Apple is finally ready to release iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10 to the public. The stable build of these OSs will drop Monday for all compatible iPhones and iPads.
But exactly when will the iOS 17 update show up on your iPhone? After all, you might want to be the first in your group to install the new operating system and take advantage of new features like Standby. Find out the iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10’s release time in your area in our list below.
Shortly after today’s announcements, Apple pushed out the release candidates for iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10. These operating systems will all be available on Monday, September 18.
macOS Sonoma has a later release date of September 26 and did not receive a release candidate today. Update: The macOS Sonoma release candidate is now out.
There are two important PSAs for developers: The release candidate of Xcode 15 does not support the visionOS SDK. App submissions for the new operating systems are now open, though.
iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS Sonoma finally have a release date. The OSes have been in beta testing since WWDC23 this year.
Apple announced the official release dates of the next major iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS releases at its ‘Wonderlust’ event.
iOS 17 brings with it a lot of new features to the apps you use to communicate every day: iMessage, FaceTime — and last and certainly least — Phone. If you’re trying to call someone and have a missed connection, you have many more options for leaving them a message to pick up later. Changes to iMessage bring small but impactful improvements to stickers, threaded replies and sharing your ETA.
iOS 17 is out now. If you bought a new iPhone 15, you’ve got it already. Otherwise, head over to Settings > General > Software Update to get it. Upgrading may take about 20 minutes after downloading, so make sure you don’t start it at a bad time.
Apple continues beta testing iOS 17, with the seventh beta dropping on August 22nd. As the beta program has progressed, the company has made fewer and fewer user-facing changes to new builds.
It’s the same story with iOS 17 beta 7, which hardly packs any meaningful changes or improvements. Below is everything new in the latest iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 beta.
The launch of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 is drawing close, as the many steps of beta testing for these operating systems are almost finished. The same holds true for tvOS 17, and watchOS 10 is nearly as close. Apple likely will release them all in September.
macOS Sonoma, however, isn’t expected to debut until later.
Apparently responding to online criticism, Apple returned the End Call button to a central location in iOS 17. Previously, Apple moved the button to the right side of the Phone application.
That change proved controversial, and Apple reversed it in the sixth iOS 17 beta recently seeded to developers.
The second iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 public betas became available Monday so anyone who wants to start tinkering with the new features can try these well before the autumn release.
Among the more significant changes in iOS are personalized contact posters in the Phone app, home screen widgets go interactive, and autocorrect is smarter. iPadOS gets many of those same features, as well as signifi can’t Lock screen improvements.
Want to try the changes out for yourself? We’ll show you how.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Not all iPhone rumors prove exciting. In fact, a big one this week — possible iPhone 15 price hikes — sounds downright depressing. But it’s not all bad news. The “normie” iPhone 15 might get some trickle-down camera tech that could make it easier not to go Pro this year.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest iPhone 15 rumors paint a somewhat troubling picture. This year’s models might look a lot like last year’s models, which already seemed pretty darn familiar. Plus, is that camera hump really going to get even bigger? And will we once again revert to non-parity between Pro models, so you have to go ridiculously large to get the best features? Oh dear …
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple just gave the general public access to the latest iOS 17 beta, but before you put it on your iPhone, the Cult of Mac staff has some warnings. We’ve used the betas for weeks, and while it’s gone well for some people, it’s been a dumpster fire for others.
Public betas for macOS Sonoma and iPadOS 17 are also available, and we also have comments for anyone thinking of putting those on their Mac or iPad.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Those EU technocrats plan to force Apple (and everybody else) to make batteries in their devices easier to replace. The specifics remain vague. But is forcing changes to the iPhone and iPad design a good thing or a bad thing?
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
A long-requested feature is finally coming to iOS 17: interactive widgets. With these, you can control apps on the device directly from the convenience of the home screen.
iOS 17 is still in beta so not everyone has access to the new feature yet. I do, so here is what it’s like to use it on an iPhone (and iPad, too.)
iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma are not big upgrades. However, they will bring plenty of little improvements that add up to a better experience on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Despite that, Apple dropped support for some older iPhones, iPads and Macs with its upcoming OS releases.
That’s only part of the disappointment equation, though. Several new features won’t work on older Apple gear, even though the devices can run the new operating systems.
Many of the new features in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 that won’t make it to older iPhones and iPads will go missing primarily because they are very resource-hungry. As for Macs, several macOS Sonoma features won’t come to Intel-based machines. This is sort of a given, since Apple switched to in-house chips that deliver better performance while maintaining ruthless power efficiency. The list of features not available on Intel Macs will only expand over time until Apple eventually drops support for them altogether.
Now that you the reasons for the omissions, here’s a rundown of new features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma that won’t work on older devices.
Our password-free future just took a step closer. Apple has begin rolling out signing onto its online store can with a passkey instead of a password. The change allows shoppers to access the site with Face ID or Touch ID. The same is true for iCloud.com and Apple’s dev site.
However, the feature is still in testing so it’s not available for everyone. It requires a beta of iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma.
Apple finally plans to make playing music from third-party sources easier on HomePods. Starting with iOS 17, you can ask Siri to play music on your HomePod from music apps installed on your iPhone.
Despite Apple providing the necessary apps, only a handful of music streaming services natively support HomePod. This change from Apple in iOS 17 is an excellent workaround to this problem.
iOS 17 has a lot of great headlining features — and many more features Apple didn’t have time to mention during the WWDC23 keynote. Today, I’m going one level deeper: Here are 10 more tweaks and smaller changes that could have a big impact on daily life with your iPhone after you update to iOS 17.
Apple is bringing Lockdown Mode to the Apple Watch with watchOS 10. The “extreme” protection security measure debuted on the iPhone and Mac with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura in 2022.
Designed for individuals at high risk of cyberattacks and malware, the mode imposes several restrictions on your Apple Watch’s functionality.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first impressions of Apple’s just-unveiled Vision Pro headset leave us mind = blown. Still, no matter how vivid the VR is … or how flawless the visionOS user interface is … or how “natural” the headset looks to be … can anything justify its $3,499 price tag?
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!)
This year, WWDC delivered an avalanche of new hardware as well as the usual major planned software releases — and the latter is already showing up in computer setups while the hardware hasn’t shipped yet.
Today’s featured setup may be all about its MacBook Pro, iPad and fine external monitor, but you can’t miss the brand-new, unreleased functionality showing up on another screen on display in the photograph.
Apple is fixing one of the biggest annoyances of Apple Maps on iOS 17. You can finally download maps for offline use, complete with turn-by-turn directions.
Google Maps has long offered the ability to download maps for offline use. This allows you to use the app for navigation even when not in network range.
Apple is souping up the systems for entering text into iPhone with iOS 17. Autocorrect is getting enhanced with AI for fewer typos, as part of multiple improvements to what Apple calls “intelligent input.” And Dictation is getting a boost that promises more-accurate voice recognition, too.
I tested the changes in the first iOS 17 beta. Here’s how well they work … so far.
Apple has made its OS developer beta builds free to download. You can now enroll in the Apple Developer Program for free.
This will allow you to download the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS beta for free. Previously, Apple made the download available for developers who paid the yearly $99 subscription fees.
Sharing your contact information and more with people will get easier with new AirDrop functionality in iOS 17. A new feature called NameDrop makes it about as simple as knocking iPhones together.
“Today, you either hand your phone to them, or one of you dictates your information while the other types it. Now there’s a better way,” said Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi during Monday’s WWDC23 keynote. “Now you can just bring your phones close together.”
WWDC23’s keynote wasn’t just about big OS and hardware releases. It also brought some fun stuff — like new sticker functionality coming to the Messages app and beyond.
Using Messages on your iPhone (and perhaps elsewhere), you should be able to liven up your texting by turning any emoji, photo subject or even Live Photo (short video) into a sticker you can drag into any text bubble — or anywhere you use emoji.