iOS 17 brings an array of new features, devices, and more. Gain a comprehensive understanding of all these exciting updates.

iOS 17: Everything you need to know about new features, devices, and more

iOS 17, Apple's biggest annual software update for iPhone users, has been officially announced at WWDC and is now available to everyone. This year, iOS 17 introduces new features for Messages, FaceTime, and widgets. Below, you'll find a roundup of our coverage, details on betas and release dates, and more.

When was iOS 17 released to everyone?

Here’s a rundown of iOS update release dates in September:

• iOS 17: September 17, 2023

• iOS 16: September 12, 2022

• iOS 15: September 20, 2021

• iOS 14: September 16, 2020

• iOS 13: September 19, 2019

• iOS 12: September 17, 2018

iOS 17 supported devices

Notably, iOS 17 requires the A12 Bionic chip or newer. This means that the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus – all of which were first released in 2017 – won’t get the update this year. Here’s the full rundown of iOS 17 supported devices:

• iPhone XS and XS Max

• iPhone XR

• iPhone 11

• iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

• iPhone 12 and 12 mini

• iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max

• iPhone 13 and 13 mini

• iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max

• iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max

• iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd gen)

What’s new in iOS 17?

With the goal of making your iPhone "more personal and intuitive," iOS 17 introduces a wide array of new features. Let's dive into some of them:

iOS 17 includes a new feature called "Contact Posters" that allows you to customize how your profile appears when interacting with other iPhone users. You can personalize your Contact Poster with profile photos, special typography, font colors, and more.

For FaceTime audio and video calls, Apple has added support for voicemails, enabling you to leave a message to explain the purpose of your call. Additionally, recipients of FaceTime calls can now leave their own voice messages.

Apple has also introduced a variety of new Reactions for FaceTime, including hearts, balloons, fireworks, laser beams, and rain. These effects can be activated through certain gestures and are compatible with third-party apps.

iOS 17 brings several improvements to Airdrop. NameDrop is a new feature that lets you easily share your contact details with another iPhone or Apple Watch user by simply bringing your devices close together. Additionally, you can use SharePlay by placing two iPhones near each other, enabling collaboration on video, music, and games.

AirDrop now supports tapping two phones together to transfer various content, including photos, videos, and files. Later in the year, Airdrop will introduce the ability to transfer large files between closely located phones, with the transfer completion happening through iCloud.

The Music app has been revamped with support for collaborative playlists and cross-fade. In CarPlay, the Music app now includes Sha replay support, allowing everyone in the car to have a say in the currently playing music.

One of the major changes in iOS 17 is the revamp of autocorrect, which aims to improve accuracy and make it easier to correct mistakes. The new autocorrect system, powered by machine learning, learns from your typing patterns and even auto-fills words and sentences as you type. Dictation has also been upgraded with a new speech recognition model to enhance accuracy.

Standby is a notable change for iPhone users this year. When your iPhone is placed horizontally on a charger, it displays a new custom smart display-style interface with glanceable widgets for the time, calendar, alarms, and more.

iOS 17 introduces a big update for Home Screen widgets, enabling interaction directly with the widgets themselves without having to open the corresponding app. For example, you can control play and pause functions for the Music app widget directly on your iPhone's Home Screen. Additionally, Apple has added Home app widgets for the first time.

iOS 17 includes a range of accessibility upgrades, such as Assistive Access, which provides a customizable interface to facilitate iPhone usage for individuals with cognitive disabilities. Personal Voice allows users at risk of speech loss, such as those with ALS, to create a voice that sounds like theirs. Live Speech enables nonspeaking users to type and have their words spoken in person, phone calls, or FaceTime calls.

The Messages app in iOS 17 also receives significant enhancements, including new features for stickers, reactions, and more. The interface for iMessage apps has been overhauled to provide easy access to various functionalities.