Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ibookemo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
392
563
I was looking through the iOS 17 preview page on the Apple site and wondering if there were any big features that actually make the update from iOS 16 really worth it.

I like the sound of the new autocorrect and the new stickers but these seem like smaller, ‘quality of life’ improvements to be honest.

Is iOS 17 just a big collection of these smaller updates? Nice but kinda a very similar experience overall?
 

dcp10

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2010
715
550
Standby is probably the marquee feature at launch for those with always on screens and interactive widgets. Later on, the new Journal app is going to launch. That will probably be a love it or hate it type of thing though. Personally I think iOS 17 looks like a great release when all the smaller improvements are taken as a whole. Def worth the upgrade

Edit: Forgot Live Voicemail. That’s pretty awesome as well.
 

papbot

macrumors 68020
May 19, 2015
2,216
1,044
Standby is probably the marquee feature
That’s really the only feature I’ve seen that appeals to me personally. But since I have an Apple Watch that does this now for me it’s not compelled me to install a beta that at best isn’t too bad at this stage and at worst is still eating some user’s batteries. In the past there were some significant new features that made me comfortable with typical beta bugs but the software is pretty mature by now and it seems to see major new functions/features you need new or newer devices. That’s a long winded way of saying I’m not interested yet.
 

MegaBlue

macrumors 6502
Sep 19, 2022
344
788
Tennessee, United States
Depends on what you consider a “big feature” and how much you care about its usefulness.

There’s more in iOS 17 I’m finding useful than iOS 16. For many people that’s the opposite. You should look at the iOS 17 preview page to get a good look at what’s new and then decide if any of those are “big” features to you.
 

scorpio vega

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2023
1,518
1,929
Raleigh, NC
For me i feel like IOS 17 is a transitional upadate. Not bad by any means but nothing i am dying to have and i think thats why i havent rushed to do the beta.

for me i alway seem to enjoy the S/odd number iphones and the even number IOS updates lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Smoovejayy

oRBIT2002

macrumors regular
Mar 17, 2011
109
25
Gothenburg/Sweden
I consider Standby interesting but I think it's a joke right now in beta anyway.. Since "always on" is not actually "always on" and turns off after awhile anyway... So if I wake up at night, wanna check the clock, I have to actually move to light the screen, seriously... Don't understand why they market it as an "always on" screen when it's obviously not on the iPhone14...
 

one more

macrumors 601
Aug 6, 2015
4,738
6,029
Earth
FWIW, so far iOS 17 has been doing everything iOS 16 could, just better, except for battery life, which is quite a normal thing earlier in the beta cycle.

So, I could reverse your question - are there any real advantages of staying with iOS 16 once iOS 17 comes out?
 

ibookemo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2009
392
563
FWIW, so far iOS 17 has been doing everything iOS 16 could, just better, except for battery life, which is quite a normal thing earlier in the beta cycle.

So, I could reverse your question - are there any real advantages of staying with iOS 16 once iOS 17 comes out?
Stability and app compatibility. Even when the final release come out, 16 will be more stable for quite some time - it’s the same every year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WarmWinterHat

ultra16

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2023
18
14
I've always just planned to get the new OS whenever it drops. It's free software. Unless it's making some huge change that I just can't live with, I'd get the update automatically.
 

twanj

macrumors 65816
Sep 10, 2015
1,176
1,635
Pompano Beach, FL
Not really.

The main things I've seen is the active call UI is a bit different.

UI for apps in Messages is vertical. Hmm not sure if that's an improvement.
 

WarmWinterHat

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2015
2,061
5,792
Offline maps for me, but that's all really. The standby sounds kinda interesting, but I don't charge my iPhone close to me at night (we leave our phones in another room), so I doubt it will be very useful.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

MakaniKai

macrumors member
Jul 26, 2023
90
108
What do you mean by "make the update from iOS 16 really worth it?" What is the downside of updating? All you have to do is click a button and wait 15 minutes, so difficulty shouldn't be a factor. Are you worried about it breaking something?

In other words, why would you not want to update?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.