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iOS 17 - Top 5 Features + How to use them!

12:59 video

iOS 17 has some amazing new features. I didn’t want to do a full overview, but here are my five favorites and how to use them.

1. Offline Maps

In Maps, you can download an entire city or even a bigger area for offline use. If you lose your internet connection, you still get businesses, streets and directions.

  1. Tap your profile at the bottom right → Offline Maps → Download New Map.
  2. By default it uses your location; I chose Dallas, Texas. At the bottom you see the estimated size (about 490 MB) and can enlarge or shrink the area to match where you usually drive, say Dallas into Fort Worth. The size grows as you add more.
  3. Tap Download.

On this screen, you can also add more maps for multiple offline areas, choose Wi-Fi only or cellular, turn on automatic updates, Optimize Storage (removes maps you don’t use), and select Only Use Offline Maps, if your internet is flaky or unreliable.

With offline only selected, there’s an outline around the downloaded area, and you get detail inside it. I searched for a Wendy’s nearby, got locations, hours, address and phone number, and full turn-by-turn directions. This should be good in rural areas where internet is spotty, or urban areas with cellular disruption.

Pitaka sponsored this video, with its MagEZ Case 3: the thinnest, lightest MagSafe-compatible aramid-fiber case, made with fibers like those in aerospace, woven into a case Pitaka says is five times stronger and five times lighter than steel, with built-in camera protection. I like its minimalist look and feel, and mine is the Overture design.

2. Interactive widgets

Widgets are now interactive. What we have is basic, so we’ll rely on third parties for great ideas, but you can already play and pause a podcast from the widget (I tried John Gruber’s The Talk Show), turn Home lights on and off without opening the Home app, interact with Shortcuts, and check off Reminders right from the home screen. Tap and hold a widget → Edit to choose what’s in it, or let Apple pick recommended ones.

3. Dictation

Siri finally does a decent job with dictation. It’s struggled for years; I swear Google had this down back in 2015 when I used Android. Punctuation is still a bit tricky and doesn’t always come out right, but I can actually use it now. Before, I’d spend more time fixing Siri’s mistakes than typing the message. Thanks, Apple.

4. Shared passwords

Finally, you can share passwords with family, friends or any group you create. When my family shares a Hulu account, we can all have the same password without me AirDropping it or redoing it every time it changes.

  1. In Passwords, tap + → New Shared Group, and confirm you trust the people you’re sharing with.
  2. Choose people from your contacts (they have to be in your contacts) and name the group.
  3. Choose existing passwords to move in, and notify them by Messages.

You’ll see “My Passwords” and your shared group. To move one, open the password, change the Group, and tap Move to Group; a sharing icon appears. If you break up with your significant other or kick someone out, move individual passwords back to your own group, or delete the group via Manage, which moves its passkeys and passwords back to your private group.

5. StandBy

An ambient display mode when your iPhone is charging on MagSafe in landscape. There are three options:

  • Widgets: two sides, where you tap and hold to add widgets, the same as for the Home Screen.
  • Photos: cycle through albums like Featured, Nature, Pets, Cities and People. Tap and hold to choose which are available.
  • Clock: analog, digital, world clock and more, customizable (I like a color that’s easy on the eyes). It’s been my nightstand for the last couple of months.

It works best on an iPhone 14 Pro or newer, with the always-on display detecting motion and turning off when it stops. On a regular 14 or older, StandBy turns off after 30 seconds and you have to tap to bring it back.

In Settings → StandBy: turn it on or off, Always On (display turns off when you’re not looking; turn it off to act like an older iPhone), Night Mode (a really dim, dark red display when lights are off, easy on your eyes), Motion to Wake (the display turns on if you move around in bed, then off), and whether to show notifications or hide them until tapped.

Bonus: AirDrop over the internet

If you start an AirDrop transfer, say a large file, and move away from the other person, it’ll continue over the internet through iCloud. It’s not available yet but coming later this year, and it’s one I’m really looking forward to.

What are your favorite iOS 17 features?

In this video

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