The announcement of Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset took all the spotlight during the keynote at the annual developer conference. Yet it is the software updates of devices already in millions of pockets that will have the most impact on users' lives.
Available some time after the back-to-school keynote, the new version of the iPhone's operating system, iOS 17, promises some practical advances, especially in the personalization of the star smartphone. Without letting go of the expression, Apple spreads artificial intelligence, "machine learning", in all layers of the software and directly on devices. This is the case of the instant transcription of answering machine messages. Here are others with high potential.
The AI-powered autocorrector
Less misunderstanding and more precision. Correcting hastily typed words will improve and will use the context of the conversation to come up with the best replacement word. This innovation is the result of the implementation of Transformers technology, i.e. AI applied to texts, which allows machines to speak. The algorithms, trained to recognize words and phrases, draw on previous exchanges to suggest corrections. Predictive text generation will also rely on this new resource.
Continuous AirDrop exchange
Exchanging large files (photos or videos) between Apple devices via AirDrop will no longer require being in direct proximity. Until now, it was necessary to be within a radius of 10 m, the range of the Bluetooth signal, to finalize a transfer. On iOS 17, it will be possible to start face-to-face and then the exchange will continue via the Internet through the two iCloud accounts of users.
The NameDrop to exchange coordinates
The exchange of contact cards will become much smoother with NameDrop. DR
Apple's file transfer technology, AirDrop, also tackles the problem of exchanging contact information. No need to ask for a number or an e-mail or to pass his phone to his or her interlocutor to enter his or her information. NameDrop sends a contact card to another iPhone or Apple Watch user. It will be enough to hold them at a short distance to establish the connection in NFC. To preserve privacy, the person who shares or receives will have to validate an exchange request on his iPhone that will vibrate, wants to reassure us Apple. The experience will be similar to sharing a Wi-Fi password that already exists on iOS 16.
"Hey, Siri," it's over
The key phrase for soliciting Apple's voice assistant is evolving. The "Hey, Siri" in English or the "Dis, Siri" in French give way to a more sober "Siri" to awaken the functionality. It was a real technical challenge to shorten the sentence without multiplying the untimely triggers, according to Apple. Practical to control the connected home, the voice assistant should also progress in conversation and especially in efficiency. Siri sometimes struggles to search the Internet while Google Assistant or Alexa do it better.
A diary or diary
The Journal internal application will summarize all the experiences lived over a day. DR
It's been a long time since a new native app, installed by default, had made its way into iOS. With Journal, the Cupertino firm wants to encourage to draw on all the personal experiences of the user (music, photos, places visited ...) to constitute a story of unforgettable days. This smart "app" will not fail, as Photos already does, to suggest good moments to compile or review.
