iOS 17 hands-on experience, several new features are pretty good, upgrade methods are included!

Yesterday morning, Apple finally released the iOS 17 system, and the first developer test version has been pushed. The editor upgraded to iOS 17 Beta 1 yesterday and experienced it for a day. Here are some iOS 17 update features and changes summarized by the editor.

01Widgets support interaction

After upgrading to iOS 17, the home screen widgets finally support interaction. There is no need to jump to the app, you can perform the corresponding operations by simply clicking.

02Standby mode

After upgrading to iOS 17, a new [Standby Mode] was added. When it is turned on, when the iPhone is charging and placed horizontally, it will display the time, widgets, etc. in full screen, allowing your iPhone to have a smart screen. The overall design is still very good.

03Contact Person

After the update, you can set photos and posters for contacts individually. Similar to the lock screen interface, you can add photos or emoticons, and you can also choose to automatically sync your settings to others.

After the settings are successful, incoming calls can be displayed all day long, but this function is not smooth enough at present, after all, it is only the Beta 1 version.

04 Information

The upgrade of iOS 17 in the message application is more like WeChat. After the update, when you open the message, the menu button has been moved to the left. Clicking the menu button can directly send the location to the other party or share the location. This function has a bit of that flavor.

iOS 17 also has an interesting new feature, which is that it supports adding cutouts directly to stickers. You can use it directly when sending messages, and it also supports adding it to pictures when editing pictures.

05Lock screen changes

After the update, the thickness of the time font can now be adjusted when editing the lock screen.

The astronomy wallpapers have also been upgraded, and kaleidoscope style wallpapers have been added.

The above are some of the most intuitive changes after upgrading to iOS 17. Personally, I prefer the newly added [Standby Mode], which is more practical compared to other functions.

06Supported models

Please note that this year's iOS 17 no longer supports iPhone X and older models. The supported models are as follows:

How to upgrade to iOS 17

Since the beta version upgrade mechanism was changed starting with iOS 16.4, many users are unable to detect beta version update pushes even if they have installed the iOS 16 beta version description file. If users want to experience it, they can only wait for the public beta version or the official version.

iOS 17 Beta 1 has been released, but the method of installing the beta version and sending the file upgrade is no longer useful. If you want to experience the developer beta version, you need to join the Apple Developer Program for $99 a year. What should you do if you don’t want to spend money but want to experience the developer beta version? The following editor will share with you the free upgrade method.

First, copy the link (https://developer.apple.com/ios/) and open it in the Safari browser. On the login interface, click [Create your Apple ID now]. If your Apple ID is in the US region, you can log in directly. When creating it, you need to select the United States as the region. Creating an Apple ID here is not complicated and can basically be done.

Then press Upgrade to complete the Apple ID registration, finally check the box to agree to the relevant agreements of the Apple Beta Software Program, and click the [Submit] button.

After completing the above operations, open [Settings-General-Beta Version Update-Switch to iOS 17 Developer Beta], then return to the previous page, and you can see the update push for iOS 17.

If it still doesn't work, you can go directly to the Apple Store and search for [Apple Developer] to download it. After downloading, open the software, log in to your Apple ID in the account, and then return to the software update to refresh the interface.