The annual iOS update is one of the major events for Apple fans, which is almost more awaited than the release of the new iPhone. Still, everyone cannot buy an expensive smartphone for themselves, but they can join the latest developments of the company through an update. So year after year, the Cupertino-based company faces the daunting task of releasing an update that would both appeal to users and at the same time work on older devices without overloading them too much. I wonder how these expectations will meet iOS 17.
What is known about iOS 17
Initially, Apple planned iOS 17 as a completely ordinary update focused on fixing bugs and improving the performance of compatible devices. Despite the fact that Cupertino has never officially announced this, sources close to the company’s plans assured that it intends to focus solely on optimizing the latest version of the OS.
At first, everyone thought that Apple decided not to separate devices of different production years, limiting the old ones too much. And it turned out that all the main innovations received, at best, only the latest generation iPhone, while everyone else was content with new functions on a residual basis. But the company had another reason.
It turns out that the main efforts of the development team were thrown at creating software for a mixed-reality headset, which Apple is about to introduce. In Cupertino, the release of this device was already very delayed, so they were forced to rush to present it before competitors start doing it.
What’s new in iOS 17
However, at some point, the company changed its mind about what iOS 17 should be. As a result, efforts were redistributed and they decided to pay more attention to the development of updates for the mobile OS. Thanks to this castling, as reported by Bloomberg, there will be more innovations in iOS 17, and they themselves will be much more valuable in terms of usefulness for the end user than originally planned.
Sources of the publication do not disclose any new features that will appear in iOS 17, but given the trends, the interests of Apple itself, and the previous directions of the company’s development, we can draw some conclusions on our own. Therefore, the proposed list of innovations in the latest version of the OS for the iPhone will look something like this (according to AppleInsider.ru, of course):
- Split screen on iPhone. While Apple still seems to think its smartphone displays aren’t big enough, being able to separate them can come in very handy for running two apps at the same time. At least on an iPhone with a diagonal of 6.5 inches.
- Interactive widgets in iOS. By and large, widgets in iOS today are quite interactive. But it would be better if Cupertino expanded its capabilities by analogy with the “Ether of activity”, which displays in real-time all the changes that occur in the application related to the widget.
- Call recording. Despite the fact that this feature is very, very controversial, Apple may well add it as one of the elements of user protection. For example, in order to prove the fact of threats or something like that.
- Simplified activation of Siri. Apple’s voice assistant is pretty mediocre, but that doesn’t stop the company from continuing to develop it. Therefore, in iOS 17, the function of a simplified call to Siri by the “Siri” command may appear, without any “hello” and other auxiliary structures.
- Third-party app stores on iOS. Millions of iPhone users have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. Especially in Russia. It is far from certain that Apple will take this step, but it is possible that under the pressure of the laws of many countries and court decisions in the company will yield to the demands of the public.
- Analogue of Apple Pay on iPhone. Here the story is exactly the same as with the App Store counterparts. The authorities of many countries of the world have long demanded from Appleallow alternative payment services on iOS, but for a long time, she tried her best to avoid it. With the entry into force of the law on digital markets in the EU, the company will simply have no other choice.
iOS 17 for older iPhones
Logically, all these innovations should be available to a wide range of users, including owners of older devices. The only exception may be the function of calling Siri simply by the name of the assistant. It is possible that this may require more advanced hardware and support for a new generation of neural engines. But everything else – in any case, if it is destined to be embodied in iOS 17, will most likely appear even on the oldest iPhone models.
It is still difficult to say with absolute certainty which devices will receive iOS 17. Initially, when it was claimed that there would be a minimum of functional innovations as part of the update, it could be assumed that Apple would allow the update to be installed on all devices that received iOS 16. That is, iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X will not be written off. So, at least I thought.
Which iPhones will get iOS 17
iOS 17 will most likely only get iPhones released in 2018 and later
But, given that there will most likely be a lot of new functions, the load on the hardware stuffing of updated gadgets will most likely be more significant. Therefore, I will assume that the list of iPhones that will be updated to iOS 17 will look like this:
Answering the question of when iOS 17 will be released will be a little easier than predicting the list of compatible devices. Obviously, the update will be presented at the WWDC 2023 conference in June. While the exact date of the event has not yet been named, there is no doubt that it will be announced in April. As for the release dates, they look a little vaguer. Typically, Apple releases new versions of iOS in September. But it is possible that due to problems with the development of xrOS, the release of iOS 17 may be shifted to a slightly later period. For example, in October.
