With each of Apple’s newest iPhone releases comes updated apps, additional features, and brand-new ways of using your phone. The new batch of features in iOS 17 has a little bit of something for everyone: bright new contact posters, live transcriptions, and big improvements to the Health app in tracking personal mental health.
So, what are the best new features in iOS 17? Read on to find out.
Contact Posters
Perhaps the most noticeable change in iOS 17 is the introduction of Contact Posters, aka the way you’ll show up in your contacts phones. Apple’s automatic presets make the process of putting one together quite fun, from their color settings to the different font options. One pro tip would be to use a photo that’s high resolution or not super busy so that it clearly shows your face.
In order to set this up, navigate to “Contacts” and then click your own contact at the top. From there, you’ll be prompted to choose a photo, colors, and fonts. You can also choose whether or not you want to blast this out to all of your contacts or choose which contacts can see it. You can also set up individual contact posters for any contact you’d like. Nothing extra is needed to enable this feature once iOS17 has been installed.
Stickers
For anyone who used to have actual sticker book collections they meticulously took care of, you’re going to like this one. Apple has introduced stickers, which you can easily make from photos — and live photos. All you need to do is select your photo and the phone will automatically crop the picture into a sticker.
From there, you can add sticker-like qualities to it, like making it puffy or sparkly (hello, my sticker-loving childhood). Now you can drag and drop the stickers anywhere on the text conversation, so this new update will certainly light up the group chat.
The ability to make stickers is automatic once iOS 17 is installed.
Live Transcription
For those of us who are averse to answering the phone, now you literally don’t have to. Apple’s iOS 17 offers live voicemail transcription as the person is leaving the voicemail. Relatedly, if you’re somewhere quiet where you can’t listen to voice messages, those are now automatically transcribed, too. It’s an AI world, and we’re just living in it.
Turn on live voicemails by navigating to “Settings,” then “Phone,” and then toggle “Live Voicemail” on.
Check-in Feature
Bringing piece of mind to worriers everywhere is Apple’s new Check In feature. To use it, you’ll let it know the address of where you’re going and how long it will take you to get there and send it to a contact. If you don’t arrive to the location in the allotted time, your phone will ask if you’re okay. If you don’t respond, it will tell your contact that it hasn’t heard from you and send the latest location you were tracked.
Access this feature by clicking the plus sign to the left of where you’d type in a text. Scroll down to the “Check In” feature, select it, and then hit “Edit” to add the address and time ETA of where you’re going.
State of Mind Reflection
A new and beautifully designed feature within Apple’s Health app is the new State of Mind reflection. To use it, you’ll select whether you want to track your mood at that very moment or of the full day. From there, it’ll take you to a place where you can toggle between a wide state of moods ranging from “Very Unpleasant” to “Very Pleasant,” which is clearly half the fun of the entire idea! Once the mood is selected, it’ll prompt you to give more information about the feelings you’re experiencing.
To access this feature, navigate to your Health app and select “State of Mind.”
Offline Maps
Last (but not least), Apple Maps now has a downloadable map feature. Now you won’t have to worry if you’re out of service while on a hike in the mountains — or underground between subway stations.
To use it, type in your destination and click “More.” From there, you can select “Download Map” and set the selected area to download. As long as you’re on speedy wifi, it’ll be downloaded in a snap.
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