iOS 17 might be more exciting than expected

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iPhone 14 is the first Apple handset to ditch the physical SIM card tray altogether.
iOS 17 is coming with a lot more features than initially rumored.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
WWDC23

Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 update will be bigger than initially planned. The company reportedly changed its strategy during the development process to add some “nice to have” features to the iPhone operating system.

iOS 17 could pack some long-requested features

Early iOS 17 rumors indicated the update would lack multiple headlining features like iOS 16. Instead, Apple asked the development team to focus on fixing bugs and improving the overall performance.

This made sense, since iOS 16 was a significant release with several new features but was equally buggy. This led to a subpar experience.

In his Power On newsletterBloomberg‘s Mark Gurman says iOS 17 will now pack some “nice to have” features iPhone users have long requested. However, he did not detail what these features could be.

Code-named “Dawn,” iOS 17 will be revealed to the world during Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, which should be held in June.

iOS 17 could allow for sideloading of apps from outside the App Store, as claimed by a previous report. Apple will make this change to comply with new European Union laws designed to reduce the control of tech giants over mobile app stores.

To protect user privacy and security, Apple could establish stringent security requirements for third-party app stores. It also could charge a hefty commission, making them unviable from a financial viewpoint.

iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and more coming at WWDC23

As of now, Apple has not yet announced WWDC23 dates. The invites should go out next week, with the event likely being held in June.

At its yearly developer conference, Apple will showcase iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and the next major release of macOS. The public builds of these OSes should arrive around September after a few months of beta testing.

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