well, and Siri fails.

The emphasis on new large language models such as ChatGPT is moving the bar for how we expect to be able to converse with AI. Siri needs more than just a “20 percent better than last year!” update, it needs a big forward leap that you can hear and feel every time you use it. It needs to sound better, work better, do more, and be right more often. It needs to truly feel conversational.

Siri kicked off the first generation of smartphone AI and fell behind. Wouldn’t it be great if Siri was the first true “next-generation” smartphone AI?

2FA for all

There’s this awesome feature in iOS that takes 2FA authentication codes you receive via SMS and makes them an autofill option just above the keyboard. This allows you to fill in the code without jumping away from the app or website that requested it and back again.

The only problem is that this only works with 2FA codes from SMS or Apple’s built-in Passwords feature.

We don’t suggest using SMS for 2FA codes unless you have to–they’re not as secure as they should be. Using the built-in password manager to generate codes isn’t a great option either because it really only works well on your iPhone–if you ever need to log in anywhere else, it’s a real pain to jump three layers deep in Settings to get your code. And some businesses mandate the use of certain 2FA apps.

We’d love for Apple to provide a framework for one-time-password code generation apps such as Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and others so they can securely autofill codes when requested just like Messages.

Call screening

Spam calls are out of control, and Apple should be using every tool in its arsenal to solve one of the biggest annoyances plaguing every smartphone user. For some time now, Google Assistant has been able to screen calls from unknown callers on Android phones. It can produce text transcripts and recordings, too.

This seems like a thing Siri should be able to do. In fact, Apple should go a step further and build an iCloud call spam service. These apps and services already exist, but they require you to set up a call-forwarding service–Apple, with low-level access to the operating system, could make this easy and seamless. Just like the iCloud Private Relay service, this should be an obvious feature for a company that bills itself as the “security and privacy” smartphone choice.

More Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island is a wonderful interface convention that we expect to see on all four iPhone models this year. But it can do more!

New notifications should flow out of the Dynamic Island when they come in instead of just sliding down from the top of the screen, and the option to see how many unread notifications you have would be useful too. Maybe Siri could suggest new Live Activities based on the apps you use.

But most importantly, the Dynamic Island should not be a place for notifications to live, just where they briefly appear when they first come in. The use of this area is clear: it’s for persistent background activities and “here and then gone forever” toasts like the Face ID authentication or AirPods connecting.

Version unification

There’s no good reason for Apple’s ecosystem to have fragmented version numbers that are hard to keep track of. More than ever before, the software is updated in sync with features meant to work together, so why do we have one version number of iOS and iPadOS and tvOS, another for watchOS, and another for macOS?

This is only going to get worse when the Reality headset is released and has xrOS 1 or something similar.

Just jump everything ahead to 17. Or better yet, version 20. Why not? After all, Apple skipped the iPhone 9 entirely, jumped tvOS to version 17 out of the blue, and kept macOS at version 10 for more than a decade.

Help make it clear for users: the latest release for each device’s OS will have the same version number. The releases might not always happen on the same day, but consumers should be able to easily see that the latest watchOS 20.2 update goes with iOS 20.2, which goes with macOS 20.2, and so on.

iOS, iPhone

You probably haven’t heard, but on Monday Apple is holding its first event of 2023 on Monday. We’re kidding—we know you know it’s time for WWDC 2023, and we’re here to give you the lowdown on the event’s announcements.

That’s right. Just like last year’s iPhone event, by an amazing coincidence, we’ve again stumbled across Tim Cook’s video script for Monday morning’s keynote presentation and of course, we’re going to share it all with you. It’s a doozy: from iOS 17 and new Macs to macOS and the mixed-reality headset, we’ve got the scoop on everything you’re going to hear from Apple on Monday—before Apple is ready to show it all to us. (Editor’s note: For anyone thinking this is real, if David had the actual script, we would definitely send it back to Apple.)

So here’s your spoiler alert: If you want to be surprised, stop reading now and watch the WWDC keynote live at 10 am.

Introduction

09:57: The pre-stream starts, complete with achingly hip musical accompaniment. The opening track is called “Friday Night Baseball” by MLS Season Pass. Wait that’s the wrong Apple document—it’s actually “Eyes Closed” by Ed Sheeran from the Apple Music WWDC playlist. Is that a hint??
10:00: The video stream starts. It’s another pre-recorded video, rather than a live presentation.
10:01: Tim Cook says good morning, and welcomes us to WWDC 2023. “Today,” he says, “we’re going to push our platforms into an exciting future where technology makes the world a better place.” He talks a bit about how much he loves developers and says there are lots of great announcements on their way, but for now, he wants to talk about…
10:03: …the App Store. He says the official store prevented more than $2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year, while small developers grew their revenue by 64 percent. It sounds a bit like sideloading is coming, and Apple realizes it now needs to sell the benefits of the App Store instead of forcing people to use it.

iOS 17 and iPadOS 17

10:05: Well, we’re about to find out if that’s the case, because here comes avuncular gigolo Craig Federighi, accompanied by ludicrous James Bond music, to talk about the iPhone and iOS.
10:06: Craig is doing his usual joke about picking a name for the update. Is it going to have macOS-style branding? iOS Death Valley, perhaps? No, it’s iOS 17. Very funny, Craig.
10:07: Craig is into the proper action now. He’s talking about the iPhone’s Lock Screen and all the customization options that were added last year. Apparently, he’s seen some of the layouts people have come with and thinks they’re “magical.” Cheers mate.
10:08: It’s about to become more magical because Apple is adding new font options. And you’ll be able to create a Lock Screen setup and share it with other users. That’s a nice idea.
10:09: And as expected, the Lock Screen will be able to serve as a sort of smart display. When the iPhone is locked and laid horizontally it will switch to an alternative interface and set of widgets showing essential data. This could be handy when you’re working on your Mac and have the iPhone charging on your desk or charging it next to your bed.
10:10: We’re on to the Dynamic Island now. It’s getting new features in time for the expected expansion to the entire iPhone 15 family. Both incoming notifications and Siri are moving to the island, and there’s a slick new interface that lets graphical elements flow from the island into the main screen area.
10:13: Control Center is changing. There’s a completely new design and it looks stunning. Will take some time to get used to, though. Apple says you now have complete, well, control over the toggles that appear here, including third-party settings!
10:15: Now we’re talking Focus Mode. There are two new filters, called Movies and Fanzone respectively, aimed at people watching either a movie, TV show, or a sports event on their iPhone. (Federighi says these will work great on iPad too.) The two come with subtly different presets, the one helping to avoid spoilers and distraction, the other allowing for related social media and commentary from secondary sources.
10:17: Federighi gets some laughs by pretending he’s about to unveil a super-important new feature and then revealing it’s the infinitely adjustable flashlight. A nod to the leakers there, I think.
10:18: Robby Walker, Apple’s information intelligence boss, is here to talk about the new and improved Siri. And not a moment too soon.
10:19: Siri is now based on a completely remodeled artificial intelligence which Walker refers to as Project Bobcat. It’s far more accurate and versatile than any other smart assistant on the market, he boasts. No word on the expected (and widely vilified) change to the trigger phrase, thankfully.
10:21: Emily Schubert is here to talk about the redesigned version of CarPlay. We saw a lot of this at WWDC last year, but Apple now has a firm launch date: the first cars with CarPlay 2.0 will go on sale in September 2023.
10:24: Federighi is back to talk about compatibility. iOS 17 will be available for the iPhone X and later. Bad news for iPhone 8 owners.
10:26: Federighi is now talking about iPadOS 17. The iPad is getting the Lock Screen customization it missed out on last year, including the new fonts and sharing options added in iOS 17 this year. Plus the new Focus Mode filters.
10:30: Thin gruel for iPad owners, it seems, because that’s all for now. Federighi is back to sum up the main points of the iOS 17/iPadOS 17 update. Interesting that they were rolled in together: a quiet year for iDevices. And no mention of sideloading. Then again, this is precisely the kind of thing Apple would keep quiet.

Macs and macOS 14

10:35: Will there be any new hardware today? It looks like there will be because John Ternus is here. And it’s official: Apple is launching a 15-inch MacBook Air!
10:37: We’re watching a marketing video for the new Air, and it looks stunning. Three immediate questions to ask: how much does it weigh, how much does it cost, and how powerful will it be?
10:39: The answer to the first question is 3 pounds or just under 1.4kg. That’s pretty impressive for the size. It’s just 12mm thick (or “thin” in Apple’s terminology), which is only 0.7mm thicker than the 13-inch model.
10:41: It’s got a 15.2-inch screen, to be exact, at a resolution of 2880 x 1800 (compared to 2560 x 1664 on the 13-inch model).
10:43: As expected, Apple is sticking with the M2 chip. No sign of the M3 generation just yet (unless there’s a surprise waiting for later in the presentation). And it seems to be the plain M2 chip, with no mention of an M2 Pro option. That’s fast enough, though.
10:45: Apple is boasting that the new Air is “whisper-quiet” which presumably means no fan, and is another way of saying the company hasn’t included the sort of higher-power processor that would require cooling.
10:47: The choice of a slightly lower-power chip may be important for other reasons. Apple says the new MacBook Air has the longest battery life of any laptop it’s made. That’s quite a boast. We’re looking at graphs and Apple is throwing some serious shade at “the leading Windows laptops.”
10:49: It starts at 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
10:51: More marketing videos. Getting a bit tired of looking at the Air, as nice as it is.
10:52: STOP THE PRESSES IT COMES IN GREEN.
10:54: The new 15-inch MacBook Air will start at $1,599/£1,699, and goes on sale next month. And that’s it from John Ternus.
10:58: Federighi is back to talk about macOS 14!
10:59: He’s doing the naming joke again. Lots of footage of beautiful California scenery, leading to the revelation that…
11:00: …the next version of macOS is called Grizzly. Wow, that’s surprising.
11:01: Hang on, Federighi was joking again. It’s actually called Skyline. Good one, Craig.
11:02: He’s now talking about system reliability, and claiming macOS Skyline is the fastest and most energy-efficient operating system in the world. That’s shorthand for “not many new features this year, lads.”
11:03: Ah, but Wallet is coming to the Mac! That’s a neat idea.
11:04: macOS Skyline is coming in the fall. That was all very quick. And there’s no sign of the M2 Ultra chip or the Mac Pro.

watchOS 10

11:05: It’s time to talk about the Apple Watch. Here comes Kevin Lynch to talk about watchOS 10!
11:07: Lynch is talking about the famous Grid View, which he calls “the most viewed screen on any smartwatch in history.” But he admits it can be intimidating to use. (Or as we put it, “all wrong.”)
11:08: We’re looking at what he calls “a reimagining” of Grid View. It’s a simpler layout, with larger icons in neat rows, rather than tessellating in a honeycomb; you scroll up and down, not freely in two dimensions. It looks a bit more like iOS, and far easier to use, even though there will be fewer icons on screen at once.
11:10: There are now app folders in watchOS! Lynch makes these look easy to use, although they could be fiddly on the smaller Apple Watch sizes.
11:11: And widgets too! In terms of complexity, these sit somewhere between the old Glances in early versions of watchOS and full apps.
11:12: Apple Watches can now sync with multiple Apple devices: Macs and iPads as well as more than one iPhone. This is a huge change.
11:14: Lynch is now boasting about improvements to sleep tracking in watchOS, which he says features “the most accurate metrics in the industry.” Has Apple really caught up with Fitbit?
11:16: There’s a new feature where you can create your own types of workout. Note that this was already possible to an extent, by using the Other workout type, but now you can answer a series of questions about the exercise you’ll be doing and watchOS will more intelligently assess your progress, calorific consumption, and so on. This is great news for kabaddi practitioners.
11:18: Which Apple Watches will be able to run watchOS 10? The Series 4 and later. That’s the same list as last year, so Apple has refrained from swinging the axe.

Mixed-reality headset

11:19: Tim Cook is back to talk about Apple’s history, a little about Steve Jobs, and the many achievements and products Apple has made over the years. It’s all very important-sounding and after years of rumors, it’s finally time for the Apple headset!
11:22: Marketing video time. Lots of moody low-lit shots of abstract shapes against a backdrop of ominous music.
11:23: The buildup is palpable. And here it comes…
11:24: We’re getting our first view of the headset. It’s gorgeous, frankly. Apple does these videos so well. But what about battery life? What about price? What about content?
11:26: The video is over and Cook talks a bit about what it means and introduces an exec we’ve never seen before: Mike Rockwell. Rockwell starts talking about how VR and AR are “the most important technologies in the world right now, bar none.” He says Apple has been exploring these technologies in its software releases for years now but has been waiting to create hardware until it felt it could create something to match its high standards. Tell that to the designers, Mike.
11:28: Rockwell is ready to tell us the name of the thing. Please, no jokes.
11:29: It’s called… Reality Pro. As we expected. Leaks really have killed the fun of Apple events.
11:30: Rockwell is talking about all the things we can do with the headset. Games, movies, product design, “next-gen social” which looks suspiciously like the metaverse, training, art…
11:33: A nervous-looking developer called John Caramel is talking us through the delights of VR gaming. It looks a bit boring. The problem with these kinds of presentations is you can’t really appreciate what it’s like unless you’re using the hardware.
11:37: A Hollywood mogul named Ron Waffle pretends to be excited about watching movies in VR. We’re looking at a mocked-up Marvel short that clearly makes no sense unless you’re wearing a headset. The short is called “Ant-Man Pays Off A Parking Ticket.”
11:41: Rockwell is back to talk about the hardware. He says the screens are the “highest-resolution displays on any VR hardware in the world,” and that the viewing experience is “buttery smooth.” Shades of Federighi there.
11:43: Ah, the all-important question of battery life. Rockwell says Reality Pro lasts for four hours between charges and claims this is better than any rival hardware.
11:44: …but that’s only possible because there’s a separate battery pack you have to carry with you. That could reduce the number of customers, I suspect.
11:45: Rockwell is now talking about how the device works. As expected there’s an Apple Watch-style dial (which Apple is calling the “Reality Switch”) to move smoothly from augmented reality to virtual reality and vice versa.
11:47: We’re now talking about augmented reality, and the way the headset will be able to overlay information about your surroundings. The headset uses both short- and long-range LiDAR to develop a 3D map of the world around you.
11:49: We’re looking at some of the device’s pre-installed apps. There are xrOS (yes, that name has now been confirmed) versions of FaceTime, Fitness, Camera, Calendar, Maps, Mail, Numbers, News, and a whole lot more. Pretty much every preinstalled iOS app has an xrOS equivalent ready to go. Third-party content might be sparse to begin with, but Apple has made plenty of in-house apps for early adopters.
11:51: Here come the two key facts: price and launch date. The Reality Pro will cost $2,899/£2,999, so Apple has managed to come in under the all-important three thousand. That’s still a heck of a price to ask for something that feels niche at this point. It’s not clear if the headset will be available to just everyone, or only through the developer channel as was hinted ahead of the launch.
11:53: Either way, it will go on sale “this fall.”
11:54: And that’s your lot. Tim Cook has returned to the stage and appears to be summing everything up. Lots in store for iPhone and Apple Watch owners, a little less for iPad and Mac owners, but the latter gets new hardware at least. And what an exciting prospect Reality Pro is!

One more thing

11:56: Hold your horses! We’re not done yet. It’s time for One More Thing. It’s… the new Mac Pro! And John Ternus is back to talk us through it.
11:57: Just a second, John, we’re going straight into a marketing video. Has the Mac Pro been redesigned? No. It’s the cheese grater suitcase again. This was expected, to be fair, and it’s what’s inside that counts. Apple has still managed to make the 2019 design look exciting, by the way. The people who make these videos are geniuses.
11:59: Ternus says Apple has been accused of ignoring pro users, but it “never gave up on them for a second.” The new Mac Pro has all the power and upgradeability you could possibly ask for, he says.
12:01: We’re now officially into our third hour of this presentation, by the way. As virtual keynotes go, this is a marathon.
12:02: Apple confirms that the Pro is getting a brand-new chip. Will this be the first sighting of the M3? No, it’s an M2 Ultra. And we’re switching to another presenter: it’s Johny Srouji, who talked us through the M2 last year.
12:04: The M2 Ultra is “the most powerful system on a chip ever seen in a personal computer.” It has 24 CPU cores and 76 graphics cores. RAM goes up to 192GB. Those are the exact numbers Mark Gurman released in December.
12:06: We’re looking at graphs. So many graphs.
12:08: Think the M2 Ultra is powerful? There’s an upgrade option to get the M2 Extreme instead. This has 48 CPU cores and 152 graphics cores. More graphs.
12:10: Apple is skirting around the issue of expandability, but is implying that significant upgrades will be possible. You can definitely upgrade the SSD, and the media and networking cards, but no mention of RAM or graphics.
12:12: Ternus is back and starting to wrap up on the Mac Pro. Price? Launch date? (And is there going to be an upgrade to the Pro Display XDR?)
12:13: The new Mac Pro will start at $5,999/£6,299. For U.S. customers that’s the same as the 2019 model, which is decent. U.K. customers probably expected that price bump. We’re assuming the M2 Extreme model will push past the $10,000 mark, but Apple isn’t revealing the upgrade pricing just yet.
12:15: The Mac Pro will launch “in the fall of 2023.”
12:17: And now Tim Cook is back to wrap up–for real this time. It’s over. With Lil Durk’s “All My Life” to play us out.

Apple

You probably haven’t heard, but on Monday Apple is holding its first event of 2023 on Monday. We’re kidding—we know you know it’s time for WWDC 2023, and we’re here to give you the lowdown on the event’s announcements.

That’s right. Just like last year’s iPhone event, by an amazing coincidence, we’ve again stumbled across Tim Cook’s video script for Monday morning’s keynote presentation and of course, we’re going to share it all with you. It’s a doozy: from iOS 17 and new Macs to macOS and the mixed-reality headset, we’ve got the scoop on everything you’re going to hear from Apple on Monday—three days before Apple is ready to show it all to us. (Editor’s note: This story could not be verified before publication.)

So here’s your spoiler alert: If you want to be surprised, stop reading now and watch the WWDC keynote live at 10 am.

Introduction

09:57: The pre-stream starts, complete with achingly hip musical accompaniment. The opening track is called “Friday Night Baseball” by MLS Season Pass. Wait that’s the wrong Apple document—it’s actually “Eyes Closed” by Ed Sheeran from the Apple Music WWDC playlist. Is that a hint??
10:00: The video stream starts. It’s another pre-recorded video, rather than a live presentation.
10:01: Tim Cook says good morning, and welcomes us to WWDC 2023. “Today,” he says, “we’re going to push our platforms into an exciting future where technology makes the world a better place.” He talks a bit about how much he loves developers and says there are lots of great announcements on their way, but for now, he wants to talk about…
10:03: …the App Store. He says the official store prevented more than $2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year, while small developers grew their revenue by 64 percent. It sounds a bit like sideloading is coming, and Apple realizes it now needs to sell the benefits of the App Store instead of forcing people to use it.

iOS 17 and iPadOS 17

10:05: Well, we’re about to find out if that’s the case, because here comes avuncular gigolo Craig Federighi, accompanied by ludicrous James Bond music, to talk about the iPhone and iOS.
10:06: Craig is doing his usual joke about picking a name for the update. Is it going to have macOS-style branding? iOS Death Valley, perhaps? No, it’s iOS 17. Very funny, Craig.
10:07: Craig is into the proper action now. He’s talking about the iPhone’s Lock Screen and all the customization options that were added last year. Apparently, he’s seen some of the layouts people have come with and thinks they’re “magical.” Cheers mate.
10:08: It’s about to become more magical because Apple is adding new font options. And you’ll be able to create a Lock Screen setup and share it with other users. That’s a nice idea.
10:09: And as expected, the Lock Screen will be able to serve as a sort of smart display. When the iPhone is locked and laid horizontally it will switch to an alternative interface and set of widgets showing essential data. This could be handy when you’re working on your Mac and have the iPhone charging on your desk or charging it next to your bed.
10:10: We’re on to the Dynamic Island now. It’s getting new features in time for the expected expansion to the entire iPhone 15 family. Both incoming notifications and Siri are moving to the island, and there’s a slick new interface that lets graphical elements flow from the island into the main screen area.
10:13: Control Center is changing. There’s a completely new design and it looks stunning. Will take some time to get used to, though. Apple says you now have complete, well, control over the toggles that appear here, including third-party settings!
10:15: Now we’re talking Focus Mode. There are two new filters, called Movies and Fanzone respectively, aimed at people watching either a movie, TV show, or a sports event on their iPhone. (Federighi says these will work great on iPad too.) The two come with subtly different presets, the one helping to avoid spoilers and distraction, the other allowing for related social media and commentary from secondary sources.
10:17: Federighi gets some laughs by pretending he’s about to unveil a super-important new feature and then revealing it’s the infinitely adjustable flashlight. A nod to the leakers there, I think.
10:18: Robby Walker, Apple’s information intelligence boss, is here to talk about the new and improved Siri. And not a moment too soon.
10:19: Siri is now based on a completely remodeled artificial intelligence which Walker refers to as Project Bobcat. It’s far more accurate and versatile than any other smart assistant on the market, he boasts. No word on the expected (and widely vilified) change to the trigger phrase, thankfully.
10:21: Emily Schubert is here to talk about the redesigned version of CarPlay. We saw a lot of this at WWDC last year, but Apple now has a firm launch date: the first cars with CarPlay 2.0 will go on sale in September 2023.
10:24: Federighi is back to talk about compatibility. iOS 17 will be available for the iPhone X and later. Bad news for iPhone 8 owners.
10:26: Federighi is now talking about iPadOS 17. The iPad is getting the Lock Screen customization it missed out on last year, including the new fonts and sharing options added in iOS 17 this year. Plus the new Focus Mode filters.
10:30: Thin gruel for iPad owners, it seems, because that’s all for now. Federighi is back to sum up the main points of the iOS 17/iPadOS 17 update. Interesting that they were rolled in together: a quiet year for iDevices. And no mention of sideloading. Then again, this is precisely the kind of thing Apple would keep quiet.

Macs and macOS 14

10:35: Will there be any new hardware today? It looks like there will be because John Ternus is here. And it’s official: Apple is launching a 15-inch MacBook Air!
10:37: We’re watching a marketing video for the new Air, and it looks stunning. Three immediate questions to ask: how much does it weigh, how much does it cost, and how powerful will it be?
10:39: The answer to the first question is 3 pounds or just under 1.4kg. That’s pretty impressive for the size. It’s just 12mm thick (or “thin” in Apple’s terminology), which is only 0.7mm thicker than the 13-inch model.
10:41: It’s got a 15.2-inch screen, to be exact, at a resolution of 2880 x 1800 (compared to 2560 x 1664 on the 13-inch model).
10:43: As expected, Apple is sticking with the M2 chip. No sign of the M3 generation just yet (unless there’s a surprise waiting for later in the presentation). And it seems to be the plain M2 chip, with no mention of an M2 Pro option. That’s fast enough, though.
10:45: Apple is boasting that the new Air is “whisper-quiet” which presumably means no fan, and is another way of saying the company hasn’t included the sort of higher-power processor that would require cooling.
10:47: The choice of a slightly lower-power chip may be important for other reasons. Apple says the new MacBook Air has the longest battery life of any laptop it’s made. That’s quite a boast. We’re looking at graphs and Apple is throwing some serious shade at “the leading Windows laptops.”
10:49: It starts at 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.
10:51: More marketing videos. Getting a bit tired of looking at the Air, as nice as it is.
10:52: STOP THE PRESSES IT COMES IN GREEN.
10:54: The new 15-inch MacBook Air will start at $1,599/£1,699, and goes on sale next month. And that’s it from John Ternus.
10:58: Federighi is back to talk about macOS 14!
10:59: He’s doing the naming joke again. Lots of footage of beautiful California scenery, leading to the revelation that…
11:00: …the next version of macOS is called Grizzly. Wow, that’s surprising.
11:01: Hang on, Federighi was joking again. It’s actually called Skyline. Good one, Craig.
11:02: He’s now talking about system reliability, and claiming macOS Skyline is the fastest and most energy-efficient operating system in the world. That’s shorthand for “not many new features this year, lads.”
11:03: Ah, but Wallet is coming to the Mac! That’s a neat idea.
11:04: macOS Skyline is coming in the fall. That was all very quick. And there’s no sign of the M2 Ultra chip or the Mac Pro.

watchOS 10

11:05: It’s time to talk about the Apple Watch. Here comes Kevin Lynch to talk about watchOS 10!
11:07: Lynch is talking about the famous Grid View, which he calls “the most viewed screen on any smartwatch in history.” But he admits it can be intimidating to use. (Or as we put it, “all wrong.”)
11:08: We’re looking at what he calls “a reimagining” of Grid View. It’s a simpler layout, with larger icons in neat rows, rather than tessellating in a honeycomb; you scroll up and down, not freely in two dimensions. It looks a bit more like iOS, and far easier to use, even though there will be fewer icons on screen at once.
11:10: There are now app folders in watchOS! Lynch makes these look easy to use, although they could be fiddly on the smaller Apple Watch sizes.
11:11: And widgets too! In terms of complexity, these sit somewhere between the old Glances in early versions of watchOS and full apps.
11:12: Apple Watches can now sync with multiple Apple devices: Macs and iPads as well as more than one iPhone. This is a huge change.
11:14: Lynch is now boasting about improvements to sleep tracking in watchOS, which he says features “the most accurate metrics in the industry.” Has Apple really caught up with Fitbit?
11:16: There’s a new feature where you can create your own types of workout. Note that this was already possible to an extent, by using the Other workout type, but now you can answer a series of questions about the exercise you’ll be doing and watchOS will more intelligently assess your progress, calorific consumption, and so on. This is great news for kabaddi practitioners.
11:18: Which Apple Watches will be able to run watchOS 10? The Series 4 and later. That’s the same list as last year, so Apple has refrained from swinging the axe.

Mixed-reality headset

11:19: Tim Cook is back to talk about Apple’s history, a little about Steve Jobs, and the many achievements and products Apple has made over the years. It’s all very important-sounding and after years of rumors, it’s finally time for the Apple headset!
11:22: Marketing video time. Lots of moody low-lit shots of abstract shapes against a backdrop of ominous music.
11:23: The buildup is palpable. And here it comes…
11:24: We’re getting our first view of the headset. It’s gorgeous, frankly. Apple does these videos so well. But what about battery life? What about price? What about content?
11:26: The video is over and Cook talks a bit about what it means and introduces an exec we’ve never seen before: Mike Rockwell. Rockwell starts talking about how VR and AR are “the most important technologies in the world right now, bar none.” He says Apple has been exploring these technologies in its software releases for years now but has been waiting to create hardware until it felt it could create something to match its high standards. Tell that to the designers, Mike.
11:28: Rockwell is ready to tell us the name of the thing. Please, no jokes.
11:29: It’s called… Reality Pro. As we expected. Leaks really have killed the fun of Apple events.
11:30: Rockwell is talking about all the things we can do with the headset. Games, movies, product design, “next-gen social” which looks suspiciously like the metaverse, training, art…
11:33: A nervous-looking developer called John Caramel is talking us through the delights of VR gaming. It looks a bit boring. The problem with these kinds of presentations is you can’t really appreciate what it’s like unless you’re using the hardware.
11:37: A Hollywood mogul named Ron Waffle pretends to be excited about watching movies in VR. We’re looking at a mocked-up Marvel short that clearly makes no sense unless you’re wearing a headset. The short is called “Ant-Man Pays Off A Parking Ticket.”
11:41: Rockwell is back to talk about the hardware. He says the screens are the “highest-resolution displays on any VR hardware in the world,” and that the viewing experience is “buttery smooth.” Shades of Federighi there.
11:43: Ah, the all-important question of battery life. Rockwell says Reality Pro lasts for four hours between charges and claims this is better than any rival hardware.
11:44: …but that’s only possible because there’s a separate battery pack you have to carry with you. That could reduce the number of customers, I suspect.
11:45: Rockwell is now talking about how the device works. As expected there’s an Apple Watch-style dial (which Apple is calling the “Reality Switch”) to move smoothly from augmented reality to virtual reality and vice versa.
11:47: We’re now talking about augmented reality, and the way the headset will be able to overlay information about your surroundings. The headset uses both short- and long-range LiDAR to develop a 3D map of the world around you.
11:49: We’re looking at some of the device’s pre-installed apps. There are xrOS (yes, that name has now been confirmed) versions of FaceTime, Fitness, Camera, Calendar, Maps, Mail, Numbers, News, and a whole lot more. Pretty much every preinstalled iOS app has an xrOS equivalent ready to go. Third-party content might be sparse to begin with, but Apple has made plenty of in-house apps for early adopters.
11:51: Here come the two key facts: price and launch date. The Reality Pro will cost $2,899/£2,999, so Apple has managed to come in under the all-important three thousand. That’s still a heck of a price to ask for something that feels niche at this point. It’s not clear if the headset will be available to just everyone, or only through the developer channel as was hinted ahead of the launch.
11:53: Either way, it will go on sale “this fall.”
11:54: And that’s your lot. Tim Cook has returned to the stage and appears to be summing everything up. Lots in store for iPhone and Apple Watch owners, a little less for iPad and Mac owners, but the latter gets new hardware at least. And what an exciting prospect Reality Pro is!

One more thing

11:56: Hold your horses! We’re not done yet. It’s time for One More Thing. It’s… the new Mac Pro! And John Ternus is back to talk us through it.
11:57: Just a second, John, we’re going straight into a marketing video. Has the Mac Pro been redesigned? No. It’s the cheese grater suitcase again. This was expected, to be fair, and it’s what’s inside that counts. Apple has still managed to make the 2019 design look exciting, by the way. The people who make these videos are geniuses.
11:59: Ternus says Apple has been accused of ignoring pro users, but it “never gave up on them for a second.” The new Mac Pro has all the power and upgradeability you could possibly ask for, he says.
12:01: We’re now officially into our third hour of this presentation, by the way. As virtual keynotes go, this is a marathon.
12:02: Apple confirms that the Pro is getting a brand-new chip. Will this be the first sighting of the M3? No, it’s an M2 Ultra. And we’re switching to another presenter: it’s Johny Srouji, who talked us through the M2 last year.
12:04: The M2 Ultra is “the most powerful system on a chip ever seen in a personal computer.” It has 24 CPU cores and 76 graphics cores. RAM goes up to 192GB. Those are the exact numbers Mark Gurman released in December.
12:06: We’re looking at graphs. So many graphs.
12:08: Think the M2 Ultra is powerful? There’s an upgrade option to get the M2 Extreme instead. This has 48 CPU cores and 152 graphics cores. More graphs.
12:10: Apple is skirting around the issue of expandability, but is implying that significant upgrades will be possible. You can definitely upgrade the SSD, and the media and networking cards, but no mention of RAM or graphics.
12:12: Ternus is back and starting to wrap up on the Mac Pro. Price? Launch date? (And is there going to be an upgrade to the Pro Display XDR?)
12:13: The new Mac Pro will start at $5,999/£6,299. For U.S. customers that’s the same as the 2019 model, which is decent. U.K. customers probably expected that price bump. We’re assuming the M2 Extreme model will push past the $10,000 mark, but Apple isn’t revealing the upgrade pricing just yet.
12:15: The Mac Pro will launch “in the fall of 2023.”
12:17: And now Tim Cook is back to wrap up–for real this time. It’s over. With Lil Durk’s “All My Life” to play us out.

Apple

The past few years might have been overshadowed somewhat by the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped Apple from overhauling most of its product range, including getting almost all the way thorough transitioning the Mac from Intel to its own processors. 

In 2022 we saw Apple launch the iPhone 14 series, three new Apple Watches a new set of AirPods Pro, a new-look 10.9-inch iPad, the Mac Studio, and the M2 MacBook Air and M2 13in MacBook Pro, among other updates.

In this article we take a look at what we expect Apple to launch in 2023 and what has already arrived. We’ve investigated every rumour and trend we could find to bring you our predictions. Read on to find out what could be in store.

What Apple has released in 2023, so far

Apple hit the ground running in 2023 with new Macs and a new HomePod in January!

• M2 Mac mini
• Mac mini with M2 Pro
• 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip
• New full size HomePod (bit of a surprise this one!)

What Apple released in 2022

• 12.9-inch and 11-inch M2 iPad Pro
• 10.9-inch iPad, 10th generation
• iPhone 14 and 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max
• Apple Watch Ultra
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
• AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
• iPad Air (5th generation)
• Mac Studio (1st generation)
• Studio Display
• M2 MacBook Air
• M2 13in MacBook Pro

What new Apple products are coming in 2023?

In the sections below we’ve spilt products into categories including Mac, iPad, iPhone and some new product categories. Read on to find out what to expect.

You may also like to read about what we expect in terms of Apple’s Events in 2023.

New Macs

It’s now about coming up for three years since Apple revealed, in June 2020, that it would be transitioning all its Macs from Intel processors to its own silicon within two years. Apple’s missed that deadline as the Mac Pro is still running on Intel processors. Nearly every other Mac is now running on the second generation of Apple silicon–with the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro running on the M2, and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro on the M2 Pro and M2 Max. There’s now a M2 and M2 Pro version of the Mac mini, and a whole new category of Mac in the Mac Studio.

That still leaves the following Macs in need of a second generation Apple silicon update. Here’s what we’re still expecting to arrive, with WWDC on June 5 looking like a likely venue for Apple to launch some of them:

15-inch MacBook Air

Rumors of a larger MacBook Air have been circulating for some time and 2023 could be the year we finally see a bigger 15-inch MacBook Air.

When? WWDC 2023

iMac

A M2 iMac–and we hope an M2 Pro iMac–could/should be in the pipeline at Apple. Perhaps even the revival of the 27-inch iMac Pro. However, it sounds like the next iMac could be a M3 iMac and we might be waiting a little longer for that one.

When? WWDC 2023

Mac Pro

Work is said to be underway on the Apple Silicon Mac Pro, which could feature an M2 Ultra or even an M2 Extreme (although the M2 Extreme is now looking unlikely). Read more here: The next Mac Pro: Everything we know.

When? WWDC 2023

New iPads

There was one iPad that wasn’t updated in 2022, so that looks the most likely for an update. But there’s also a rumor that a larger iPad Pro could be coming.

iPad mini

A new iPad mini – seventh generation – could be coming in 2023.

Read: iPad mini 7 rumors

When? Fall 2023

Bigger iPad Pro

There could be a 14-inch iPad Pro coming from Apple in 2023.

When? Fall 2023

New iPhones

The arrival of a new set of iPhones in September 2023 is highly likely, but will other new iPhones arrive earlier in 2023?

iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 (and Plus, Pro and Pro Max) is likely to arrive, like clockwork, in September 2023. In fact the iPhone 15 Pro Max may be renamed the iPhone 15 Ultra.

Read: iPhone 15 rumors

When? September 2023

iPhone SE Plus

This is a long shot, but a few years ago now there were rumors that Apple could launch a bigger version of the iPhone SE Plus – which would mean that those who want a big iPhone and a Home button would have an option.

Read about the iPhone SE Plus

When? TBC

New Apple Watch

There’s bound to be at least one new watch in 2023. If Apple launches an Apple Watch Series 9 we could possibly see some Apple Watch Ultra features make their way to that device.

Read more about the Apple Watch Series 9.

New product categories

If Apple was never to innovate away from the products it makes right now it could be left behind as technology progresses. It’s no surprise therefore that the company is working on various new areas. We don’t expect all of these to land in 2023, but rumors suggest that some of them still could arrive sooner rather than later.

Also read: New Apple products that could debut in 2023

AR Glasses/Mixed Reality Headset

Apple’s made clear its interest in augmented reality, and we may hear more about its plans to make AR Glasses in 2023. The rumors suggest that we could see Apple’s AR or VR headset product in 2023. Apple’s upcoming xrOS may even be the start of a whole new ecosystem of devices.

We hope that Apple will show off something at WWDC 2023 in an attempt to get developers to design apps for the new device, but we expecting to see a final product yet.

Read about Apple’s AR Mixed Reality headset

When? WWDC 2023

HomePod with screen

We do hope there is some truth in the rumours that Apple is working on a HomePod with a screen. We’ve always said that a screen would make the HomePod infinitely more usable, but perhaps we are the only ones who hate having to talk to our speaker.

A screen would extend the uses of the HomePod beyond audio into visual – so you could watch podcasts and news reports and YouTube videos, but most usefully communicate via FaceTime.

So far all Apple has done is brought back the full size HomePod that it removed from sale.

Read:
HomePod with screen rumours.

When? TBC

Gaming console

There are even rumors that Apple could have plans to release a games console – or at least an Apple TV with improved gaming credentials.

Take a look at Apple games console rumors.

When? TBC

Car

A round up of Apple rumors wouldn’t be a complete round up without the latest iCar rumors. This is a rumor that has been going for years–it’s in the same territory as the long-rumored Apple television.

As for whether the Apple is a car or car software nobody is sure, but Apple has definitely had a team working on the project over the years.

Read more here: Apple Car rumors

When? TBC

Apple, iMac, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Mac Pro, MacBook

Each year Apple releases a major update for iOS, the operating system on your iPhone. The current version, released last year, is iOS 16, and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that 2023 will see the launch of iOS 17. This free software update will bring a raft of interface tweaks, bug fixes, and new features. It’s like getting a new iPhone without paying a penny.

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about iOS 17. We cover its release schedule and when you can expect the beta and final versions to come out; how to get it when it does; the models of iPhone that are likely to be able to run iOS; and the features we expect and hope to be added in the new OS.

iOS 17 release date: When will iOS 17 arrive?

iOS 17 will be announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 on June 5, and then rolled out to iPhones across the world in fall 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. (The last time an iOS update was released outside September was iOS 5 back in October 2011.) It’s likely to follow closely on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event. There was a gap of five days between the iPhone 14 and iOS 16 update in 2022, and six days in 2021. Over the past several years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent:

• iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022
• iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021
• iOS 14: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
• iOS 13: Thursday, September 19, 2019
• iOS 12: Monday, September 17, 2018

Before this happens, a series of beta versions of iOS 17 will be released to testers, beginning with the first developer beta likely released on the first day of WWDC 2023. Here’s our expected timeline:

• Early to mid-June 2023: iOS 17 is announced at WWDC, and the first developer beta is released.
• July 2023: Apple releases the first public beta of iOS 17.
• June to September 2023: Apple releases a series of additional developer and public betas.
• Early September 2023: The iPhone 15 is announced.
• Mid-September 2023: The final public version of iOS 17 is released.

iOS 17 compatibility: Which iPhones will be able to run iOS 17?

Our best guess is that the iPhone XS and later will be able to run iOS 17. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the iPhone X which came out the same year, are all on the borderline. They may miss out, or they may squeak through and get another year of software support.

Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t follow a strict system where iPhones lose support after a specified number of years. Some years Apple doesn’t remove any devices from the list of supported devices; last year, by contrast, it removed the 6s and 7 generations in a single stroke. (Optimists may hope that this unusually harsh year will be followed by a more lenient one.) If you’ve got an iPhone 7, 1st-gen iPhone SE, or anything earlier than those devices, however, you definitely won’t be able to install iOS 17 since they aren’t compatible with get iOS 16.

• iPhone 7, iPhone SE (2016), and earlier: Not compatible
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Possibly compatible
• iPhone X: Possibly compatible
• iPhone XS, XS Max, XR: Probably compatible
• iPhone 11 and later: Definitely compatible

In April, there were conflicting reports of compatibility. On Twitter, Fame_Monsters reported that the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X would lose support when iOS 17 arrived, but Anonymous A.S on the Macrumors forums claimed the rumor was “simply incorrect” and iOS 17 would support the same phones as iOS 16.

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. Last year, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to its older processor. For more information take a look at Every version of iOS released so far.

iOS 17: How to install the beta and full version

Once the final release comes out, installing iOS 17 will be a breeze. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update; iOS will check for any available updates and guide you through the process of installing them. You simply have to follow the instructions, which we explain in our iOS updating guide. And it’s easier still if you’ve turned on Automatic Updates, which you can do from the same screen.

But you can also install betas both leading up to the main release of iOS 17 and through the year following its release. There are two types—developer betas, which arrive first, and public betas, which generally show up a day or two later.

If you want to install a developer beta, you need, unsurprisingly, to be a registered Apple software developer. This costs $99 a year and will give you priority access to all of Apple’s betas, including macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. A better option for most would be to go for the public beta instead: these come out later than the developer betas, but they are free, and still give you bragging rights with your friends. Apple has changed the way betas are installed in iOS 16.4, and they are now tied to Apple IDs rather than profiles, so the process is a little friendlier than before. You can sign up to receive betas at the Apple Beta Software Program site.

In either case, it’s important to stress that betas are not finished software and are likely to contain bugs. That’s kind of the point of testing them. So be prepared for things to go wrong, maybe catastrophically, and we don’t recommend that you install a beta on your primary device. If that doesn’t put you off, follow our iOS beta installation guide. For more on joining the program read: How to join Apple’s beta program and try out new software.

iOS 17: Rumored new features

After including numerous new features in iOS 16, including a redesigned Lock Screen, unsending iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library, but early reports indicate that iOS 17 will have ‘fewer major changes’ than usual. However, there are signs that we’ll still get some pretty great features. A report by Mark Gurman in March claims that Apple has shifted its plans for iOS 17 and it is now “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features.” He doesn’t offer any specifics other than to say the new features will be among iPhone users’ “most requested features” but will still lack “a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”

Smart display mode: According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (a rather reliable source of leaks and rumors), iOS 17 will turn your iPhone into a smart display of sorts when locked and turned to a horizontal orientation. The feature will build on the lock screen widgets work from iOS 16, and use a dark background with bright text to make it easier to read. Apple is also working on a new horizontal iPad interface but that work is slower. Gurman also mentions changes to the Wallet app and its location services, a new journaling app, additions to the Health app, and upgrades to SharePlay and AirPlay.

Control Center: A MacRumors forum member says that iOS 17 will have substantial changes to Control Center, the first in many years. “Website forum member” is not typically strong providence for info leaks, but this same person has previously leaked accurate information about the Dynamic Island before its unveiling.

Camera and Health improvements: In April, a Twitter thread from prolific leaker @analyst941 detailed several new features they claim are from a development team insider. This leak is sketchy, but the individual reported updates are all vague and predictable enough that they seem likely. They include:

• Major changes to the Control Center UI and customization
• New features for the Dynamic Island
• Additional always-on display settings
• More Focus Mode filters
• Health app UI changes
• Camera app changes
• Notification changes and additional options
• Heavily improved Search/Spotlight

Lock Screen sharing: A post on Weibo from an account that accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 color (although at a fairly late date) details some supposed improvements in iOS 17. They include:

• Control Center UI changes
• App Library supports custom folders
• Apple Music lyrics on the lock screen
• Apple Music interface improvements
• Infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness
• Sharing lock screen setups
• Font size adjustment for Lock screen and emoji wallpaper

Lock Screen Maps: Analyst941 on Twitter, who has made several prior iOS 17 leaks, shows a new lock screen interface for Maps that shows the time and notifications count, unlike the current full-screen takeover.

iOS 17: New features we hope to see

Since this year’s release is rumored to be more maintenance and smaller improvements than flashy new features, this year’s wishlist is focused on things we want to see improved in iOS 17—little tweaks that will make a big difference in how we use our phones.

Apple certainly doesn’t come to us for advice about this stuff (and it’s too late to make major changes anyway), but it’s instructive to see how well “what we want” lines up with “what Apple delivers.” For what it’s worth, Apple actually delivered several of our iOS 16 Wishlist features, and if iOS 17 brings us more of the changes on this year’s list, we’ll consider that a success. Here’s what we want to see this year:

App Library overhaul

First introduced with iOS 14, the App Library is a good fundamental idea: Let your home screen be cluttered with only those apps you truly use every day and hide the dozens of other apps on your iPhone away from view.

It’s just a bad design! Apps are stuffed automatically into category folders that don’t always match up with what you’d expect. I have two Fender guitar apps on my iPhone. Fender Tune is in the Entertainment folder where it doesn’t belong, and Fender Play is in Other. Intuitively, these belong in the same folder, which should probably be Creativity. Everyone I know has numerous examples like this.

The folders are represented by four icons, three of which are actual app icons that open the app when you tap on them and the fourth is a group of four more tiny app icons that open the folder. This is an interaction and interface model that doesn’t exist anywhere else in iOS and iPadOS, and it’s not intuitive. Oh, and all the folders and their contents move around and change so you can’t develop muscle memory.

We have a few simple suggestions. Tapping the search box at the top of the App Library gives you an alphabetical list, which is a much simpler and intuitive way to find an app. It should be the default view—or be able to be set as the default view.

At the very least, make the folders in the App Library work like folders throughout iOS. Don’t move them around, make them so you open the folder when you tap on them and never one of the apps within. And maybe incorporate a number showing how many apps are in the folder.

Third-party app stores

A recent report claims that Apple will start to open up the iPhone in iOS 17, allowing the distribution of apps outside of Apple’s own App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers that don’t have to use Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. It’s all necessary to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, and the expectation is that it will only apply to those iPhones running iOS 17 in the regions covered by EU law.

Apple should go ahead and make the changes–whatever they are–global. Naturally, we expect Apple to do the minimum possible to be in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and we’re probably going to be in for a round of hearings and lawsuits and such saying that Apple isn’t in full compliance.

I still think whatever limited additional choice and freedom the EU iPhone users get will be a good thing, and would be good for users the world over, on balance. Moreover, it might be a smart move by Apple. The company is under antitrust scrutiny in several other markets, including the U.S. It could take a lot of heat off itself by offering the same solution that satisfied EU regulators, possibly preventing even stricter remedies in other regions.

It would also make iOS easier to maintain and test as a single cohesive release, rather than fragmenting iOS into regional variants.

Better Siri

Siri is definitely getting better and got a nice set of improvements in iOS 15 and iOS 16. It finally got offline processing, which speeds things up a lot and improves privacy. It also got a bit smarter and more reliable and is a lot better about understanding what is on the screen and reacting to it.

But Siri simply isn’t getting good enough fast enough. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask my Google Assistant something to which I get a good answer, and then—just out of curiosity—I ask Siri as well, and Siri fails.

The emphasis on new large language models such as ChatGPT is moving the bar for how we expect to be able to converse with AI. Siri needs more than just a “20 percent better than last year!” update, it needs a big forward leap that you can hear and feel every time you use it. It needs to sound better, work better, do more, and be right more often. It needs to truly feel conversational.

Siri kicked off the first generation of smartphone AI and fell behind. Wouldn’t it be great if Siri was the first true “next-generation” smartphone AI?

2FA for all

There’s this awesome feature in iOS that takes 2FA authentication codes you receive via SMS and makes them an autofill option just above the keyboard. This allows you to fill in the code without jumping away from the app or website that requested it and back again.

The only problem is that this only works with 2FA codes from SMS or Apple’s built-in Passwords feature.

We don’t suggest using SMS for 2FA codes unless you have to–they’re not as secure as they should be. Using the built-in password manager to generate codes isn’t a great option either because it really only works well on your iPhone–if you ever need to log in anywhere else, it’s a real pain to jump three layers deep in Settings to get your code. And some businesses mandate the use of certain 2FA apps.

We’d love for Apple to provide a framework for one-time-password code generation apps such as Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and others so they can securely autofill codes when requested just like Messages.

Call screening

Spam calls are out of control, and Apple should be using every tool in its arsenal to solve one of the biggest annoyances plaguing every smartphone user. For some time now, Google Assistant has been able to screen calls from unknown callers on Android phones. It can produce text transcripts and recordings, too.

This seems like a thing Siri should be able to do. In fact, Apple should go a step further and build an iCloud call spam service. These apps and services already exist, but they require you to set up a call-forwarding service–Apple, with low-level access to the operating system, could make this easy and seamless. Just like the iCloud Private Relay service, this should be an obvious feature for a company that bills itself as the “security and privacy” smartphone choice.

More Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island is a wonderful interface convention that we expect to see on all four iPhone models this year. But it can do more!

New notifications should flow out of the Dynamic Island when they come in instead of just sliding down from the top of the screen, and the option to see how many unread notifications you have would be useful too. Maybe Siri could suggest new Live Activities based on the apps you use.

But most importantly, the Dynamic Island should not be a place for notifications to live, just where they briefly appear when they first come in. The use of this area is clear: it’s for persistent background activities and “here and then gone forever” toasts like the Face ID authentication or AirPods connecting.

Version unification

There’s no good reason for Apple’s ecosystem to have fragmented version numbers that are hard to keep track of. More than ever before, the software is updated in sync with features meant to work together, so why do we have one version number of iOS and iPadOS and tvOS, another for watchOS, and another for macOS?

This is only going to get worse when the Reality headset is released and has xrOS 1 or something similar.

Just jump everything ahead to 17. Or better yet, version 20. Why not? After all, Apple skipped the iPhone 9 entirely, jumped tvOS to version 17 out of the blue, and kept macOS at version 10 for more than a decade.

Help make it clear for users: the latest release for each device’s OS will have the same version number. The releases might not always happen on the same day, but consumers should be able to easily see that the latest watchOS 20.2 update goes with iOS 20.2, which goes with macOS 20.2, and so on.

iOS, iPhone

Each year Apple releases a major update for iOS, the operating system on your iPhone. The current version, released last year, is iOS 16, and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that 2023 will see the launch of iOS 17. This free software update will bring a raft of interface tweaks, bug fixes, and new features. It’s like getting a new iPhone without paying a penny.

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about iOS 17. We cover its release schedule and when you can expect the beta and final versions to come out; how to get it when it does; the models of iPhone that are likely to be able to run iOS; and the features we expect and hope to be added in the new OS.

Updated 05/24/23: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the iPhone will get a sort of “smart display” feature that builds on lock screen widgets, which kicks in when the phone is locked and positioned horizontally.

iOS 17 release date: When will iOS 17 arrive?

iOS 17 will be announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 in June, and then rolled out to iPhones across the world in fall 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. (The last time an iOS update was released outside September was iOS 5 back in October 2011.) It’s likely to follow closely on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event. There was a gap of five days between the iPhone and iOS update in 2022, and six days in 2021. Over th epast several years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent:

• iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022
• iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021
• iOS 14: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
• iOS 13: Thursday, September 19, 2019
• iOS 12: Monday, September 17, 2018

Before this happens, a series of beta versions of iOS 17 will be released to testers, beginning with the first developer beta likely released on the first day of WWDC 2023. Here’s our expected timeline:

• Early to mid-June 2023: iOS 17 is announced at WWDC, and the first developer beta is released.
• July 2023: Apple releases the first public beta of iOS 17.
• June to September 2023: Apple releases a series of additional developer and public betas.
• Early September 2023: The iPhone 15 is announced.
• Mid-September 2023: The final public version of iOS 17 is released.

iOS 17 compatibility: Which iPhones will be able to run iOS 17?

Our best guess is that the iPhone XS and later will be able to run iOS 17. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the iPhone X which came out the same year, are all on the borderline. They may miss out, or they may squeak through and get another year of software support.

Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t follow a strict system where iPhones lose support after a specified number of years. Some years Apple doesn’t remove any devices from the list of supported devices; last year, by contrast, it removed the 6s and 7 generations in a single stroke. (Optimists may hope that this unusually harsh year will be followed by a more lenient one.) If you’ve got an iPhone 7, 1st-gen iPhone SE, or anything earlier than those devices, however, you definitely won’t be able to install iOS 17 since they aren’t compatible with get iOS 16.

• iPhone 7, iPhone SE (2016), and earlier: Not compatible
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Possibly compatible
• iPhone X: Possibly compatible
• iPhone XS, XS Max, XR: Probably compatible
• iPhone 11 and later: Definitely compatible

In April, there were conflicting reports of compatibility. On Twitter, Fame_Monsters reported that the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X would lose support when iOS 17 arrived, but Anonymous A.S on the Macrumors forums claimed the rumor was “simply incorrect” and iOS 17 would support the same phones as iOS 16.

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. Last year, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to its older processor. For more information take a look at Every version of iOS released so far.

iOS 17: How to install the beta and full version

Once the final release comes out, installing iOS 17 will be a breeze. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update; iOS will check for any available updates and guide you through the process of installing them. You simply have to follow the instructions, which we explain in our iOS updating guide. And it’s easier still if you’ve turned on Automatic Updates, which you can do from the same screen.

But you can also install betas both leading up to the main release of iOS 17 and through the year following its release. There are two types—developer betas, which arrive first, and public betas, which generally show up a day or two later.

If you want to install a developer beta, you need, unsurprisingly, to be a registered Apple software developer. This costs $99 a year and will give you priority access to all of Apple’s betas, including macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. A better option for most would be to go for the public beta instead: these come out later than the developer betas, but they are free, and still give you bragging rights with your friends. Apple is changing the way betas are installed in iOS 16.4, and they are now tied to Apple IDs rather than profiles, so the process is a little friendlier than before. You can sign up to receive betas at the Apple Beta Software Program site.

In either case, it’s important to stress that betas are not finished software and are likely to contain bugs. That’s kind of the point of testing them. So be prepared for things to go wrong, maybe catastrophically, and we don’t recommend that you install a beta on your primary device. If that doesn’t put you off, follow our iOS beta installation guide. For more on joining the program read: How to join Apple’s beta program and try out new software.

iOS 17: Rumored new features

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (a rather reliable source of leaks and rumors), iOS 17 will turn your iPhone into a smart display of sorts when locked and turned to a horizontal orientation. The feature will build on the lock screen widgets work from iOS 16, and use a dark background with bright text to make it easier to read. Apple is also working on a new horizontal iPad interface but that work is slower. Gurman also mentions changes to the Wallet app and its location services, a new journaling app, additions to the Health app, and upgrades to SharePlay and AirPlay.

After including numerous new features in iOS 16, including a redesigned Lock Screen, unsending iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library, but early reports indicate that iOS 17 will have ‘fewer major changes’ than usual. According to Mark Gurman, Apple has shifted resources to the development of software for its AR headset, tentatively called xrOS. A report in early January indicated that its headset development had “cost it some new features in iOS 17.”

A later report from less-reliable LeaksApplePro echoed Gurman’s comments, saying iOS 17 will focus on “stability and efficiency” and “there won’t be many visual changes.”

However, there are signs that it might be a bigger release after all. A report by Mark Gurman in March claims that Apple has shifted its plans for iOS 17 and it is now “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features.” He doesn’t offer any specifics other than to say the new features will be among iPhone users’ “most requested features” but will still lack “a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”

A MacRumors forum member says that iOS 17 will have substantial changes to Control Center, the first in many years. “Website forum member” is not typically strong providence for info leaks, but this same person has previously leaked accurate information about the Dynamic Island before its unveiling.

In April, a Twitter thread from prolific leaker @analyst941 detailed several new features they claim are from a development team insider. This leak is sketchy, but the individual reported updates are all vague and predictable enough that they seem likely. They include:

• Major changes to the Control Center UI and customization
• New features for the Dynamic Island
• Additional always-on display settings
• More Focus Mode filters
• Health app UI changes
• Camera app changes
• Notification changes and additional options
• Heavily improved Search/Spotlight

A post on Weibo from an account that accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 color (although at a fairly late date) details some supposed improvements in iOS 17. They include:

• Control Center UI changes
• App Library supports custom folders
• Apple Music lyrics on the lock screen
• Apple Music interface improvements
• Infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness
• Sharing lock screen setups
• Font size adjustment for Lock screen and emoji wallpaper

Analyst941 on Twitter, who has made several prior iOS 17 leaks, shows a new lock screen interface for Maps that shows the time and notifications count, unlike the current full-screen takeover.

iOS 17: New features we hope to see

Since this year’s release is rumored to be more maintenance and smaller improvements than flashy new features, this year’s wishlist is focused on things we want to see improved in iOS 17—little tweaks that will make a big difference in how we use our phones.

Apple certainly doesn’t come to us for advice about this stuff (and it’s too late to make major changes anyway), but it’s instructive to see how well “what we want” lines up with “what Apple delivers.” For what it’s worth, Apple actually delivered several of our iOS 16 Wishlist features, and if iOS 17 brings us more of the changes on this year’s list, we’ll consider that a success. Here’s what we want to see this year:

App Library overhaul

First introduced with iOS 14, the App Library is a good fundamental idea: Let your home screen be cluttered with only those apps you truly use every day and hide the dozens of other apps on your iPhone away from view.

It’s just a bad design! Apps are stuffed automatically into category folders that don’t always match up with what you’d expect. I have two Fender guitar apps on my iPhone. Fender Tune is in the Entertainment folder where it doesn’t belong, and Fender Play is in Other. Intuitively, these belong in the same folder, which should probably be Creativity. Everyone I know has numerous examples like this.

The folders are represented by four icons, three of which are actual app icons that open the app when you tap on them and the fourth is a group of four more tiny app icons that open the folder. This is an interaction and interface model that doesn’t exist anywhere else in iOS and iPadOS, and it’s not intuitive. Oh, and all the folders and their contents move around and change so you can’t develop muscle memory.

We have a few simple suggestions. Tapping the search box at the top of the App Library gives you an alphabetical list, which is a much simpler and intuitive way to find an app. It should be the default view—or be able to be set as the default view.

At the very least, make the folders in the App Library work like folders throughout iOS. Don’t move them around, make them so you open the folder when you tap on them and never one of the apps within. And maybe incorporate a number showing how many apps are in the folder.

Third-party app stores

A recent report claims that Apple will start to open up the iPhone in iOS 17, allowing the distribution of apps outside of Apple’s own App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers that don’t have to use Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. It’s all necessary to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, and the expectation is that it will only apply to those iPhones running iOS 17 in the regions covered by EU law.

Apple should go ahead and make the changes–whatever they are–global. Naturally, we expect Apple to do the minimum possible to be in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and we’re probably going to be in for a round of hearings and lawsuits and such saying that Apple isn’t in full compliance.

I still think whatever limited additional choice and freedom the EU iPhone users get will be a good thing, and would be good for users the world over, on balance. Moreover, it might be a smart move by Apple. The company is under antitrust scrutiny in several other markets, including the U.S. It could take a lot of heat off itself by offering the same solution that satisfied EU regulators, possibly preventing even stricter remedies in other regions.

It would also make iOS easier to maintain and test as a single cohesive release, rather than fragmenting iOS into regional variants.

Better Siri

Siri is definitely getting better and got a nice set of improvements in iOS 15 and iOS 16. It finally got offline processing, which speeds things up a lot and improves privacy. It also got a bit smarter and more reliable and is a lot better about understanding what is on the screen and reacting to it.

But Siri simply isn’t getting good enough fast enough. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask my Google Assistant something to which I get a good answer, and then—just out of curiosity—I ask Siri as well, and Siri fails.

The emphasis on new large language models such as ChatGPT is moving the bar for how we expect to be able to converse with AI. Siri needs more than just a “20 percent better than last year!” update, it needs a big forward leap that you can hear and feel every time you use it. It needs to sound better, work better, do more, and be right more often. It needs to truly feel conversational.

Siri kicked off the first generation of smartphone AI and fell behind. Wouldn’t it be great if Siri was the first true “next-generation” smartphone AI?

2FA for all

There’s this awesome feature in iOS that takes 2FA authentication codes you receive via SMS and makes them an autofill option just above the keyboard. This allows you to fill in the code without jumping away from the app or website that requested it and back again.

The only problem is that this only works with 2FA codes from SMS or Apple’s built-in Passwords feature.

We don’t suggest using SMS for 2FA codes unless you have to–they’re not as secure as they should be. Using the built-in password manager to generate codes isn’t a great option either because it really only works well on your iPhone–if you ever need to log in anywhere else, it’s a real pain to jump three layers deep in Settings to get your code. And some businesses mandate the use of certain 2FA apps.

We’d love for Apple to provide a framework for one-time-password code generation apps such as Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and others so they can securely autofill codes when requested just like Messages.

Call screening

Spam calls are out of control, and Apple should be using every tool in its arsenal to solve one of the biggest annoyances plaguing every smartphone user. For some time now, Google Assistant has been able to screen calls from unknown callers on Android phones. It can produce text transcripts and recordings, too.

This seems like a thing Siri should be able to do. In fact, Apple should go a step further and build an iCloud call spam service. These apps and services already exist, but they require you to set up a call-forwarding service–Apple, with low-level access to the operating system, could make this easy and seamless. Just like the iCloud Private Relay service, this should be an obvious feature for a company that bills itself as the “security and privacy” smartphone choice.

More Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island is a wonderful interface convention that we expect to see on all four iPhone models this year. But it can do more!

New notifications should flow out of the Dynamic Island when they come in instead of just sliding down from the top of the screen, and the option to see how many unread notifications you have would be useful too. Maybe Siri could suggest new Live Activities based on the apps you use.

But most importantly, the Dynamic Island should not be a place for notifications to live, just where they briefly appear when they first come in. The use of this area is clear: it’s for persistent background activities and “here and then gone forever” toasts like the Face ID authentication or AirPods connecting.

Version unification

There’s no good reason for Apple’s ecosystem to have fragmented version numbers that are hard to keep track of. More than ever before, the software is updated in sync with features meant to work together, so why do we have one version number of iOS and iPadOS and tvOS, another for watchOS, and another for macOS?

This is only going to get worse when the Reality headset is released and has xrOS 1 or something similar.

Just jump everything ahead to 17. Or better yet, version 20. Why not? After all, Apple skipped the iPhone 9 entirely, jumped tvOS to version 17 out of the blue, and kept macOS at version 10 for more than a decade.

Help make it clear for users: the latest release for each device’s OS will have the same version number. The releases might not always happen on the same day, but consumers should be able to easily see that the latest watchOS 20.2 update goes with iOS 20.2, which goes with macOS 20.2, and so on.

iOS, iPhone

Each year Apple releases a major update for iOS, the operating system on your iPhone. The current version, released last year, is iOS 16, and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that 2023 will see the launch of iOS 17. This free software update will bring a raft of interface tweaks, bug fixes, and new features. It’s like getting a new iPhone without paying a penny.

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about iOS 17. We cover its release schedule and when you can expect the beta and final versions to come out; how to get it when it does; the models of iPhone that are likely to be able to run iOS; and the features we expect and hope to be added in the new OS.

Updated 05/08/23: The latest rumor shows a new lock screen “live activity” when using directions in Maps, showing time and notifications.

iOS 17 release date: When will iOS 17 arrive?

iOS 17 will be announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 in June, and then rolled out to iPhones across the world in fall 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. (The last time an iOS update was released outside September was iOS 5 back in October 2011.) It’s likely to follow closely on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event. There was a gap of five days between the iPhone and iOS update in 2022, and six days in 2021. Over th epast several years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent:

• iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022
• iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021
• iOS 14: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
• iOS 13: Thursday, September 19, 2019
• iOS 12: Monday, September 17, 2018

Before this happens, a series of beta versions of iOS 17 will be released to testers, beginning with the first developer beta likely released on the first day of WWDC 2023. Here’s our expected timeline:

• Early to mid-June 2023: iOS 17 is announced at WWDC, and the first developer beta is released.
• July 2023: Apple releases the first public beta of iOS 17.
• June to September 2023: Apple releases a series of additional developer and public betas.
• Early September 2023: The iPhone 15 is announced.
• Mid-September 2023: The final public version of iOS 17 is released.

iOS 17 compatibility: Which iPhones will be able to run iOS 17?

Our best guess is that the iPhone XS and later will be able to run iOS 17. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the iPhone X which came out the same year, are all on the borderline. They may miss out, or they may squeak through and get another year of software support.

Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t follow a strict system where iPhones lose support after a specified number of years. Some years Apple doesn’t remove any devices from the list of supported devices; last year, by contrast, it removed the 6s and 7 generations in a single stroke. (Optimists may hope that this unusually harsh year will be followed by a more lenient one.) If you’ve got an iPhone 7, 1st-gen iPhone SE, or anything earlier than those devices, however, you definitely won’t be able to install iOS 17 since they aren’t compatible with get iOS 16.

• iPhone 7, iPhone SE (2016), and earlier: Not compatible
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Possibly compatible
• iPhone X: Possibly compatible
• iPhone XS, XS Max, XR: Probably compatible
• iPhone 11 and later: Definitely compatible

In April, there were conflicting reports of compatibility. On Twitter, Fame_Monsters reported that the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X would lose support when iOS 17 arrived, but Anonymous A.S on the Macrumors forums claimed the rumor was “simply incorrect” and iOS 17 would support the same phones as iOS 16.

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. Last year, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to its older processor. For more information take a look at Every version of iOS released so far.

iOS 17: How to install the beta and full version

Once the final release comes out, installing iOS 17 will be a breeze. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update; iOS will check for any available updates and guide you through the process of installing them. You simply have to follow the instructions, which we explain in our iOS updating guide. And it’s easier still if you’ve turned on Automatic Updates, which you can do from the same screen.

But you can also install betas both leading up to the main release of iOS 17 and through the year following its release. There are two types—developer betas, which arrive first, and public betas, which generally show up a day or two later.

If you want to install a developer beta, you need, unsurprisingly, to be a registered Apple software developer. This costs $99 a year and will give you priority access to all of Apple’s betas, including macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. A better option for most would be to go for the public beta instead: these come out later than the developer betas, but they are free, and still give you bragging rights with your friends. Apple is changing the way betas are installed in iOS 16.4, and they are now tied to Apple IDs rather than profiles, so the process is a little friendlier than before. You can sign up to receive betas at the Apple Beta Software Program site.

In either case, it’s important to stress that betas are not finished software and are likely to contain bugs. That’s kind of the point of testing them. So be prepared for things to go wrong, maybe catastrophically, and we don’t recommend that you install a beta on your primary device. If that doesn’t put you off, follow our iOS beta installation guide. For more on joining the program read: How to join Apple’s beta program and try out new software.

iOS 17: Rumored new features

After including numerous new features in iOS 16, including a redesigned Lock Screen, unsending iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library, but early reports indicate that iOS 17 will have ‘fewer major changes’ than usual. According to Mark Gurman, Apple has shifted resources to the development of software for its AR headset, tentatively called xrOS. A report in early January indicated that its headset development had “cost it some new features in iOS 17.”

A later report from less-reliable LeaksApplePro echoed Gurman’s comments, saying iOS 17 will focus on “stability and efficiency” and “there won’t be many visual changes.”

However, there are signs that it might be a bigger release after all. A report by Mark Gurman in March claims that Apple has shifted its plans for iOS 17 and it is now “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features.” He doesn’t offer any specifics other than to say the new features will be among iPhone users’ “most requested features” but will still lack “a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”

A MacRumors forum member says that iOS 17 will have substantial changes to Control Center, the first in many years. “Website forum member” is not typically strong providence for info leaks, but this same person has previously leaked accurate information about the Dynamic Island before its unveiling.

In April, a Twitter thread from prolific leaker @analyst941 detailed several new features they claim are from a development team insider. This leak is sketchy, but the individual reported updates are all vague and predictable enough that they seem likely. They include:

• Major changes to the Control Center UI and customization
• New features for the Dynamic Island
• Additional always-on display settings
• More Focus Mode filters
• Health app UI changes
• Camera app changes
• Notification changes and additional options
• Heavily improved Search/Spotlight

A post on Weibo from an account that accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 color (although at a fairly late date) details some supposed improvements in iOS 17. They include:

• Control Center UI changes
• App Library supports custom folders
• Apple Music lyrics on the lock screen
• Apple Music interface improvements
• Infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness
• Sharing lock screen setups
• Font size adjustment for Lock screen and emoji wallpaper

Analyst941 on Twitter, who has made several prior iOS 17 leaks, shows a new lock screen interface for Maps that shows the time and notifications count, unlike the current full-screen takeover.

iOS 17: New features we hope to see

Since this year’s release is rumored to be more maintenance and smaller improvements than flashy new features, this year’s wishlist is focused on things we want to see improved in iOS 17—little tweaks that will make a big difference in how we use our phones.

Apple certainly doesn’t come to us for advice about this stuff (and it’s too late to make major changes anyway), but it’s instructive to see how well “what we want” lines up with “what Apple delivers.” For what it’s worth, Apple actually delivered several of our iOS 16 Wishlist features, and if iOS 17 brings us more of the changes on this year’s list, we’ll consider that a success. Here’s what we want to see this year:

App Library overhaul

First introduced with iOS 14, the App Library is a good fundamental idea: Let your home screen be cluttered with only those apps you truly use every day and hide the dozens of other apps on your iPhone away from view.

It’s just a bad design! Apps are stuffed automatically into category folders that don’t always match up with what you’d expect. I have two Fender guitar apps on my iPhone. Fender Tune is in the Entertainment folder where it doesn’t belong, and Fender Play is in Other. Intuitively, these belong in the same folder, which should probably be Creativity. Everyone I know has numerous examples like this.

The folders are represented by four icons, three of which are actual app icons that open the app when you tap on them and the fourth is a group of four more tiny app icons that open the folder. This is an interaction and interface model that doesn’t exist anywhere else in iOS and iPadOS, and it’s not intuitive. Oh, and all the folders and their contents move around and change so you can’t develop muscle memory.

We have a few simple suggestions. Tapping the search box at the top of the App Library gives you an alphabetical list, which is a much simpler and intuitive way to find an app. It should be the default view—or be able to be set as the default view.

At the very least, make the folders in the App Library work like folders throughout iOS. Don’t move them around, make them so you open the folder when you tap on them and never one of the apps within. And maybe incorporate a number showing how many apps are in the folder.

Third-party app stores

A recent report claims that Apple will start to open up the iPhone in iOS 17, allowing the distribution of apps outside of Apple’s own App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers that don’t have to use Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. It’s all necessary to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, and the expectation is that it will only apply to those iPhones running iOS 17 in the regions covered by EU law.

Apple should go ahead and make the changes–whatever they are–global. Naturally, we expect Apple to do the minimum possible to be in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and we’re probably going to be in for a round of hearings and lawsuits and such saying that Apple isn’t in full compliance.

I still think whatever limited additional choice and freedom the EU iPhone users get will be a good thing, and would be good for users the world over, on balance. Moreover, it might be a smart move by Apple. The company is under antitrust scrutiny in several other markets, including the U.S. It could take a lot of heat off itself by offering the same solution that satisfied EU regulators, possibly preventing even stricter remedies in other regions.

It would also make iOS easier to maintain and test as a single cohesive release, rather than fragmenting iOS into regional variants.

Better Siri

Siri is definitely getting better and got a nice set of improvements in iOS 15 and iOS 16. It finally got offline processing, which speeds things up a lot and improves privacy. It also got a bit smarter and more reliable and is a lot better about understanding what is on the screen and reacting to it.

But Siri simply isn’t getting good enough fast enough. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask my Google Assistant something to which I get a good answer, and then—just out of curiosity—I ask Siri as well, and Siri fails.

The emphasis on new large language models such as ChatGPT is moving the bar for how we expect to be able to converse with AI. Siri needs more than just a “20 percent better than last year!” update, it needs a big forward leap that you can hear and feel every time you use it. It needs to sound better, work better, do more, and be right more often. It needs to truly feel conversational.

Siri kicked off the first generation of smartphone AI and fell behind. Wouldn’t it be great if Siri was the first true “next-generation” smartphone AI?

2FA for all

There’s this awesome feature in iOS that takes 2FA authentication codes you receive via SMS and makes them an autofill option just above the keyboard. This allows you to fill in the code without jumping away from the app or website that requested it and back again.

The only problem is that this only works with 2FA codes from SMS or Apple’s built-in Passwords feature.

We don’t suggest using SMS for 2FA codes unless you have to–they’re not as secure as they should be. Using the built-in password manager to generate codes isn’t a great option either because it really only works well on your iPhone–if you ever need to log in anywhere else, it’s a real pain to jump three layers deep in Settings to get your code. And some businesses mandate the use of certain 2FA apps.

We’d love for Apple to provide a framework for one-time-password code generation apps such as Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and others so they can securely autofill codes when requested just like Messages.

Call screening

Spam calls are out of control, and Apple should be using every tool in its arsenal to solve one of the biggest annoyances plaguing every smartphone user. For some time now, Google Assistant has been able to screen calls from unknown callers on Android phones. It can produce text transcripts and recordings, too.

This seems like a thing Siri should be able to do. In fact, Apple should go a step further and build an iCloud call spam service. These apps and services already exist, but they require you to set up a call-forwarding service–Apple, with low-level access to the operating system, could make this easy and seamless. Just like the iCloud Private Relay service, this should be an obvious feature for a company that bills itself as the “security and privacy” smartphone choice.

More Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island is a wonderful interface convention that we expect to see on all four iPhone models this year. But it can do more!

New notifications should flow out of the Dynamic Island when they come in instead of just sliding down from the top of the screen, and the option to see how many unread notifications you have would be useful too. Maybe Siri could suggest new Live Activities based on the apps you use.

But most importantly, the Dynamic Island should not be a place for notifications to live, just where they briefly appear when they first come in. The use of this area is clear: it’s for persistent background activities and “here and then gone forever” toasts like the Face ID authentication or AirPods connecting.

Version unification

There’s no good reason for Apple’s ecosystem to have fragmented version numbers that are hard to keep track of. More than ever before, the software is updated in sync with features meant to work together, so why do we have one version number of iOS and iPadOS and tvOS, another for watchOS, and another for macOS?

This is only going to get worse when the Reality headset is released and has xrOS 1 or something similar.

Just jump everything ahead to 17. Or better yet, version 20. Why not? After all, Apple skipped the iPhone 9 entirely, jumped tvOS to version 17 out of the blue, and kept macOS at version 10 for more than a decade.

Help make it clear for users: the latest release for each device’s OS will have the same version number. The releases might not always happen on the same day, but consumers should be able to easily see that the latest watchOS 20.2 update goes with iOS 20.2, which goes with macOS 20.2, and so on.

iOS, iPhone

Each year Apple releases a major update for iOS, the operating system on your iPhone. The current version, released last year, is iOS 16, and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that 2023 will see the launch of iOS 17. This free software update will bring a raft of interface tweaks, bug fixes, and new features. It’s like getting a new iPhone without paying a penny.

In this article, we discuss everything you need to know about iOS 17. We cover its release schedule and when you can expect the beta and final versions to come out; how to get it when it does; the models of iPhone that are likely to be able to run iOS; and the features we expect and hope to be added in the new OS.

Updated 05/08/23: The latest rumor shows a new lock screen “live activity” when using directions in Maps, showing time and notifications.

iOS 17 release date: When will iOS 17 arrive?

iOS 17 will be announced and demonstrated at WWDC 2023 in June, and then rolled out to iPhones across the world in fall 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. (The last time an iOS update was released outside September was iOS 5 back in October 2011.) It’s likely to follow closely on the heels of the iPhone 15 launch event. There was a gap of five days between the iPhone and iOS update in 2022, and six days in 2021. Over th epast several years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent:

• iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022
• iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021
• iOS 14: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
• iOS 13: Thursday, September 19, 2019
• iOS 12: Monday, September 17, 2018

Before this happens, a series of beta versions of iOS 17 will be released to testers, beginning with the first developer beta likely released on the first day of WWDC 2023. Here’s our expected timeline:

• Early to mid-June 2023: iOS 17 is announced at WWDC, and the first developer beta is released.
• July 2023: Apple releases the first public beta of iOS 17.
• June to September 2023: Apple releases a series of additional developer and public betas.
• Early September 2023: The iPhone 15 is announced.
• Mid-September 2023: The final public version of iOS 17 is released.

iOS 17 compatibility: Which iPhones will be able to run iOS 17?

Our best guess is that the iPhone XS and later will be able to run iOS 17. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the iPhone X which came out the same year, are all on the borderline. They may miss out, or they may squeak through and get another year of software support.

Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t follow a strict system where iPhones lose support after a specified number of years. Some years Apple doesn’t remove any devices from the list of supported devices; last year, by contrast, it removed the 6s and 7 generations in a single stroke. (Optimists may hope that this unusually harsh year will be followed by a more lenient one.) If you’ve got an iPhone 7, 1st-gen iPhone SE, or anything earlier than those devices, however, you definitely won’t be able to install iOS 17 since they aren’t compatible with get iOS 16.

• iPhone 7, iPhone SE (2016), and earlier: Not compatible
• iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus: Possibly compatible
• iPhone X: Possibly compatible
• iPhone XS, XS Max, XR: Probably compatible
• iPhone 11 and later: Definitely compatible

In April, there were conflicting reports of compatibility. On Twitter, Fame_Monsters reported that the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X would lose support when iOS 17 arrived, but Anonymous A.S on the Macrumors forums claimed the rumor was “simply incorrect” and iOS 17 would support the same phones as iOS 16.

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. Last year, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to its older processor. For more information take a look at Every version of iOS released so far.

iOS 17: How to install the beta and full version

Once the final release comes out, installing iOS 17 will be a breeze. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update; iOS will check for any available updates and guide you through the process of installing them. You simply have to follow the instructions, which we explain in our iOS updating guide. And it’s easier still if you’ve turned on Automatic Updates, which you can do from the same screen.

But you can also install betas both leading up to the main release of iOS 17 and through the year following its release. There are two types—developer betas, which arrive first, and public betas, which generally show up a day or two later.

If you want to install a developer beta, you need, unsurprisingly, to be a registered Apple software developer. This costs $99 a year and will give you priority access to all of Apple’s betas, including macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. A better option for most would be to go for the public beta instead: these come out later than the developer betas, but they are free, and still give you bragging rights with your friends. Apple is changing the way betas are installed in iOS 16.4, and they are now tied to Apple IDs rather than profiles, so the process is a little friendlier than before. You can sign up to receive betas at the Apple Beta Software Program site.

In either case, it’s important to stress that betas are not finished software and are likely to contain bugs. That’s kind of the point of testing them. So be prepared for things to go wrong, maybe catastrophically, and we don’t recommend that you install a beta on your primary device. If that doesn’t put you off, follow our iOS beta installation guide. For more on joining the program read: How to join Apple’s beta program and try out new software.

iOS 17: Rumored new features

After including numerous new features in iOS 16, including a redesigned Lock Screen, unsending iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library, but early reports indicate that iOS 17 will have ‘fewer major changes’ than usual. According to Mark Gurman, Apple has shifted resources to the development of software for its AR headset, tentatively called xrOS. A report in early January indicated that its headset development had “cost it some new features in iOS 17.”

A later report from less-reliable LeaksApplePro echoed Gurman’s comments, saying iOS 17 will focus on “stability and efficiency” and “there won’t be many visual changes.”

However, there are signs that it might be a bigger release after all. A report by Mark Gurman in March claims that Apple has shifted its plans for iOS 17 and it is now “expected to boast several ‘nice to have’ features.” He doesn’t offer any specifics other than to say the new features will be among iPhone users’ “most requested features” but will still lack “a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”

A MacRumors forum member says that iOS 17 will have substantial changes to Control Center, the first in many years. “Website forum member” is not typically strong providence for info leaks, but this same person has previously leaked accurate information about the Dynamic Island before its unveiling.

In April, a Twitter thread from prolific leaker @analyst941 detailed several new features they claim are from a development team insider. This leak is sketchy, but the individual reported updates are all vague and predictable enough that they seem likely. They include:

• Major changes to the Control Center UI and customization
• New features for the Dynamic Island
• Additional always-on display settings
• More Focus Mode filters
• Health app UI changes
• Camera app changes
• Notification changes and additional options
• Heavily improved Search/Spotlight

A post on Weibo from an account that accurately predicted the yellow iPhone 14 color (although at a fairly late date) details some supposed improvements in iOS 17. They include:

• Control Center UI changes
• App Library supports custom folders
• Apple Music lyrics on the lock screen
• Apple Music interface improvements
• Infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness
• Sharing lock screen setups
• Font size adjustment for Lock screen and emoji wallpaper

Analyst941 on Twitter, who has made several prior iOS 17 leaks, shows a new lock screen interface for Maps that shows the time and notifications count, unlike the current full-screen takeover.

iOS 17: New features we hope to see

Since this year’s release is rumored to be more maintenance and smaller improvements than flashy new features, this year’s wishlist is focused on things we want to see improved in iOS 17—little tweaks that will make a big difference in how we use our phones.

Apple certainly doesn’t come to us for advice about this stuff (and it’s too late to make major changes anyway), but it’s instructive to see how well “what we want” lines up with “what Apple delivers.” For what it’s worth, Apple actually delivered several of our iOS 16 Wishlist features, and if iOS 17 brings us more of the changes on this year’s list, we’ll consider that a success. Here’s what we want to see this year:

App Library overhaul

First introduced with iOS 14, the App Library is a good fundamental idea: Let your home screen be cluttered with only those apps you truly use every day and hide the dozens of other apps on your iPhone away from view.

It’s just a bad design! Apps are stuffed automatically into category folders that don’t always match up with what you’d expect. I have two Fender guitar apps on my iPhone. Fender Tune is in the Entertainment folder where it doesn’t belong, and Fender Play is in Other. Intuitively, these belong in the same folder, which should probably be Creativity. Everyone I know has numerous examples like this.

The folders are represented by four icons, three of which are actual app icons that open the app when you tap on them and the fourth is a group of four more tiny app icons that open the folder. This is an interaction and interface model that doesn’t exist anywhere else in iOS and iPadOS, and it’s not intuitive. Oh, and all the folders and their contents move around and change so you can’t develop muscle memory.

We have a few simple suggestions. Tapping the search box at the top of the App Library gives you an alphabetical list, which is a much simpler and intuitive way to find an app. It should be the default view—or be able to be set as the default view.

At the very least, make the folders in the App Library work like folders throughout iOS. Don’t move them around, make them so you open the folder when you tap on them and never one of the apps within. And maybe incorporate a number showing how many apps are in the folder.

Third-party app stores

A recent report claims that Apple will start to open up the iPhone in iOS 17, allowing the distribution of apps outside of Apple’s own App Store, the use of NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers that don’t have to use Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. It’s all necessary to comply with the EU’s new Digital Markets Act, and the expectation is that it will only apply to those iPhones running iOS 17 in the regions covered by EU law.

Apple should go ahead and make the changes–whatever they are–global. Naturally, we expect Apple to do the minimum possible to be in compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and we’re probably going to be in for a round of hearings and lawsuits and such saying that Apple isn’t in full compliance.

I still think whatever limited additional choice and freedom the EU iPhone users get will be a good thing, and would be good for users the world over, on balance. Moreover, it might be a smart move by Apple. The company is under antitrust scrutiny in several other markets, including the U.S. It could take a lot of heat off itself by offering the same solution that satisfied EU regulators, possibly preventing even stricter remedies in other regions.

It would also make iOS easier to maintain and test as a single cohesive release, rather than fragmenting iOS into regional variants.

Better Siri

Siri is definitely getting better and got a nice set of improvements in iOS 15 and iOS 16. It finally got offline processing, which speeds things up a lot and improves privacy. It also got a bit smarter and more reliable and is a lot better about understanding what is on the screen and reacting to it.

But Siri simply isn’t getting good enough fast enough. Not a day goes by that I don’t ask my Google Assistant something to which I get a good answer, and then—just out of curiosity—I ask Siri as well, and Siri fails.

The emphasis on new large language models such as ChatGPT is moving the bar for how we expect to be able to converse with AI. Siri needs more than just a “20 percent better than last year!” update, it needs a big forward leap that you can hear and feel every time you use it. It needs to sound better, work better, do more, and be right more often. It needs to truly feel conversational.

Siri kicked off the first generation of smartphone AI and fell behind. Wouldn’t it be great if Siri was the first true “next-generation” smartphone AI?

2FA for all

There’s this awesome feature in iOS that takes 2FA authentication codes you receive via SMS and makes them an autofill option just above the keyboard. This allows you to fill in the code without jumping away from the app or website that requested it and back again.

The only problem is that this only works with 2FA codes from SMS or Apple’s built-in Passwords feature.

We don’t suggest using SMS for 2FA codes unless you have to–they’re not as secure as they should be. Using the built-in password manager to generate codes isn’t a great option either because it really only works well on your iPhone–if you ever need to log in anywhere else, it’s a real pain to jump three layers deep in Settings to get your code. And some businesses mandate the use of certain 2FA apps.

We’d love for Apple to provide a framework for one-time-password code generation apps such as Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and others so they can securely autofill codes when requested just like Messages.

Call screening

Spam calls are out of control, and Apple should be using every tool in its arsenal to solve one of the biggest annoyances plaguing every smartphone user. For some time now, Google Assistant has been able to screen calls from unknown callers on Android phones. It can produce text transcripts and recordings, too.

This seems like a thing Siri should be able to do. In fact, Apple should go a step further and build an iCloud call spam service. These apps and services already exist, but they require you to set up a call-forwarding service–Apple, with low-level access to the operating system, could make this easy and seamless. Just like the iCloud Private Relay service, this should be an obvious feature for a company that bills itself as the “security and privacy” smartphone choice.

More Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island is a wonderful interface convention that we expect to see on all four iPhone models this year. But it can do more!

New notifications should flow out of the Dynamic Island when they come in instead of just sliding down from the top of the screen, and the option to see how many unread notifications you have would be useful too. Maybe Siri could suggest new Live Activities based on the apps you use.

But most importantly, the Dynamic Island should not be a place for notifications to live, just where they briefly appear when they first come in. The use of this area is clear: it’s for persistent background activities and “here and then gone forever” toasts like the Face ID authentication or AirPods connecting.

Version unification

There’s no good reason for Apple’s ecosystem to have fragmented version numbers that are hard to keep track of. More than ever before, the software is updated in sync with features meant to work together, so why do we have one version number of iOS and iPadOS and tvOS, another for watchOS, and another for macOS?

This is only going to get worse when the Reality headset is released and has xrOS 1 or something similar.

Just jump everything ahead to 17. Or better yet, version 20. Why not? After all, Apple skipped the iPhone 9 entirely, jumped tvOS to version 17 out of the blue, and kept macOS at version 10 for more than a decade.

Help make it clear for users: the latest release for each device’s OS will have the same version number. The releases might not always happen on the same day, but consumers should be able to easily see that the latest watchOS 20.2 update goes with iOS 20.2, which goes with macOS 20.2, and so on.

iOS, iPhone

It’s a big moment when Apple unveils a new version of iOS at WWDC each summer. After all, this software is running on a billion-odd iPhones and can fundamentally change the way they all behave: iOS updates add new features, correct flaws and UI issues, improve reliability (hopefully), and generally enhance the iPhone experience. All this without costing a penny to install.

In 2023, rumormongers would have us believe, the new features part of that equation will be relatively minor, with development work on the company’s mixed-reality headset apparently costing so many engineer hours that the iOS 17 project had to be scaled back. Multiple pundits have warned that, while some smaller new features will be included, there won’t be a “tentpole improvement” to base an event around like iOS 16’s customizable Lock Screen.

But this isn’t a disaster. Not for Apple, which will be spending most of the event talking about the headset anyway, and not for iPhone owners, who will still get a great update. Because the real value you get from an iOS update is not a heavily hyped tentpole feature. It comes instead from the sum total of small tweaks that improve the overall experience in numerous ways. In fact, it’s arguable that so-called “maintenance updates” are better for the user, because they’re less prone to break things and focus on the small details that matter most.

With that in mind, here are five of the smaller changes we’re expecting this year, and why (assuming the info is correct) they will make a difference to your iPhone experience (plus one that won’t change things as much as people think). For full coverage of everything we know about this year’s iPhone update, check out our iOS 17 superguide.

Customizable App Library folders

Introduced in iOS 14, the App Library is a single screen containing all of your iPhone’s apps, organized by category for ease of discovery. Apple recognized that it needed to offer a streamlined way to navigate iOS as users installed more and more apps on more and more screens, and demanded the ability to hide apps from the traditional home screen view.

The App Library, then, makes a lot of sense as a navigational concept, but its categories leave much to be desired. Scrolling through mine, there’s a mixture of the useful (Games, Social, and Music are all self-explanatory), the flawed (such as the subtle distinction between Productivity & Finance and Business, and the bizarrely wide-ranging Information & Reading), and the deeply unhelpful (Utilities, and all-time classic Other). My colleague Jason has two Fender guitar apps on his iPhone, and these have somehow ended up in different folders… and neither of them is suitable. I don’t use App Library much, mostly because it’s a confusing mess.

As of the launch of iOS 17, however, I may no longer have that excuse; one rumor suggests Apple will allow us to create our own custom categories. Further details are scant. Does this simply mean, in the App Library as in our home screens, we’ll be able to create a folder, call it whatever we like, and add apps to it manually? The power of the concept is that users with hundreds of apps don’t have to manually sort and organize, so we hope instead that iOS 17 lets us create custom category rules that apply to our app collections en masse.

Smarter search

The main alternative to the App Library, if you have a lot of apps, is to navigate via search. Swipe down from any home screen and you’ll open the Spotlight screen, where Siri suggests various apps and actions it thinks might be of interest, and where you can enter a search term and be shown apps, contacts, photos, settings, web pages and many more items that fit.

With App Library not doing it for me, Spotlight is how I navigate to a whole host of apps that haven’t quite qualified for a position on my first couple of home screens. But it’s apparently going to get better with the launch of iOS 17: the Twitter leaker @analyst941 has claimed we’ll see “heavily improved search/Spotlight” in the update.

As with App Library, the details are minimal so far, but as good as Spotlight already is, there are two main areas where it could be improved. First, the search function itself could become better, either by getting smarter about understanding typos (although it can already understand some, such as “gaem” as a mistyping of “game”) or knowing to search within apps such as Notes and Messages when it’s most relevant. And second, the AI behind Siri Suggestions could be improved so it has a better chance of predicting what you want to do at a given moment. Either way, a useful navigational hub will become even more useful, and I can’t wait.

Controllable Control Center

Nobody likes wading through iOS’s Settings app, and Control Center is a brilliant way to skip that hassle and jump straight to your most frequently used toggles. But its design is tired, and customization remains limited. (The top half is set in stone; for the bottom half, you get to pick from a list of 23 additional controls.) This may all change in iOS 17.

An anonymous MacRumors forum user with one successful past prediction reckons Apple is going to revamp Control Center in 2023, and that this will be so significant that it will be a highlight of the iOS 17 announcement.

Focused Focus

Apple has run a surprising “use your iPhone less” strategy in recent years, encouraging customers to limit their screen time and reduce distractions while sleeping, working, exercising, and above all driving. A key part of this admirable effort is the iPhone’s Focus modes, which enable you to fine-tune notifications, alerts, auto-responses, and even the layout of your home and lock screens in a precise way that suits and focuses your attention on a particular activity.

As of iOS 16, there are four pre-scripted Focus modes–Driving, Fitness, Sleep, and Work–plus the all-purpose Do Not Disturb. You can customize each of these, and set up your own Personal mode with a separate set of options, which makes Focus an impressively powerful tool… if you put the time in. But Apple is at its best when doing the work for you, and we look forward to seeing the additional pre-written Focus filters which sources predict will be added in iOS 17.

I would like to propose a Drinking mode, which prevents you from sending messages to selected “danger” contacts, surfaces contact details for taxis and pizza restaurants, and automatically lowers brightness and volume the next morning.

Precision flashlighting

Activate the iPhone’s flashlight with a tap from Control Center, and it’s either on or off. Power users will know, however, that you can long-press the icon to make it expand into an adjustable flashlight with four levels of brightness. Pro tip for you there.

But who’s willing to settle for a poxy four levels of brightness? Not me! I want the “infinitely adjustable flashlight brightness” that one Weibo source says will be offered in iOS 17. Game changer.

But sideloading? Not so much

I’m being a tiny bit facetious about the granular flashlight, which will be frequently useful to a very small minority of users and only very occasionally useful to the rest of us. But I bet it makes more of a difference than sideloading.

Sideloading is when a phone owner installs software via non-official channels, which in the case of iOS means a source other than Apple’s App Store. At the moment that requires you to jailbreak the iPhone, a relatively technical and arguably risky process that is likely to void your warranty and, if you’re not careful, could lead to malware finding its way onto your device. But all that is set to change as of the launch of iOS 17.

As a result of political, legal, and PR pressure, Apple is widely expected to open up the iPhone this year and allow third-party app stores, a momentous concession from a company facing growing accusations of anticompetitive behavior. On a corporate level this would be a huge step… but for the average iPhone owner, I suspect, it will change very little.

The problem is that Apple, whose engineers and designers will create the structure in which third-party stores exist, is actively incentivized to make it work badly in order to maximize revenues via the official store. And so, much as the Self Service Repair program which Apple doesn’t want you to use ended up being, surprise surprise, difficult and expensive, sideloading is sure to be as clunky and unintuitive as Apple can make it. And I’m pretty certain that iPhone owners, who are used to a smooth, simple, and user-friendly experience, will either avoid it altogether or try it once and vow never to return. (Many, indeed, will never hear that it’s possible.)

The theory is that increased competition from third parties will push devs to lower their prices on the official App Store, and Apple to reduce its cut and relax its stricter policies. But that only works if people are actually using the new option in volume, and I just can’t see that happening.

Oh, and sideloading might be limited to Europe, so there’s that too.

iOS