iOS 17 Tidbits: A Comprehensive List of Lesser-Known Features

First unveiled during WWDC23, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and watchOS 10 are packed with changes and features. And while Apple has mainly focused on communication updates, there are still many lesser-known tidbits that improve the overall experience of using these operating systems. Since the iPhone is the company’s most popular product, let’s take a look at some of the smaller offerings included in iOS 17.

AirDrop

AirDrop has received some notable updates in iOS 17. Users can now bring their iPhones close to each other to initiate an AirDrop transfer. Likewise, they can share their contact information or initiate a SharePlay session when using a supported app. It doesn’t stop there, though. If a user walks away during an AirDrop transfer in progress, iOS will upload the rest of the file to the cloud and download it to the recipient’s device. That way, AirDrop transfers aren’t interrupted or canceled, and two users don’t have to wait unnecessarily side-by-side.

App Store

Not much has changed with the App Store, but Apple included a welcome detail in iOS 17. When you download an app or update one, the app page will now indicate the time remaining for the download process to finish . After that, the timestamp is replaced by the word “installing”.

Camera

In the Camera app on iOS 17, when you point to a QR code, the app will now display the link below. Prior to this update, the link would float and follow the QR code on the viewfinder, making it difficult to click. There’s also now a new guiding tool that helps you straighten your shots.

Clock

In the Clock app you can finally set more than one timer at a time! Each might have its own unique length, label, and tone. While this change is relatively minor, it’s nice to see the iPhone finally catching up with the Apple Watch.

FaceTime

On iOS 17, you can leave FaceTime video messages when someone doesn’t answer your call. Plus, you can react with new effects during a video call, like thumbs up or hearts.

Find mine

In Find My in iOS 17, you can share an AirTag with up to five other people. Prior to this release, the location of an AirTag could only be viewed by one Apple ID account holder at a time.

Fitness

The Fitness app also gets some love in iOS 17. Apple overhauled the Sharing tab, which now has a streamlined view of the contacts you share your activity with. Instead of scrolling through a long list of previous days, you can now view your friends’ activity histories by tapping on their dedicated profiles. There’s also a new row that highlights your friends’ latest achievements, including closing all three rings, earning rewards, and more.

In addition to the Sharing tab, there’s now a new row in the main Summary tab that displays a weekly recommendation. Finally, in the Fitness+ tab, you can now stack workouts and meditation exercises, as well as being able to build your own training plan. The latter requires you to enter your expectations and schedule, which can then generate a customized Fitness+ plan for you.

Free form

In iOS 17, the Freeform app introduces a few new tools, including a watercolor brush, calligraphy pen, highlighter, variable-width pen, and ruler. These additions further enrich the app and help users find the right means to brainstorm and express themselves.

Health

At a basic level, not much has changed in the Health app in iOS 17. Despite this, users can log multiple types of data, including those related to vision and mental health.

Home

The Home app in iOS 17 packs a lot of changes. First, the Settings button on an accessory page now floats in the bottom right corner instead of always being stationary at the bottom of the overview page. Additionally, the HomePod overview screen has received a translucent overhaul that replaces the solid gray background. Now you can also control and set the lighting tone of compatible smart bulbs more precisely, thanks to the redesigned color picker. Not to mention, some home tasks are now archived for 30 days.

Home and Lock screens

The lock screen gets some love with iOS 17, as Apple now allows users to use Live Photos as wallpapers. These photos then come alive every time a user wakes their device. Not to mention that lock screen widgets, similar to those on the home screen, are now interactive. This way you can check compatible apps directly from the Home/Lock screen without having to launch it.

Mail

Autofill support for one-time passwords received via SMS has been an iOS feature for years now, and iOS 17 finally brings this handy offering to the Mail app. So when you receive an access code via an email, the keyboard will now suggest that you auto-fill it in the required field. This saves you the need to launch the Mail app and jump between apps back and forth.

Maps

The Maps app in iOS 17 hasn’t changed much, but a long overdue feature is finally here. You can now download cities for offline navigation in Apple Maps. Once you download a certain area, you’ll be able to navigate through it, view ratings, opening hours, and more without an internet connection.

Messages

The Messages app gets a lot of love in iOS 17, including inline location sharing, a faster reply gesture, and an overhauled app library for dedicated applications in Messages. Also, if someone has shared their location with you in Find My, their current location is shown right below their name and profile photo at the top of the screen in their chat.

Music

The Music app in iOS 17 also comes with some welcome additions. Animated artwork is now more vibrant and bleeds into the controls on the Now Playing screen. And speaking of the Now Playing screen, its minimized version is now rounded and floating above the app tabs. Not to mention that crossfading is now available to iPhone users after the feature made its way to Android a few months ago. Apple also mentioned support for collaborative playlists, but this addition will arrive later this year. Aside from that, Apple has also implemented a dedicated end credits section, where composers and artists are listed, as well as lyrics.

News

In the News app on iOS 17, there’s a new Puzzles section in the Follow tab that features crossword puzzles you can solve. However, the addition is exclusive to paid Apple News+ subscribers.

Notes

The Notes app in iOS 17 lets you link to other notes. This makes it easier to create more detailed databases on your iPhone, so now you can classify different notes and insert links that connect them all. You can also export notes to the Apple Pages app for more advanced features.

Telephone

iOS 17 brings some great features to the Phone app, like Contact Posters and Live Voicemail. Aside from that, the app has still retained its overall UI. However, when viewing a contact, it now shows a larger thumbnail of the assigned profile photo.

Photos

The Photos app has also been updated in iOS 17. In addition to recognizing pets’ faces and grouping them with people, the app now has a revamped editing interface. Also, when you zoom in on a photo, a Crop button appears as a shortcut to quickly enter edit mode and crop the image based on how you’re zooming in.

Podcasts

Podcasts in iOS 17 have also been changed in the Now Playing department. The screen has been overhauled, with a more translucent design similar to Apple Music.

Memorandum

The Reminders app on iOS 17 now supports both List and Column views, allowing you to customize the look of a list however you like. You can also mark a list as a shopping list, which would automatically categorize items based on their type.

Safari

In Safari on iOS 17, you can now lock private tabs with Face ID. The clearing history interface has also been improved and now includes the option to close tabs when clearing browsing data.

Settings

The Settings app on iOS 17 now has a new section for Standby mode and related options. In the Passwords section, there is now an option to create a shared group to share passwords and 2FA codes with other people. In addition, there is a switch to have a message (SMS or email) with a one-time password automatically deleted after entering the code.

Most notably, you can now train your iPhone to speak using your tone, thanks to a new accessibility setting called Self Voice. After a 15-20 minute training session, iOS will learn to replicate your voice and read any text in an imitated tone.

Spotlight search

In iOS 17, Spotlight Search has also been completely revamped, offering more detailed results in a cleaner layout. These changes also include direct switches to control some system settings, such as Energy Saver mode. This saves you the need to hunt down the setting, launch the Settings app, then manually toggle the option.

To translate

iOS 17 redesigns the main tab of the Apple Translate app. It also now supports live translation, so results start appearing as you type, instead of having to type the whole sentence and hit the enter button.

Wallet

On iOS 17, you can set up automatic recurring payments using Apple Cash, which is ideal for parents who want to send their children a daily allowance or for those who use it to pay their monthly rent. You’ll also be able to show your stored ID to companies later this year, allowing you to verify your age without hassle.

Weather

Finally, the Weather app now has a section dedicated to the phases of the moon. This allows you to view its cycle and learn more about its visibility.

Final thoughts

iOS 17 is certainly packed with small changes to most of Apple’s built-in apps alongside much larger ones, and we’ll update this list if we spot more. Despite that, it’s certainly not as significant as last year’s release. Let’s just hope that the iOS 17.x updates introduce some important unannounced changes that make this version more interesting and useful. Otherwise, we’d have to wait for iOS 18 to preview during WWDC24 next June.