We had assumed that the forthcoming iOS release would prioritize performance enhancements and bug fixes over new features in recent months. However, a recent report suggests that this may not be the case, and that iOS 17 could be the most exciting release in years. According to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter from Bloomberg, Apple has deviated from its original plan for iOS 17, which initially emphasized improving performance and fixing bugs rather than introducing new features. Now, Gurman reports that Apple is fully committed to new features, and iOS 17 is anticipated to introduce several “nice-to-have” features when it is released in the autumn.
While he doesn’t divulge what those features could be, he claims that they are among the “most requested features” by iPhone users. It’s not hard to make a list of features we’ve wanted for years—multiple users, custom icons, multiple timers, multitasking, separate volume controls for media and calls, etc.—but Gurman says the features will be smaller ones since iOS 17 “lacks a tentpole improvement like last year’s revamped lock screen.”
But it’s still an intriguing notion and makes the wait for iOS 17 that much more difficult. While Apple hasn’t officially announced the dates yet, it will show off the next version of iOS at the WWDC keynote this June ahead of its full release this fall. Gurman doesn’t mention whether iPadOS 17 and macOS 14, which will also debut at WWDC, will have the same strategy.
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