iOS 17: Set Up on your iPhone

It’s a breeze to install iOS 17 on your device. Just do what we say:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Tap General
3. Tap Software Update

The current iOS version will be displayed here, along with an update notification if one is available. Either “Install Now” or “Download and Install” will appear depending on whether the update was downloaded in the background but not yet implemented.

If you want to install and upgarde iOS 17, just follow the on-screen directions. It will take a few minutes to download, validate, and apply, and you may need to agree to the terms and conditions again. The iPhone will then restart, and you’ll see a series of welcome screens that detail the additional capabilities you’ve just unlocked.

Here at How to Update to iOS 17, we offer more details on installing iOS 17 and fixing any problems that may arise.

iOS 17 Compatibility: Which phones can run the latest software?

The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X will not be compatible with iOS 17. However, they can all run iOS 16, so they should continue to receive upgrades and security support for at least another year. The following iPhones can update to iOS 17, albeit not all of them will have access to all of the new features:

• iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE(2nd gen or later)

Even if your chosen device is granted another year of software support, it’s worth noting that older iPhones may not get the full range of new features. In 2022, for example, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X missed out on a bunch of cool stuff due to their older processor. For more information take a look at every version of iOS released so far and find out which version of iOS your iPhone supports.

iOS 17: Features

What’s new in iOS 17?

iOS 16 included various changes, including as a revamped Lock Screen, the ability to unsend iMessages, and the iCloud Shared Photo Library. Despite early whispers that there will be “fewer major changes than usual,” Apple revealed a slew of exciting new additions to the update at WWDC 2023, which we will detail below.

However, not all of the updated functions were accessible right away. At least five features in iOS 17 were not ready for release, including Internet-based AirDrop, the Journal app, collaborative Apple Music playlists, hotel-room AirPlay, and the ability to drop a user’s name to their Apple Watch. A software upgrade “later this year” will bring these functions.

• JOURNAL

This brand-new app expands upon the functionality of Memories in Photos to provide a novel means of reliving happy times, documenting travels and other adventures with words, maps, and pictures. The Suggestions Application Programming Interface (API) is also available.

To be released ‘later this year’ in a subsequent update.

• STANDBY

This looks like it was inspired by the Apple Watch. At night, you may observe the time with a clock and several different clock faces by placing your phone in landscape orientation on a stand. You may also check Live Activities, such as gaming results, display widgets, and randomly view your greatest images. To reduce nighttime eye strain, select the Night Mode and the text will be displayed in red. What happened to alarm clocks? It’s roughly the same.

• CONTACT POSTERS

Since your friends’ Contacts will include your personalised contact card, this will give you more control over how you come across in calls and on your contact card. Create a one-of-a-kind poster by selecting your own colors, fonts, and photos. This is compatible with Call Kit, allowing its use with alternative VOIP software.

• LIVE VOICEMAIL

If someone calls and leaves a message you will see a live transcript as they speak. That way you can see if you want to pick up or not.

• FACETIME

Apple is updating the FaceTime software so that users can now record a video message to send to those who don’t respond to their calls.

The Apple TV will also function as a receiver for incoming FaceTime calls.

• MESSAGES

You’ll notice a speed boost in the Messages app, and you’ll be able to refine your searches with the help of filters. In addition, audio messages can be automatically transcribed, and you can swipe anywhere on a bubble to respond.

In addition, the new Check-In function will inform loved ones of your safe arrival at your location. If you aren’t making any headway toward your goal, the messages will notice and ask you to take action. If you don’t, it will send your current location, battery life, and cell service status to the chosen contact.

• RING TONES and TEXT TONES

Dollop, Kettle, Scavenger, Steps, Storytime, Unfold, and Valley are just a few of the twenty-four new Ringtones available with iOS 17. Select Ringtone in Sounds & Haptics to make modifications to the ringtone.

The text colors Cheers, Droplet, Portal, Slide, and Welcome are new additions. You’ll find them under the Text Tone section of the Sounds & Haptics menu.

• STICKERS

In iOS 17, all emoji appear as resizable stickers. Stickers featuring subjects from images are possible. Live Stickers are live, animated pictures.

• AIRDROP

Apple is updating AirDrop so that it’s easier to use. Simply placing your phones in close proximity to one another will enable communication. On an iPhone or Apple Watch, you may quickly and easily select the contact information you’d like to reveal. To easily share images, for instance, simply place your phones in close proximity to one another.

The option to initiate an AirDrop in person and then leave before the transfer is complete, with the transfer completed over the Internet, is another feature coming in a future version.

A future version will enable AirDrop to be used over the web.

• NAMEDROP

NameDrop is a new addition that works with AirDrop and makes it simple to share contact details. You no longer have to accidentally call a new friend multiple times merely to exchange numbers.

• KEYBOARD AND DICTATION

Autocorrect will be “more accurate than ever.” Tap the underlined word to get the option to revert to the word you had typed. You can get predictions in line as you type and just tap the space bar to add them. Machine learning will also learn your writing style and adapt autocorrect accordingly. Additionally, Dictation leverages a new speech recognition model to make it even more accurate.

• Hey SIRI

Saying “Hey” to activate Siri is now unnecessary. Siri’s improved accuracy and semantic understanding are thanks to the new transformer model that underpins both dictation and autocorrect. Multiple requests can be made in a single command.

• PHOTOS

The People album in iOS 17 will be able to use on-device machine learning to recognize “more photos of a user’s favorite people” as well as cats and dogs.

• APPLE MUSIC

Apple Music will eventually receive an upgrade that allows users to share and collaborate on playlists. Your friends will be able to add songs to, delete songs from, and rearrange songs in your shared playlists.

To be added in a future revision.

Smaller features

Improvements to Spotlight search, Notes, Autofill, and Apple Music, see: How to create and adjust crossfade in Apple Music, are just a few of the many smaller things that Apple didn’t highlight in the keynote but are nonetheless worth knowing about.

• APPLE ID PASSKEY

Passkey support was first mentioned in iOS 16, but it doesn’t really take off until iOS 17. In iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, you can use Face ID or Touch ID on your iPhone as a passkey to sign in to your Apple ID instead of entering a password.

iOS 17: Third-party app stores and sideloading

The iPhone has been the subject of much speculation leading up to this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) about whether or not Apple will “open it up” with iOS 17, allowing app distribution outside the App Store, NFC for touchless payments beyond Apple Pay, browsers without Apple’s Webkit rendering engine, and more. The new Digital Markets Act of the European Union mandates it, and it will likely only affect iPhones running iOS 17 in EU member states.

As was to be expected, Apple made no mention of the updates during WWDC. Sideloading and other app stores are not mentioned on the iOS 17 website. Perhaps those alterations will still be present in iOS 17 in 2024, when it finally debuts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to “How To Install iOS 17 On Your iPhone”;

1. What is the latest iOS?

• The latest iOS is Apple’s iOS 17 and it was launched on September 18, 2023.

2. What are the iOS 17 features?

• Phone, Messages, and FaceTime get major upgrades in iOS 17 that let you express yourself while communicating. When you charge iPhone on its side, StandBy provides a fresh full-screen experience with glanceable information for distant viewing.

3. What devices are not supported by iOS 17?

• Unfortunately, iOS 17 requires the A12 Bionic or later processor. This means that the update will not be available on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X.

4. Is iOS 17 beta out?

• The first Public Beta was released on July 12, and corresponds with the same build as Developer Beta 3. The final release is on September 18. Update 09/12/23: The release candidate of iOS 17 is now available to beta testers.

5. Is iOS 17 update safe?

• Today, iPhones get Apple’s long-awaited iOS 17 upgrade with new and improved security features. Some of the new capabilities safeguard iPhone users who are more vulnerable to cyberattacks and spyware, such as journalists, activists, and human rights defenders.

6. Will iOS 17 slow down iPhone 13?

• Just because your iPhone supports iOS 17 doesn’t necessarily mean the new OS will run smoothly on your device.

7. Is there new Emojis on iOS 17?

• The Future of Emoji iOS 17 Update: Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix, More. Last week, Apple announced new iPhone models while the Unicode Consortium approved additional emoji characters for smartphones starting in 2024.

8. Is it safe to update to iOS 17?

• First-release software often has bugs. However, Apple published a public beta of iOS 17, so many major issues are likely resolved. Thus, upgrading immediately is safe for average folks.

9. What is the meaning of iOS 17?

• iOS 17 is Apple’s seventeenth and current major iPhone OS version, succeeding iOS 16. Apple unveiled it during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2023, and released it on September 18, 2023. iOS version 17.

10. How do I AirDrop Contacts on iOS 17?

• Enable NameDrop on Your iPhone
  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Go to General → AirDrop.
  3. Toggle on “Bringing Devices Together.”

These FAQs should provide readers with a better understanding of “iOS 17” and how to enjoy this new Apple update.