Những lý do lớn nhất để nâng cấp lên iOS 17 và iPadOS 17

After an official reveal at Apple’s 2023 Worldwide Developer’s Conference in June, and a public beta release in early July, both iOS 17 for the iPhone and iPadOS 17 for the iPad officially launch today, Sept. 18.

The upgrades are completely free, but not every iPhone or iPad user will get them. The cut-off for iOS 17 compatibility is the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and the 2nd generation iPhone SE. If your iPhone is older than those models, it might be worth considering an upgrade to the iPhone 15.

As for the iPad, the oldest models compatible with iPadOS 17 are the 1st generation iPad Pro, the 3rd generation iPad Air, the 6th generation iPad and the 5th generation iPad mini.

How to upgrade to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17?

For both updates, you can upgrade under Settings > General > Software Update. Alternately, if you have automatic updates turned on, the upgrade should roll out to your device on its own.

So what do you get with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17? Here are the most compelling reasons to upgrade.

What are the best new features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17?

A new feature called StandBy expands the usefulness of the iPhone, automatically turning on when the phone is charging, positioned sideways and not laying flat.

Instead of simply displaying a basic digital clock, StandBy turns iPhone models with an always-on screen into temporary smart displays, similar to the Google Nest Hub. Phones in StandBy gain access to customizable widgets showing everything from photo slideshows, to what music is playing, to when your food delivery is expected to arrive. Phones without an always-on screen also have access to StandBy, but will need to be tapped to bring it up.

For those who go out of their way to avoid using their smartphone as a phone, iOS 17 introduces Live Voicemail, which displays a live transcript of an incoming call as it is being sent to voicemail. If the call seems important, the user can pick up the call right away. It’s the modern equivalent of call screening, allowing users to make decisions based on more than a phone number.

Video callers also get something in iOS 17. For the first time, the iPhone will now allow video messages to be sent over FaceTime.

The iPhone will feel more personalized with iOS 17, too, thanks to new interactive home screen widgets allowing users to control smart home devices through the Home app without actually having to open it. And when iPhone users call other iPhone users running iOS 17, the call will pop-up with a Contact Poster featuring customized text and imagery, and not just the caller’s name or number.

A new Journal app will give iPhone users a place to collect thoughts and reflections, and should they be at a loss as to what to write about one day, machine learning (Apple refuses to call it AI) will make intelligent suggestions based on recent photos, locations, friends that have been contacted recently and even workouts.

Under iOS 17, AirTags can be shared with up to five people, allowing an entire family to keep tabs on the dog’s location, while Screen Time goes one step further by leveraging the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera to ensure users are keeping their devices at least 12 inches away from their face during social media binges.

IOS 17 finally gives Apple Maps the ability to download specific regions of a map to a device locally, so that in the event your travels wander into areas with poor cellular coverage, directions and locations are still accessible while offline.

Even the iPhone’s autocorrect, a critical feature for a device with a software keyboard, is being improved with more accuracy, inline predictive text suggestions and expanded grammar corrections.

iMessage will now allow photo cutouts to be turned into shareable stickers; a feature that will also work with Live Photos (allowing the short videos to be turned into animated stickers that definitely won’t annoy your friends). iMessage users can also share their current location with someone they’re messaging with, and can initiate a Check In that lets friends and family know when they have safely made it to a destination.

Updates to Apple Music will make road trips more enjoyable through Collaborative Playlists, allowing multiple iPhone users to contribute tracks and control what’s playing next, even if only one person in the car is subscribed to the streaming service.

And if you’ve ever skipped asking Siri for help because you didn’t have the energy to muster up both a “hey” and a “Siri” to get the smart assistant’s attention, iOS 17 now lets you skip the “hey” altogether. Simply saying “Siri” will now activate the assistant.

What are the best new features coming to the iPad with iPadOS 17?

Although Apple split iOS into two distinct operating systems four years ago, most of the iPhone’s new software features carry over to Apple’s tablet every year. With iPadOS 17, that includes iOS 17 upgrades such as interactive widgets on the home screen, collaborative Apple Music playlists, location sharing in iMessage and offline Apple Maps.

iPhone-specific iOS features, like Live Voicemail, won’t be coming to iPadOS 17. But for the first time, Apple’s Health app will be available on the iPad under iPadOS 17, featuring a more spacious design and a layout that takes advantage of the tablet’s larger screen.

As the iPad continues to expand its capabilities as a productivity tool, iPadOS’ Stage Manager mode also now allows for more flexibility when it comes to adjusting the size and positioning of windows, so your tablet can (optionally) feel and functions more like a laptop when managing apps.

For video callers, iPadOS 17 will allow a USB-C connected device’s camera to be used for FaceTime or even other video call apps. Users can use the camera built into a desktop monitor, for example, or even opt for a mirrorless camera with a better lens, allowing them to softly defocus everything behind them.