What the Tech? Check out Note Drop in Apple’s new iOS 17
By JAMIE TUCKER Consumer Technology Reporter
Even if you’re not planning to get the new iPhone 15, you can still get a ton of new features on the iPhone you have now.
Apple is expected to release iOS 17 during its event on September 12th. It’s been available to beta testers for the past few months and I’ve had the opportunity to get a sneak peek before it’s ready for public release. As is the case with every new operating system, there are a bunch of new features that come as a bit of a surprise.
Features that leave you wondering “How did Apple even think of that?”
One of the best features I think is something Android devices have been able to do for years. Apple calls it “Name Drop”.
How many times do you want to share your contact information with someone and you have to ask for their number and send them a text? Then they have to add your name to save in their
contacts. In iOS 17, it gets a whole lot easier.
All you’ll need to do is to bring your phones close together and tap. You’ll need to turn on AirDrop on both phones by swiping down from the control center and holding the network block (the green antenna icon). You can keep it turned on, or you can turn it on for just 10 minutes. Once both phones running iOS 17 are close together, tap the phones and choose what you want to share.
You can share contact information, photos, and videos.
“Point and Speak” is a new accessibility feature for anyone needing some help identifying a product or reading a label. You’ll find it within the magnifying glass option that should be in the control panel. If it isn’t, you can add it in settings. Simply aim your camera and point at what you need help identifying and Siri will read what you’re pointing to. I tried it on two similar bottles of pain killers and it successfully identified one as “Tylenol” and the other as “Excedrin”.
It would also be of help to anyone trying to make out the words on a microwave or oven control panel. It isn’t perfect. It was pretty frustrating really but with other iPhone features it should get
better with updates.
I don’t use stickers but many people do to make texts more fun. They’re easier to use with the iOS 17 update. Everything from memoji to emoji and stickers is shown in the same place when you tap the + button on an iMessage. What’s really neat though is the ability to create your own stickers. If you open any photo in an album and press down on the image, iOS 17 will pull the subject out of the background and give you the option to use it as a sticker. I tried it with our cat and created a pretty cool sticker with flair.
And Car Play gets a new feature that allows anyone in the car and connected to Car Play over Bluetooth to take over DJ duties. The phone playing music can turn the controls over to another iPhone by letting them point the camera at a QR code. You want to listen to Jimmy Buffett but the kids can quickly cue up Doja Cat. They’ll need your permission of course.
There are other features but these are the ones many people will enjoy the most. A few features will not be ready for release day including a new Journaling app to use as a diary of daily photos
and memories. That’ll be great for new moms and dads.
