Anonymous-AS, a MacRumors forum user who recently popped up with a number of intriguing leaks about upcoming Apple products, posted a Twitter thread detailing many aspects and features of iOS 17, the iPhone operating system. which is due to be unveiled at WWDC in June. 5.
The thread of 10 messages from @analyst941 contains 15 separate iOS 17 predictions, which they claim come from a “dev team insider”. For the most part, vague features describe app settings and other interface changes. Some of them, like the range of iPhones that will be able to run the new OS (the same set of devices that could run iOS 16, apparently), have already been leaked by the leaker, while others are new. The thread is intended to serve as a state-of-the-nation summary of the information so far.
As always with publications of this type, the challenge is to filter the significant from the mundane and, more importantly, the facts from the assumptions: it is easy, when publishing a mass of information at once, to slip into details that are only probable (or even possible) by mixing them with what you are sure. For example, in replies to the Twitter thread, anonymous-AS says they’re “100%” sure the iPhone 8 will be able to run iOS 17 and they also confirm the iPad compatibility rumors, but we’re sticking with it. ignorance of the trusted leaker regarding many other elements.
Among the new features that Tipster predicts in iOS 17 are:
- Major changes to Control Center UI and customization
- New features for the dynamic island
- Additional permanent display settings
- More focus mode filters
- Health app UI changes
- Changes to the Camera app
- Notification changes and additional options
- Heavily improved Search/Spotlight
In most cases, the information is vague or predictable enough not to require a special source: most years we see changes in notifications, for example (the lessor says these will have “additional options in the settings”), and it will not be a surprise for Apple to add additional filters for the Focus mode, which has been continuously expanded in recent years. It also seems obvious or at least logical that Dynamic Island “does a lot more” because Apple is expanding it across the entire iPhone 15 line.
But others are more speculative. Most notably, Anonymous-AS seems to go along with the old consensus that iOS 17 would primarily focus on reliability (“Performance, efficiency, stability, and long-term support for older devices are primary features of this update”), while recent reports have instead pointed to the inclusion of a number of “most requested features” following a strategic overhaul. It may be a matter of interpretation, since even Mark Gurman, who predicted the change in strategy last month, acknowledged that iOS 17 “lacks a major improvement like the revamped lock screen of the ‘last year”.
One of the most intriguing predictions concerns widgets, which the anonymous AS says could become “active”. The lessor clarifies that this means dynamic quality offering “buttons, sliders and more at the click of a button”. iOS 16 users know that widgets are essentially snapshots with rudimentary functionality – the Apple TV widget lets you instantly start playing the next episode of a series with a single tap, for example – so we’re glad to see how Apple can make them more vibrant and useful. Note, however, that this prediction is marked with the caveat that they are “under test, but not confirmed by any means”.
Ultimately, given the brief history of the leak and the lack of details on the source of this information, perhaps it’s best to view the thread as a pleasant but unproven insight into what might be rather than of which is definitely. If corroboration arrives from elsewhere, the ideas in the post may firm up, but for now, we’ll enjoy this thread with a fair helping of salt.
For all the latest news and rumours, be sure to check our regularly updated iOS 17 superguide.
