iOS 17 to start rolling out today: Journal app, playlist collab features won’t be included for now

A week after Apple officially announced the iPhone 15 series and the iOS 17, the software update is scheduled to start arriving in iPhone XS and above from today. The iOS 17 was unveiled during the WWDC 2023 in June and has been available to beta testers for the past few weeks.

The software update brings features like Standby Mode, Name Drop, new widgets, and more. But those who are too excited for the new looks and everything else, hold your horses because not everything is going to be made available in the September 18 release.

Apple is going to take some more weeks or months to fine-tune a few of the features in iOS 17. The future builds, namely iOS 17.1 and iOS 17.2 are already under testing internally and should arrive in the near future.

For now, let’s see what are the top features of iOS 17 and what’s delayed:

iOS 17 will introduce StandBy Mode, which is a new full-screen view that will show information like a clock, calendar, photos, weather, music playback control, and widgets on a charging iPhone.

An interesting feature called NameDrop will let users share contact information with each other by simply bringing their iPhones close together.

The update will also include Contact Posters that will allow users to choose what their contacts see when they call. iOS 17 will also roll out live voicemail and silence of unknown callers in select regions.

The fan-favorite FaceTime app will receive features such as audio/video messages, and 3D video effects. It will also add the ability to start FaceTime calls on Apple TV.

Apple is holding on to some features like the Journal app. The app will offer iPhone users a platform to record their daily experiences and memories. Users will be able to go beyond texts and be able to include photos, music, and even audio recordings.

Also Read: iPhone 15 is yesterday’s news, here’s what iPhone 16 is going to be about

Another feature that will be rolled out later is Collaborative Playlists in Apple Music. This feature will enable users to collaboratively add, reorder, and delete songs in a shared playlist. The aim is to make Apple Music a more social and interactive app.

In a later update, the AirDrop service will break free from physical proximity. The update will allow users to share content even if they are out of the AirDrop range, as long as both sender and recipient are logged into an iCloud account.

Apple ID proximity sign-in will also be possible in a later update which will allow sign-in with a trusted iPhone or iPad when setting up a new Apple device.