Over the past several months, we’ve assumed that the next iOS release will be lighter on features and heavier on performance improvements and bug fixes. But a new report suggests that might not be the case—in fact, iOS 17 might be the most exciting release in years.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Apple moved forward from its initial strategy for iOS 17, which initially “focused more on fixing bugs and improving performance than adding new features.” Now, he reports, Apple is all about new features, and iOS 17 is “expected to boast many ‘nice’ features” when it arrives this fall.
While he didn’t reveal what those features will be, he says they are among the “most requested features” by iPhone users. It’s not hard to make a list of features we’ve loved over the years — like multi-user, custom icons, multiple timers, multitasking, media, and separate volume controls for calls — but Gurman says the features starting with iOS 17 will be smaller. “Not a tentacle improvement like last year’s updated lock screen.”
But it’s still an intriguing concept and makes the wait for iOS 17 that much harder. Although Apple has yet to officially announce the dates, it will showcase the next version of iOS at the WWDC keynote event this June ahead of its full release this fall. Gurman did not specify whether iPadOS 17 and macOS 14, which will debut at WWDC, will have the same strategy.
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