Apple announces iOS 17 — with call screening and big autocorrect upgrade
Apple has announced iOS 17, promising several upgrades to core features like the Phone app and the built-in keyboard’s autocorrect functionality.
Apple Software Engineering senior vice president Craig Federighi opened his Worldwide Develop Conference presentation by unveiling personalized contact posters.
Users will be able to set a photo that gets shown to contacts when calling them.
This will also be available through an application programming interface, Callkit, to which third-party voice apps can request access.
Apps like WhatsApp will therefore have the option to use this feature.
Federighi said contact posters help users customize how they’re represented when placing a call.
“It works a lot like personalizing your lock screen,” he said. “This gives a consistent look where you communicate and share.”
iOS 17 also introduces NameDrop, a way to wirelessly share contact cards within the Apple ecosystem.
iPhone users can bring their phones within NFC range and choose which contact information to send before sharing.
NameDrop will also work with Apple Watch, said Federighi.
Call screening and autocorrect
iOS 17 will introduce a new feature called Live Voicemail, which essentially promises call screening for cellular phone calls.
You can let a call go to voicemail, and it is transcribed as they speak. You can then choose whether to pick up the call or not.
Federighi assured that transcriptions happen on-device using the iPhone chip’s Neural Engine.
“Calls identified as spam by carriers won’t appear as Live Voicemail, and will instead be instantly declined,” Apple stated.
This suggests that Live Voicemail is a feature mobile operators will have to support. More details were not available by publication time.
Apple has also promised a substantial upgrade for Autocorrect.
Autocorrect will now use transformer-based machine learning for word prediction, also powered by the on-device Neural Engine.
“Users will now receive predictive text recommendations inline as they type, so adding entire words or completing sentences is as easy as tapping the space bar, making text entry faster than ever,” Federighi said.
Apple also announced an upgrade to dictation, leveraging a new speech recognition model to make it more accurate.
AirDrop, Facetime messages, Check In
FaceTime will support audio and video messages in iOS 17, allowing callers to leave a message for someone who is not available.
Kim Beverett, senior engineering program manager for Internet technologies, announced a major revamp for the iPhone Messages app, including inline locations.
If a user shares their location, it will update in real-time in the conversation.
When sending an audio message, it’s transcribed automatically.
Messages also introduces Check In, a feature for when a user wants to notify a family member or friend that they have made it to their destination safely.
After a user initiates a Check In, their friend or family member will automatically be notified as soon as the user arrives.
If they are not progressing toward their destination, useful information will be temporarily shared with the selected contact, such as the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status.
Apple assured that information shared is end-to-end encrypted.
AirDrop also receives the ability to continue sending content when you step out of range.
Content will continue sending over the Internet, fully encrypted, stated Federighi.
Standby
iOS 17 introduces StandBy, allowing users to activate a full-screen display by turning the iPhone horizontally while on charge.
“StandBy is perfect on a nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk, and can be personalized to display a range of beautiful clock styles, favourite photos, or widgets, including Smart Stacks, which surface the right widgets at the right time,” Apple said.
“With support for Live Activities, Siri, incoming calls, and larger notifications, StandBy makes iPhone even more useful when viewed at a distance.”
Apple said that StandBy remembers a user’s preferred view when charging with MagSafe.
“It is easy to bring up StandBy anytime by tapping the screen, and on iPhone 14 Pro with the Always-On display, it is always available.”
Availability
The developer beta of iOS 17 is available to Apple Developer Program members from today (Monday, 5 June 2023).
A public beta will be available next month.
New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later.
Apple warned that some features may not be available in all regions, all languages, or on all devices.
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