Apple will unveil iOS 17 at its annual WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC).
This will take place online from June 5 to June 9.
The event
On June 5, the traditional first-day keynote will take place, and that’s where the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS will be introduced.
It will be an online event but developers and students will have the opportunity to celebrate in person at a special experience at Apple Park on opening day on June 5.
Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations, said: “WWDC23 is going to be our biggest and most exciting yet, and we can’t wait to see many of you online and in person at this very special event”.
Along with announcements shared from the keynote and State of the Union presentations, this year’s online program will include sessions, one-on-one labs, and opportunities to engage with Apple engineers and other developers.
Challenge for student devs
Student developers can take part in the Swift Student Challenge, an Apple program that seeks to elevate developers and learners of all ages who love to code.
The program has a dedicated app for iPad and Mac, Swift Playgrounds that makes learning the Swift programming language interactive and engaging.
Students from around the world are invited to create an app playground on a topic of their choice.
They can submit their work through April 19.
User-requested features to make appearance?
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reported that iOS 17 may actually bring several of the “most requested features” to iOS.
Based on feature requests over the years from the community, here are some things that could be added.
Multiple timers
Until now a user can only have one timer going on the iPhone at once.
Even with iOS 16, you can only have one timer on the iPhone.
Users have been clamoring for multiple timers for years, so if Apple really is going to add some of the “most requested features,” this may be one of them.
Individual volume control settings
This is an edge Android has over iOS.
For example, when you activate the volume rocker on an android phone, you can tap the volume slider to expand it into individual sliders for system, alerts, ringtone, and media.
With iOS 17 Apple may be trying to play catchup.
Currently, when you press the volume buttons, it only adjusts the overall volume.
However, in order to change the ringtone and alert volume on iOS one has to do so independently by going into Sound & Haptics in the Settings.
Improved notification management
Another point goes to Android here, which offers much more granular control over the kind of notifications you get from an app.
With iOS, it’s pretty much an all-or-nothing approach- if you allow notifications on iOS, you get notifications for everything in an app.
The method of pushing notifications heavily involves banners, which becomes annoying to deal with since it involves grouping of all notification banners together on the lock screen and Notification Center, aka stack.
Meanwhile on Android, each app’s notifications are presented in an agenda-like list view, which is to the point and saves space.
Sideloading apps outside of the App Store
This is another popular request from the iOS community.
After Apple’s struggle with European antitrust laws, iOS 17 may finally allow sideloading apps from other digital storefronts besides its own App Store.
This could be the first time iPhone users can get apps on the iPhone through alternative app stores, instead of just Apple’s.
Another change that may come in compliance with European regulations which require a common charger for all electronics, as rumors suggest, is that the iPhone 15 will finally move to USB-C based charging.
Allow placing app icons anywhere
iOS users are unable to place app icons on the home screen anywhere they want.
On Android, however, users can place apps anywhere they like on the grid, like on the bottom, where it’s easier to access one-handed.
With the latest OS, Apple may finally grant that freedom from having to forcibly move from left to right, top to bottom.
Subject to change
Do note that this is all speculation and the final product may vary.
The final result remains to be seen with WWDC just around the corner.