MacRumors

Apple today released iOS 17 to the public, and there are hundreds of new features and changes for you to learn about. Some of these options require some set up to get up and running, so we've written this guide that walks you through what you should do after installing iOS 17.

Set Up Your StandBy Screen

When you charge an iPhone running iOS 17 in an upright and horizontal orientation, it displays a new StandBy screen. StandBy serves as a home hub to show glanceable information that makes your ‌iPhone‌ more useful when it's not being actively used.

StandBy is most useful on the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro models with always-on display, but it is available on all iPhones that run iOS 17.

There are three total StandBy screens that you can access by swiping between them when your phone is in the appropriate StandBy position. The first screen displays widgets (including interactive widgets), the second showcases photos from the Photos library, and the third is a large clock that shows the time.

You will want to customize your two widget stacks on the widget screen to make it more useful, and you can also customize how the time is displayed and the photos that you see. Customizing is done by swapping over to the correct screen and long pressing on it to get to the customization options.

StandBy can show you incoming notifications, Live Activities, and Siri queries full screen. When you use StandBy with different MagSafe chargers in separate locations, you can customize your phone to remember which screen configuration you prefer based on location. For example, you might prefer widgets when at the office, or the clock screen when the ‌iPhone‌ is on your nightstand.

StandBy can be a little bit complicated when you're not familiar with it, so we recommend looking through our StandBy guide to see the full extent of what you can do with it.

Prioritize Interactive Widgets

Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets are interactive in iOS 17, which makes widgets much more useful. You can do things like check off a reminder or activate a home device right from a widget without having to open an app.

Both Apple apps and third-party apps are able to use the new interactive functionality, so you might want to redo your widget setup now that certain widgets are more useful.

Lock Screen widgets can be customized by long pressing on the Lock Screen, choosing a Lock Screen option, and then tapping "Customize." From there, select the Lock Screen and then tap into the widgets box to choose your widget options.

On the ‌Home Screen‌, long press, tap on the "+" button in the upper left corner, and select the widget that you want to add.

Customize Your Contact Poster

In iOS 17, there's a customizable Contact Poster that people see when you call, FaceTime, or text them. You can customize it with a photo, Memoji, Animoji, or an initial, and choose the colors and fonts that you prefer.

When you install iOS 17, you'll be prompted to make a Contact Poster, but you can tweak it at any time in the Contacts app. Just open Contacts, tap on "My Card" and then tap on "Edit" in the upper right corner to get to the editing interface.

From there, you can choose a photo, select a color for the text, add a filter, and more. You can have multiple Contact Posters to swap between, and you can create a Contact Photo that's different from your Contact Poster.

The Contact Poster and Contact Photo that you choose will be shared with others when you call or message them, but there are some settings you can use to restrict access. You can choose to share your photo and poster automatically with all of your contacts, or you can have your ‌iPhone‌ get permission from you first. Name and photo sharing can also be disabled entirely if you prefer.

Make Sure Live Voicemail is On (U.S. and Canada Only)

Live Voicemail is a new feature that lets you see a transcript of a voicemail as it's left, so you can pick up if it's an important call. You can make sure Live Voicemail is enabled by opening up the Settings app, tapping on Phone, scrolling down to Live Voicemail and toggling it on.

With the option turned on, when someone begins to leave a voicemail you will see a the transcript of what they have to say right on the Lock Screen. You can ignore it or answer the phone. During the beta testing process, Live Voicemail's wording was a bit confusing for callers, but Apple has since addressed that issue.

If you find Live Voicemail irritating, toggling it off will disable it and your voicemail will return to normal.

Create Your Own Stickers

Apple in iOS 16 added a Remove Subject from Background tool that lets you remove the primary object from any image. In iOS 17, when you use this feature, you can turn the subject of an image into a sticker.

To get it to work, choose any photo with main subject. Do a short tap and hold on the subject of the image and at the text popup, choose "Add Sticker."

From there, you can choose a sticker effect, such as adding a puffy look, including a white border, adding a glitter effect, and more. Some stickers will animate if they are pulled from a Live Photo, and the stickers that you can create can be used across the operating system.

With iOS 17, Apple also merged emojis and stickers into one, so stickers work wherever you can use emoji.

Set Up New Safari Profiles

In ‌iOS 17‌, Apple added a Profile feature that is designed to let you separate your browsing for different use cases. You can create a "Work" profile and a "Personal" profile, for example, so all of your work-related browsing is kept separate from your personal browsing.

Each profile has separate cookies, browsing history, extensions, and website data. You can turn off cookies and pop-ups on one profile, for instance, leaving them on for another profile. Profiles also have separate Favorites and Tab Groups.

To set up your separate profiles, open the Settings app, select Safari, tap on New Profile, and choose an icon, name, and background color.

Turn on Anti-Tracking

URLs in ‌iOS 17‌ can be stripped of all tracking information appended to the end of the URL so that websites cannot track your browsing using URL identifiers. This function is enabled automatically for private browsing in ‌iOS 17‌, but it can be turned on for all browsing.

To turn it on, open up the Settings app and go to Safari. Tap on Advanced, then tap on "Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection." From there, toggle on "All Browsing." The setting will ensure that URLs opened in Safari will strip any tracking information at the end of a URL.

Share Your iCloud Keychain Passwords

iOS 17 lets you securely share passwords and passkeys stored in iCloud Keychain with friends and family members. Through the sharing feature, passwords for media accounts, utilities, bills, and more can be accessed by multiple people.

Passwords can be shared by opening up the Passwords section in the Settings app and tapping on "Get Started" under the Share Passwords with Family banner. Alternatively, you can tap the "+" button and create a new shared group. You can have multiple separate password sharing groups with different people.

Name Your Pets in Photos

In the ‌Photos‌ app, the People album is now the Pets and People album because the ‌iPhone‌ can recognize dogs and cats. Once you've let your ‌iPhone‌ charge for a bit, head into the Pets and People album and you'll be able to identify your pets and other animals that you have photos of, adding a name just like you can with people.

You can review additional photos to add more, watch a slideshow, and more.

Log a Mood

Apple added a mood tracking feature to the Health app in iOS 17 so you can track your mental wellbeing over time. To get to it, open up the Health app, go to Browse, and tap on Mental Wellbeing. Choose Log under State of Mind, and you can select your mood

You can set a mood for the current time or an overall mood for the entire day, choosing the factors that might have influenced your mood such as work or a relationship. You can see how your mood changes from week to week and what impacts how you're feeling.

You can set up notifications to remind you to log your mood, and if you have an Apple Watch, you can do mood logging from your wrist.

Share an AirTag

AirTags can be shared with family members, so if your partner or your child borrows an item with an AirTag, they'll no longer get alerts about an unknown item traveling with them. This also goes for items that have Find My integration.

To share a device, open up the ‌Find My‌ app and choose the items tag. Select an ‌AirTag‌ or an item and tap on Share This ‌AirTag‌. From there, you can choose a contact to share the ‌AirTag‌ with.

Try Out New AirPods Pro 2 Features

AirPods Pro 2 have multiple new features in iOS 17 that you'll want to test out. Adaptive Audio combines Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency into an all-in-one mode that adjusts the volume of what's playing based on what's around you and your interactions throughout the day.

With Conversation Awareness, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 can detect when someone is speaking to you, turning down the volume of media and cutting down on background noise. Personalized Volume will also adjust the sound of what's playing based on personal preference and the sounds around you.

Automatic Device Switching is also quicker, plus if you press on the stem of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 while on a call, you can mute and unmute yourself. More on the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 features can be found in our guide.

More on iOS 17

For more on all of the new features that have been added in iOS 17, make sure to check out our dedicated iOS 17 roundup.

Apple today released iOS 17 to the public after months of beta testing, which means the new operating system update is available to all iPhone users. iOS 17 makes widgets far more useful than before, adding a new interactive element that allows you to use them from the Lock Screen, Home Screen, or StandBy interface without having to open up an app.

We've rounded up a list of apps that take advantage of interactive widgets so you can update your widget workflow. Note that interactive widgets work on ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and will even be accessible on the Mac when macOS Sonoma comes out thanks to new interconnectivity between the iOS and macOS.

WidgetSmith (Free, Premium Subscription)

WidgetSmith has several interactive widgets to choose from, including a series of photo galleries that you can tap to flip through your photos and multi-purpose widgets where you can tap between things like photos and step count, hiding useful information behind images.

The app also includes a Music widget for flipping through music albums and playlists, a weather widget for swiping through the upcoming weather forecast without having to open the app, a calendar widget so you can see the day's upcoming events, and a number-adding tile game.

Spark Mail (Free, Premium Subscription)

Spark's interactive widgets let users delete or mark emails as done to archive them without having to open up the Spark app. Spark will also have options to view emails directly from different categories (People, Priority, Newsletters, Notifications, and All Emails) in the Spark widget.

Spark is also gaining new Drag and Drop features on the ‌iPad‌ for adding attachments, and App Shortcuts for creating calendar events, opening a priority list, and more.

Rise Sleep Tracker (Free, Premium Subscription)

Sleep tracking app Rise has widgets that can be used for managing alarms and sleep sounds without opening up the app. The app also includes outdoor light exposure monitoring so you can see how light exposure affects sleep, and there is a dedicated ‌iPad‌ app.

Copilot (Free, Premium Subscription

Budgeting and money tracking app Copilot has added a Review Transactions widget that can be used to view and confirm all of your purchases without having to open the app. Copilot lets you track all of your spending and investments in one place.

Launcher (Free, Various Premium Unlocks)

App launching app Launcher has interactive folder widgets so you can nest several actions in one folder, accessing them with a tap without having to go into the Launcher app. There are also multi-contact widgets so you can do things like quickly contact a friend, and there are options for music controls.

Other Apps With Interactive Widgets

• Things ($9.99) - Task management app Things now supports interactive widgets so you can complete to-dos right from the ‌Home Screen‌.
• TripIt (Free, Premium Subscription) - Travel planning app TripIt has interactive widgets that let you scroll through your entire travel itinerary from the ‌Home Screen‌.
• Calendars ($30) - Calendars includes new widgets, such as a Load Indicator widget, an icon with the current date, and month calendar options, all of which can be used without opening the app. There's also support for StandBy mode.
• Focus (Free, Premium Subscription) - Interactive widgets in productivity app Focus let you start a timer with a tap from the Home or Lock Screen. There's also a StandBy Focus widget and a redesigned Apple Watch app.
• Timery for Toggl (Free, Premium Subscription) - Time-tracking app Timery, which is designed to work with Toggl, has interactive widgets that can be used for quickly setting timers, tracking time, and showing report details. There's a StandBy widget and a refreshed design for the Apple Watch.
• Chronicling (Free, Premium Subscription) - Event tracking app Chronicling has interactive widgets for event logging from the ‌Home Screen‌, as well as a new watchOS app and StandBy support.
• SmartGym (Free, Premium Subscription) - Fitness app SmartGym has an interactive widget that lets you swap between various metrics like heart rate and calories burned for your workouts. There's also a redesigned Apple Watch app and support for StandBy mode on ‌iPhone‌.
• Liftin' (Free, Premium Subscription) - Weightlifting app Liftin' has interactive widgets that let you start a workout, plus there are widgets optimized for the Apple Watch Smart Stack and Live Activities.
• Home Widget (Free, Premium Upgrade) - HomeKit app Home Widget offers a selection of widgets that can be used to control smart home devices from the ‌Home Screen‌.
• Overcast (Free, $9.99 Premium Option) - Podcast app Overcast has interactive widgets that let you control episode playback without having to open the app.

Read More

Find an app with interactive widgets that we didn't mention here? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple today launched the two new iCloud+ plans that it announced during last week's iPhone-centric event. The 6TB and 12TB ‌iCloud‌+ plans can now be purchased through the ‌iCloud‌+ interface as higher-tier options that join the existing 50GB, 200GB, and 2TB storage plans.

The 6TB plan is priced at $29.99 per month, while the 12TB plan is priced at $59.99 per month. Apple suggests that the 6TB plan is ideal for photographers and content creators, while it says the the 12TB plan is aimed at "advanced users."

Apple's new 6TB and 12TB plans can be shared with family members, allowing multiple people to take advantage of the storage increase if Family Sharing is in use.

‌iCloud‌+ has a number of benefits, including Private Relay for private Safari browsing, Hide My Email for generating single-use email addresses for each website, HomeKit Secure Video to store footage from HomeKit cameras, and support for custom email domains that can be used with an ‌iCloud‌ email address.

Apple today released iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the latest operating system updates that are designed for the iPhone and iPad. As with all of Apple's software updates, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 are available for free. iOS 17 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ XR/‌iPhone‌ XS and later, while iPadOS 17 runs on the iPad mini 5 and later, the ‌iPad‌ 6 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, the second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro and later, all 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models, and the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Apple's updated software, which is build 21A329, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes for the updates to propagate to all users due to high demand.

While you download iOS 17, make sure to check out our dedicated iOS 17 roundup for a full rundown of all of the features in the update. We've highlighted a few of the most notable additions below, but this is a huge update with hundreds of changes.

iOS 17 expands on last year's Lock Screen updates with the addition of interactive widgets and StandBy, a new feature that turns the ‌iPhone‌ into a mini home hub when it is charging. You can now see voicemail transcriptions in real time, and leave video messages in FaceTime. ‌FaceTime‌ also now works on the Apple TV with tvOS 17.

With NameDrop, exchanging contacts is as simple as touching two phones together, and Messages has been overhauled with new safety features and updates to the way that stickers work. Autocorrect is better than ever, Spotlight search has been improved, private browsing in Safari is more secure with Face ID lock, and there's now a mood tracking feature in the Health app.

Passwords can be shared in iCloud Keychain and AirTags can be shared among family members too, plus there are new features for the AirPods Pro. Apple has also added updates to Siri, Mail, Reminders, Notes, Home, and more. Full release notes for the update are below.

iOS 17 brings big updates to Phone, Messages, and FaceTime that give you new ways to express yourself as you communicate. StandBy delivers a new full-screen experience with glanceable information designed to view from a distance when you turn iPhone on its side while charging. AirDrop makes it easier to share and connect with those around you and adds NameDrop for contact sharing. Enhancements to the keyboard make entering text faster and easier than ever before. iOS 17 also includes updates to Widgets, Safari, Music, AirPlay, and more.

Phone
- Contact Posters let you customize how you appear on other people's devices when you call them with a customized poster
- Live Voicemail displays a live transcription as someone leaves a message and allows you to pick up the call

Messages
- Stickers iMessage app brings all your stickers into one place including Live Stickers, Memoji, Animoji, emoji stickers, and your third party sticker packs
- Live Stickers can be created by lifting the subject from photos or videos and stylizing them with effects like Shiny, Puffy, Comic, and Outline
- Check In automatically notifies a family member or friend when you arrive at a destination safely and can share helpful information with them in case of a delay
- Audio message transcription is available for audio messages you receive so you can read them in the moment and listen later
- Search improvements help you find messages faster by allowing you to combine search filters such as people, keywords, and content types like photos or links to find exactly what you are looking for
- Swipe to reply to a message inline by swiping to the right on any bubble
- One-time verification code cleanup automatically deletes verification codes from the Messages app after using them with AutoFill in other apps

FaceTime
- Leave a video or audio message to capture exactly what you want to say when someone does not pick up your FaceTime call
- Enjoy FaceTime calls on Apple TV by using your iPhone as a camera (Apple TV 4K 2nd generation and later)
- Reactions layer 3D effects like hearts, balloons, confetti, and more around you in video calls and can be triggered with gestures
- Video effects allow you to adjust the intensity of Studio Lighting and Portrait mode

StandBy
- Full-screen experience with glanceable information like clocks, photos, and widgets designed to view from a distance when iPhone is on its side and charging in places such as your nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk
- Clocks are available in a variety of styles including Digital, Analog, Solar, Float, and World Clock, with elements you can personalize like the accent color
- Photos automatically shuffle through your best shots or showcase a specific album you choose
- Widgets give you access to information at a distance and appear in Smart Stacks that deliver the right information at the right time
- Night Mode lets clocks, photos, and widgets take on a red tone in low light
- Preferred view per MagSafe charger remembers your preference for each place you charge with MagSafe, whether that's a clock, photos, or widgets

Widgets
- Interactive widgets let you take actions, like mark a reminder as complete, directly from the widget by tapping it on the Home Screen, Lock Screen, or in StandBy
- iPhone widgets on Mac enable you to add widgets from your iPhone to your Mac desktop

AirDrop
- NameDrop lets you exchange contact information with someone new by bringing your iPhones close together
- New way to initiate AirDrop allows you to share content or start a SharePlay session over AirDrop by bringing your iPhones close together

Keyboard
- Improved autocorrect accuracy makes typing even easier by leveraging a powerful transformer-based language model (iPhone 12 and later)
- Easier autocorrect editing temporarily underlines corrected words and lets you revert back to what you originally typed with just a tap
- Enhanced sentence corrections can correct more types of grammatical mistakes when you finish sentences (iPhone 12 and later)
- Inline predictive text shows single and multi-word predictions as you type that can be added by tapping space bar (iPhone 12 and later)

Safari and Passwords
- Profiles keep your browsing separate for topics like work and personal, separating your history, cookies, extensions, Tab Groups, and favorites
- Private Browsing enhancements include locking your private browsing windows when you're not using them, blocking known trackers from loading, and removing identifying tracking from URLs
- Password and passkey sharing lets you create a group of passwords to share with trusted contacts that stays up to date as members of the group make changes
- One-time verification code AutoFill from Mail autofill in Safari so you can log in without leaving the browser

Music
- SharePlay makes it easy for everyone to control and play Apple Music in the car
- Crossfade smoothly transitions between songs by fading out the currently playing song while fading in the next so the music never stops

AirPlay
- Intelligent AirPlay device list makes finding the right AirPlay-compatible TV or speaker even easier by showing your devices in order of relevance, based on your preferences
- Suggested AirPlay device connections are proactively shown to you as a notification to make it even more seamless to connect to your preferred AirPlay devices
- Automatic AirPlay device connections are made between your iPhone and the most relevant AirPlay-compatible device so all you have to do is tap "Play" to begin enjoying your content

AirPods
- Adaptive Audio delivers a new listening mode that dynamically blends Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency to tailor the noise control experience based on the conditions of your environment (AirPods Pro (2nd generation) with firmware version 6A300 or later)
- Personalized Volume adjusts the volume of your media in response to your environment and listening preferences over time (AirPods Pro (2nd generation) with firmware version 6A300 or later)
- Conversation Awareness lowers your media volume and enhances the voices of the people in front of the user, all while reducing background noise (AirPods Pro (2nd generation) with firmware version 6A300 or later)
- Press to mute and unmute your microphone by pressing the AirPods stem or the Digital Crown on AirPods Max when on a call (AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd generation), or AirPods Max with firmware version 6A300 or later)

Maps
- Offline Maps allow you to select an area you want to access, search, and explore rich information for places to download for use when your iPhone doesn't have a Wi-Fi or cellular signal
- EV routing improvements give you routes based on real-time EV charger availability for supported chargers

Siri
- Option to say "Siri" in addition to "Hey Siri" for an even more natural way to make requests
- Back-to-back requests can be issued without needing to reactivate Siri in between commands (iPhone 11 and later)

Visual Look Up
- Expanded domains in Visual Look Up help you discover similar recipes from photos of food, Maps information from photos of storefronts, and the meaning of signs and symbols on things like laundry tags
- Multiple or single subjects can be lifted from the background of photos and videos and placed into apps like Messages
- Visual Look Up in Video helps you learn about objects that appear in paused video frames
- Visual Look Up for subjects in photos enables you to look up information about objects you lift from photos directly from the callout bar

Health
- State of Mind reflection allows you to log your momentary emotion and daily mood, choose what factors are having the biggest impact on you, and describe your feelings
- Interactive charts give you insights into your state of mind, how it has changed over time, and what factors may have influence such as exercise, sleep, and mindful minutes
- Mental health assessments help you understand your current risk for depression and anxiety and if you might benefit from getting support
- Screen Distance leverages the TrueDepth camera that powers Face ID to encourage you to increase the distance you view your device to reduce digital eye strain and can help reduce the risk of myopia in children

Privacy
- Sensitive Content Warnings can be enabled to prevent users from unexpectedly being shown images containing nudity in Messages, AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, and FaceTime messages
- Expanded Communication Safety protections for children now detect videos containing nudity in addition to photos that children may receive or attempt to send in Messages, AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime messages, and the system Photo picker
- Improved sharing permissions give you even more control over what you share with apps, with an embedded photo picker and an add-only Calendar permission
- Link tracking protection removes extra information from links shared in Messages, Mail, and Safari Private Browsing that some websites use in their URLs to track you across other websites, and links still work as expected

Accessibility
- Assistive Access distills apps and experiences to their essential features in Phone and FaceTime, Messages, Camera, Photos, and Music, including large text, visual alternatives, and focused choices to lighten cognitive load
- Live Speech lets you type what you want to say and have it be spoken out loud in phone calls, FaceTime calls, and for in-person conversations
- Personal Voice enables users who are at risk of losing their voice to privately and securely create a voice that sounds like them on iPhone, and use it with Live Speech in phone and FaceTime calls
- Point and Speak in Magnifier Detection Mode uses iPhone to read text out loud on physical objects with small text labels, such as keypads on doors and buttons on appliances

This release also includes other features and improvements:
- Roadside Assistance via satellite lets you contact AAA to help you with vehicle issues when out of Wi-Fi or cellular range (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max)
- Pets in the People album in Photos surfaces individual pets in the album just like friends or family members
- Photos Album widget lets you select a specific album from the Photos app to appear in the widget
- Item sharing in Find My allows you to share an AirTag or Find My network accessory with up to five other people
- Activity History in Home displays a recent history of events for door locks, garage doors, security systems, and contact sensors
- Grid Forecast in Home shows when your electrical grid has cleaner energy sources available (Contiguous US only)
- Grocery Lists in Reminders automatically group related items into sections as you add them
- Inline PDFs and document scans in Notes are presented full-width, making them easy to view and mark them up
- New Memoji stickers in Keyboard include Halo, Smirk, and Peekaboo
- App Shortcuts in Spotlight Top Hit offer you app shortcuts to your next action when you search for an app
- Redesigned Sharing tab in Fitness provides highlights of your friends' activity like workout streaks and awards
- Email or phone number sign-in lets you sign into your iPhone with any email address or phone number listed in your Apple ID account
- New drawing tools in Freeform include a fountain pen, watercolor brush, ruler and more to create expressive boards
- Crash Detection optimizations (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max)

More Information and Discussion

Don't forget to visit our full iOS 17 roundup as well as our iPadOS 17 roundup. You can also discuss all of the new features in our dedicated iOS 17 forum and our iPadOS 17 forum.

Alongside the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, and watchOS 10 updates, Apple today released new HomePod 17 software that's designed for the ‌HomePod‌ and the HomePod mini.

When paired with a device running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, the ‌HomePod‌ can initiate an AirPlay session using a Siri command, making it easier to listen to music services like Spotify on the ‌HomePod‌ over ‌AirPlay‌.

The update also adds new call controls for muting or unmuting a call, and there is an Enhance Dialogue feature on the ‌HomePod‌ 2 that can prioritize spoken voices when used with the Apple TV 4K. Apple's full release notes for the update are below.

Software version 17 includes support for your HomePod. This update also includes bug fixes and stability improvements.

- Siri support for AirPlay allows you to start an AirPlay session from your iPhone or iPad directly on your HomePod using just your voice, so you can play an even wider range of third-party music services on HomePod.

- New call controls enable you to mute or unmute a call on HomePod.

- Enhance Dialogue on HomePod (2nd generation) gives you the option to hear spoken voices more clearly over background sounds when paired with Apple TV 4K.

‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌, but the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod‌‌ update how to.

Apple today released watchOS 10, the newest version of the watchOS operating system designed to run on the Apple Watch. watchOS 10 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

watchOS 10, which carries build number 21R356, can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on an iPhone running iOS 17 by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery and it needs to be placed on a charger.

With watchOS 10, Apple overhauled the Apple Watch interface with a renewed focus on widgets. Turning the Digital Crown now brings up the widget Smart Stack, which displays the information that you need most, and it changes throughout the day. The Control Center is now activated with the side button rather than a swipe.

Apple's built-in apps have been simplified with an information-forward design that developers will also be adopting. Maps, Messages, Activity, Heart, Home, and more have been revamped. There are two new watch faces, including the colorful Palette face and the Snoopy face featuring characters from the popular cartoon.

There are updated Activity integrations for cyclists, as well as location features in the Compass app for hikers. The Apple Maps app now shows topography, hiking trails, and points of interest, and there's a new mood tracking feature that can be accessed in the Mindfulness app. Apple's full release notes for the update are below.

watchOS 10 is the biggest update since the introduction of Apple Watch, and brings a fresh look for virtually every app, new ways to navigate, and a new Smart Stack to display the information you need, right when you need it, from any watch face. It introduces enhanced capabilities for cycling workouts and hiking, a new mental health experience in the Mindfulness app to reflect on your state of mind, and the ability to track the time you spend in daylight.

Experience
- Use redesigned apps that utilize the rounded corners and full surface area of the display
- View timely information that is adaptive to context like time of day and location with the Smart Stack by turning the Digital Crown from any watch face
- Access the Control Center by clicking the side button
- Push Digital Crown once to access all apps and twice to access recently used apps

Watch Faces
- Snoopy features over 100 different animations with Snoopy and Woodstock that respond to the time of day, local weather, and activity such as workout
- Palette depicts time as color using three distinct overlapping layers that shift as time goes by
- Solar Analog features classic hour marks on a luminous dial with light and shadow that shift throughout the day in response to the position of the sun
- Modular Ultra utilizes the edges of the display for real time data through three user selectable options and seven different complications (Available on Apple Watch Ultra)

Messages
- View Memoji or photos of contacts
- Pin favorites
- Edit, Undo Send, and sort by unread

Workout
- Cycling Workouts now support Bluetooth-enabled sensors like power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors with new power and cadence metrics
- Cycling Power view displays your power output during your workout, measured in watts
- Power Zone view uses Functional Threshold Power, which measures the highest power you can maintain for a 60 minute session, to create personalized zones and shows time spent in each zone
- Cycling Speed view shows current and max speed, distance, heart rate, and/or power
- Cycle metrics, workout views, and cycling experiences from your Apple Watch can now appear as a Live Activity on iPhone, which can be mounted to the handlebar of your bike

Activity
- Icons in the corners provide quick access to Weekly Summary, Sharing, and awards
- Move, Exercise, and Stand Rings are visible on individual screens by scrolling the Digital Crown along with the ability to adjust goals, view steps, distance, flights climbed, and activity history
- Weekly Summary now includes Exercise and Stand totals in addition to the Move total
- Activity Sharing shows photos or avatars of your friends
- Trainer Tips from the expert trainers at Fitness+ provide guidance on areas like workout techniques, mindfulness, healthy habits, and staying motivated in the Fitness app on iPhone

Fitness+
- Create a workout and meditation schedule with Custom Plans
- Choose your selected activity days, workout durations and types, trainers, music, and plan length and Fitness+ will automatically create the plan
- Build a queue of workouts and meditations that you want to do in a row with Stacks

Compass
- Last Cellular Connection Waypoint automatically estimates the last location on your route where your device was able to connect to your carrier's network
- Last Emergency Call Waypoint automatically estimates the last location available for you to connect to any carrier's network to contact emergency services
- POI Waypoints display points of interests you have saved in Guides within Maps
- Waypoint Elevation is a new view that uses data from the altimeter to create a 3D representation of the elevation of your saved waypoints
- Elevation Alerts notify you when you have passed a particular elevation threshold

Maps
- Walking radius shows roughly how long it might take to walk to nearby restaurants, shops, or other points of interests with rich information for places like hours, ratings, and more
- Offline Maps downloaded on your iPhone can be viewed on your paired Apple Watch when your iPhone is on and within range
- Routes for driving, cycling, walking or taking public transit are supported in offline maps including estimated arrival time based on predicted traffic
- Topographic maps display features in national and regional parks in the US like trails, contour lines, elevation, and points of interest
- Hiking trail information in the US with detailed information like trail length and elevation information

Weather
- See weather information quickly with background and contextual visual effects
- Access important information like Ultraviolet Index, Air Quality Index, and Wind Speed in one view
- View data like Condition, Temperature, Precipitation, Wind Speed, UVI, Visibility, Humidity, and AQI by swiping right
- Scroll to see Hourly and Daily views
- View Humidity complication on your watch face

Mindfulness
- State of Mind reflection allows you to log your momentary emotion or daily mood
- Contributing factors such as work, family, and current events can be included, and you can describe your feeling, such as joyful, content, and worried
- Reminders to log your State of Mind are available through notifications, watch complications, and prompts following a breathe session, reflect session, or audio meditation from Fitness+

Medications
- Follow-up reminders notify you to log a medication if you haven't logged one 30 minutes after the scheduled time
- Option to set follow-up reminders as critical alerts so they can be seen even if your device is muted or you have a Focus enabled

Other features and improvements:
- Time in Daylight now measured using the ambient light sensor (Available on Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra)
- Grid Forecast in Home app and watch face complication use live data from your local electric grid to show when it's running on cleaner sources so you can plan when to charge devices or run appliances (Contiguous US only)
- Communication Safety now detects if kids are sending or receiving sensitive videos
- Sensitive Content Warning for adults brings Communication Safety technology to all users by blurring photos and videos containing nudity, and allowing you to choose if you want to see them
- Notifications to emergency contacts after an Emergency SOS call will be delivered as critical alerts
- Group FaceTime audio calls are now supported

Several of the watchOS 10 features will be delayed until later this year, including the NameDrop option for exchanging contact information from watch to watch or watch to ‌iPhone‌, Audio Focus for Fitness+ to prioritize trainer voice or music, and media suggestions for the Smart Stack if nothing is playing on a HomePod near an Apple Watch.

More detail on all of the new features in watchOS 10 can be found in our watchOS 10 roundup.

Apple today released tvOS 17, the latest version of the tvOS operating system that runs on the Apple TV 4K models and the ‌Apple TV‌ HD.

tvOS 17, which arrives with build number 21J354, can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have automatic software updates activated will be upgraded to tvOS 17 automatically.

In tvOS 17, Apple has added a FaceTime app for ‌FaceTime‌ calls on a larger screen. The feature works through an iPhone or iPad running iOS 17/iPadOS 17, with the iOS device serving as the camera and the TV serving as the display. With a Split View option, you can place your ‌FaceTime‌ call on one side of the TV and a TV show or game on the other side for SharePlay experiences.

• How to Use iPhone as a FaceTime Camera on Apple TV

Apple Music Sing, the karaoke feature on the ‌Apple TV‌, can use the same Continuity Camera functionality to let you see yourself as you sing, complete with filters.

Apple redesigned Control Center to make it easier to get to key settings and information without having to open up the Settings app. Control Center also displays the system status, time, and the profile of the person signed in.

Second-generation Siri Remote owners can now use the ‌iPhone‌ to locate a lost remote, taking advantage of the Remote section of the ‌iPhone‌'s Control Center. There are a range of new aerial screen savers, along with screen savers based on the Memories section of the Photos app.

Other new features include Dolby Vision 8.1 support, an enhance dialogue option to make it easier to hear what's being said over music and effects, and support for third-party VPN apps. More on the new features in tvOS 17 can be found in our Apple TV roundup.

While a tetraprism lens with up to 5x optical zoom is currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the feature will expand to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max next year, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo briefly revealed this information in a Medium post today focused on iPhone 15 Pro Max production challenges related to the camera.

In the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the tetraprism lens system has a "folded" design that allows it to fit inside the smartphone, enabling up to 5x optical zoom and up to 25x digital zoom. By comparison, the smaller iPhone 15 Pro remains limited to up to 3x optical zoom, in line with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

It has been rumored that the iPhone 16 Pro will feature a larger 6.3-inch display, compared to the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro. This change would increase the overall size of the device, which would provide additional internal space for a tetraprism lens.

This is not the first time that Kuo has said the lens would expand to both iPhone 16 Pro models, but it reveals that the change is still planned following the introduction of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which launches this Friday.

Apple has urgently addressed production challenges related to the iPhone 15 Pro Max's upgraded Telephoto camera system in order to boost supply of the device, according to research shared today by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo said the iPhone 15 Pro Max's tetraprism camera module with up to 5x optical zoom has been the most significant supply bottleneck for the device. In response, he said Apple has increased the specifications of the tetraprism lens supplied by Largan Precision in order to compensate for this. As a result of this change, and to meet strong demand for the iPhone 15 Pro Max overall, Kuo said Largan Precision has expanded its production lines for the tetraprism lens.

iPhone 15 Pro Max shipping estimates range from 3-4 weeks for some configurations to 6-7 weeks for others. Yesterday, Kuo said iPhone 15 Pro Max demand had outpaced iPhone 14 Pro Max demand during the same period last year.

In addition to the camera-related bottleneck, Kuo previously said that the iPhone 15 Pro Max entered mass production later than the other devices in the iPhone 15 series, which has presumably contributed to the device's lengthy shipping delays. In the U.S., the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1,199 with 256GB of storage.

All of the iPhone 15 models are now available to order and launch this Friday.

The iPhone 15 models are available in a range of color options, with entirely new hues available on both sets of devices, as well as some popular classics. The ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro lineups have different colors to choose from, so if you have your heart set on a particular shade, you may not be able to get your preferred model in that color. This guide focuses on the ‌iPhone 15‌ models, but for more information about the color options of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max, check out our other color options guide.

The ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus are available in a total of five colors, two of which are entirely new for this year's lineup. Although previous standard iPhone color options have tended to be bolder and brighter, in 2023, Apple chose to offer a much more muted color palette due to its color-infused frosted glass back. The ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus's color options are as follows:

• Black
• Blue
• Green
• Yellow
• Pink

Previous years' "Midnight" is now simply "Black" once again. This returns as the standard model's darkest color option, differing from Midnight since it no longer has a slight hint of navy blue. "Starlight," which replaced "White" several years ago, is no longer available, and there is no equivalent to either of these light, neutral color options in the ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup.

All of the other new colors, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink, are pale, muted pastel shades, toning down some of the options available with the ‌iPhone‌ 14. While they are quite understated colors, the overall look is very distinctive to the ‌iPhone 15‌'s more refined design.

Unlike previous ‌iPhone‌ lineups, there is no PRODUCT(RED) ‌iPhone 15‌. Apple usually releases a new ‌iPhone‌ color option in the spring, so a PRODUCT(RED) ‌iPhone 15‌ could potentially be in the pipeline for early 2024.

How to Decide on a Color

If you use your ‌iPhone‌ with a case, you may wish to consider which device color will best complement your case. You may prefer a more neutral tone such as Black and use a more colorful case. Alternatively, you could choose a more striking device color like Green or Pink and use a more neutral case. A case is definitely a good option for a bolder look, especially since the ‌iPhone 15‌'s color options are generally so muted and pale.

Black may age better over time as new devices are released since it is a neutral, monochrome shade, and has effectively been offered across multiple ‌iPhone‌ generations. If you do not use a case at all, you may wish to take advantage of a more eye-catching color option such as Yellow.

If you want an ‌iPhone‌ in a brand new color for this year, Pink and Green are the best options. These colors are the most noticeably new and clearly indicate that you have the latest-generation device.

Your choice of color may also be dependent on how often you upgrade your ‌‌iPhone‌‌. If you upgrade every year, you may be more confident in buying a more striking new color. If you upgrade more often, it can be a good idea to get a different color every time. A new finish can certainly add some novelty to purchasing a new ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and make it feel more different from your previous device. Alternatively, if you tend to keep your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ for many years and upgrade less often, it may be wiser to consider a color that is more similar to one you have enjoyed previously.

Customers with multiple Apple devices may also want to get an ‌iPhone‌ color that complements their other devices. For example, if you have a Pink Apple Watch Series 9, it will be best complemented by the Pink ‌iPhone 15‌. Likewise, if you already have a Space Gray MacBook Pro, it will likely be best accompanied by a Black ‌iPhone 15‌.

At its iPhone 15 event last week, Apple announced updated second-generation AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case, additional dust resistance, and support for lossless audio with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset. Apple still classifies these as second-generation AirPods Pro, and it does not sell the USB-C case separately.

The updated AirPods Pro have been available to order since last week, and will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday. Ahead of time, select media outlets and YouTube channels have shared first impressions of the updated earbuds.

There is minimal commentary about the hardware changes, with most reviews agreeing that there is little reason for existing second-generation AirPods Pro users to upgrade. USB-C is a convenient addition, additional dust resistance is welcomed, and lossless audio support cannot be tested until the Vision Pro launches in the U.S. in early 2024.

iOS 17 adds several features to all second-generation AirPods Pro, including Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and Personalized Volume. Keep in mind that these software features are also available on the original second-generation AirPods Pro released in September 2022, so there is no need to update to the USB-C model to use them.

The Verge's Chris Welch on Adaptive Audio:

Adaptive Audio is meant to be a set-it-and-forget-it mode that blends active noise cancellation and transparency, canceling loud distractions where needed while also helping you stay present in your environment. In my experience so far, this feature rarely cancels my surroundings to the same degree as the full noise cancellation mode (I wouldn’t use it on a plane), but it reduces outside sound enough to not take away from my music — even at lower volumes. To my ears so far, it’s basically an even smarter version of the adaptive transparency that Apple debuted with last year’s AirPods Pro.

TechCrunch's Brian Heater on Conversation Awareness:

Conversational Awareness is a nice addition. It uses a combination of different sensors to determine when you’re talking. That includes obvious things like built-in mics, coupled with more surprising elements like the accelerometer, which detects vibration to determine that you are, in fact, the one who is talking, without having to resort to something like voice recognition. When that's triggered, the audio begins to lower, effectively getting out of your way when talking.

I was impressed by the detection. It didn't trigger when I, say, coughed, yawned or cleared my throat. When I started talking, however, the music began to lower. It doesn't stay down for any specific set amount of time. The company says it relies on an algorithm to determine such things. Factors include the length of time you're talking, so it doesn't mistake a break in conversation for the end of one.

TheStreet's Jacob Krol on both Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness:

It feels almost magical as it works as intended. For instance, sitting in a bustling hotel lobby, you'll encounter background noise and chatter from other patrons nearby; once I engaged Adaptive, it lowers the brunt of the noise, and with music playing, it all becomes very faint. If a louder noise appears, like a cart being pushed through the space, it will process it in real time and lower it specifically.

Let's take a more likely or commonly occurring scenario—I'm walking around my apartment with AirPods Pro, listening to some music with Adaptive on. It lowers the brunt of my HVAC system, similar to how the ANC performs, but I can hear a faint knock on my door as I'm expecting a package from FedEx. I open the door, and thanks to Conversation Awareness turned on, I can start talking, and AirPods Pro automatically switches to Transparency mode.

Inverse's Raymond Wong on Personalized Volume:

Personalized Volume uses machine learning to automatically adjust the volume just for your ears. Apple says Personalized Volume is determined by "environmental conditions and volume selections" over time. I didn't notice any meaningful volume adjustments over a week of testing so I turned it off.

Videos

Amazon today has a collection of deals on Apple's iPad, including the 9th and 10th generation models. Both sales include matches of all-time low prices on these tablets.

10th Gen iPad

Starting with Apple's 10th generation 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, this model is available at the all-time low price of $399.00, down from $449.00. The soonest the iPad can be delivered is around September 20, but some colors are seeing dates extend into October.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Three colors are on sale, including Yellow, Blue, and Pink. You won't need any coupon code in order to get these record low prices, as they have been applied automatically by Amazon.

Only the 64GB Wi-Fi is getting a best-ever discount right now on Amazon, but there are a few solid second-best prices to check out. The 256GB Wi-Fi iPad is on sale for $549.00 in every color ($50 off). You can also get $50 off both cellular versions of the tablet.

9th Gen iPad

There's also a solid discount on the previous-generation 9th generation iPad this week on Amazon. You can get the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad for $269.99, down from $329.00. This is just about $20 higher than the previous all-time low price.

The 256GB Wi-Fi iPad is on sale for $389.99, down from $479.00 on Amazon. This is a match of the record low price on this version of the tablet, and right now only Amazon has the sale.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

It's taken this long, but in iOS 17, Apple has added support for multiple timers, and has also made it easy to manage several timers on iPhone with the introduction of labels.

That's right. Believe it or not, iPhones have not included the ability to set multiple ongoing timers until now. In iOS 17, the Clock app finally enables several timers to be set that will run down at the same time, allowing you to keep track of more than one thing, which is handy when cooking a meal that includes several dishes, for example.

Not only can you have several timers counting down at the same time, you can also label timers, which helps you identify each one in your timer list. That way, you'll always know which timer relates to what, and you can save custom timers without having to remember what they were set up for.

To quickly set a timer on ‌iPhone‌, swipe down on the Home screen, search "timer," and tap the Siri Suggestion, or to set a timer with a name, say "‌Siri‌, set a timer called [name] for [duration]." Alternatively, open the Clock app and tap the Timers tab. In the timer setup options, select a duration, then tap the Label field and type in what you want to call it.

Choose a distinct alert for the timer if it helps you recognize it. Note that in iOS 17, you also have the option of selecting one of several preset durations in the setup screen. When a timer is set, it will be added to your editable list of timers. For added convenience, the list will also include any recently completed timers that you used.

If your ‌iPhone‌ has a Dynamic Island, the last timer you set will appear inside it when you are doing other things on your device. The most recently set timer will also appear as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen, and you can tap to expand it and see any other timers that are running concurrently.

At its "Wonderlust" event in 2023, alongside the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple announced the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Apple Watch Ultra is a relatively new kind of smartwatch from Apple with a focus on withstanding extreme environments, a high level of durability, extended battery life, and additional features to aid activities like diving and exploration.

Both the Apple Watch Series 9 and the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ feature the S9 chip, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, an Always-On Retina display, IP6X dust resistance, and more, but there are significant differences between the two devices.

With as little as $50 between the 45mm stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra, some prospective customers will be weighing up whether it is worth spending a little extra to get the 49mm Ultra model. While there is a $400 difference between the 41mm aluminum Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra, the high-end model offers a set of features to address specific challenges, so it may even be worth it for some of these buyers.

Apple Watch Series 9	Apple Watch Ultra (second-generation)
Aluminum casing	Aerospace-grade titanium casing
Front crystal curves at edges onto shaped aluminum casing	Lighter, corrosion resistant case with raised edges to protect the flat sapphire front crystal
Digital Crown with haptic feedback and side button	Digital Crown with haptic feedback, side button, and customizable Action button
45mm or 41 mm case size (vertical)	49mm casing size (vertical)
10.7mm thickness	14.4mm thickness
Weighs 31.9 grams to 51.5 grams	Weighs 61.4 grams
Ion-X front glass (aluminum) or sapphire crystal (stainless steel)	Sapphire crystal front glass
Curved display with refractive edge	Flat display
904 sq mm (41mm) or 1,143 sq mm (45mm) display area	1164 sq mm display area
352 by 430 pixels (41mm) or 396 by 484 pixels (45mm)	410 by 502 pixels
Up to 2,000 nits brightness	Up to 3,000 nits brightness
	Exclusive Wayfinder and Modular Ultra faces
	Night Mode for low-visibility conditions
Single speaker	Dual speakers
Single microphone	Triple-microphone array with beamforming and wind noise mitigation
GPS (L1)	Precision dual-frequency GPS (L1 and L5)
	86-decibel Siren to attract attention
Water resistant to 50m	Water resistant to 100m
Swimproof	Swimproof and recreational dive to 40m
	Tested to MIL-STD 810H
	EN13319 certification
	Water temperature sensor, depth gauge, and dive computer app
Up to 18-hour battery life, up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode	Up to 36-hour battery life, up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode
Available in Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Pink, and PRODUCT(RED) (aluminum) or Silver, Graphite, or Gold (stainless steel)	Natural titanium finish only
Starts at $399 (aluminum) and $699 (stainless steel)	Priced at $799

The Apple Watch Ultra offers specific capabilities to address the requirements of those who need their Apple Watch to provide assistance in challenging environments. If you need a more durable Apple Watch with features like a brighter display, louder speakers, a more reliable GPS, better water resistance, and more, the Apple Watch Ultra is undoubtedly the best choice.

The Apple Watch Ultra is also the largest and most feature-rich Apple Watch option available, not to mention that it offers the first true redesign of the device since its introduction in 2015. For technology enthusiasts, Apple Watch Ultra represents a way to get a new Apple Watch experience with the top specifications. Features like longer battery life and a larger, brighter display are also highly accessible, and will be beneficial to all users. As such, some customers may still be inclined to choose the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ over the Apple Watch Series 9, even if they do not need it for use in challenging environments.

As the largest Apple Watch model to date, the size of the Apple Watch Ultra will not be for everyone. If you already prefer the 41mm Apple Watch casing size, the Apple Watch Ultra may be far too large for you. If in doubt, it may be worth heading to an Apple Store and trying on the Apple Watch Ultra in person to get to grips with the size and determine if it is too big and bulky for you.

Similarly, the Apple Watch Ultra's look may not appeal to some buyers. If you prefer the stainless steel Apple Watch and are looking for a more fashion-focused smartwatch that pairs well with premium bands, the more aggressive, rugged design of the Apple Watch Ultra may not be for you.

If the Apple Watch Ultra is out of your price range but you still want to use your Apple Watch in challenging environments, it is worth bearing in mind that the Series 9 still offers a durable design with a strong front crystal, water resistance, and many of the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌'s software features like waypoint marking.

The ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ has a lot to offer, especially for the subset of users who can take advantage of all of its capabilities, so it is certainly worth considering when purchasing a new model, but the Apple Watch Series 9 is still a compelling all-around option that comes in at a lower price point with a subtler design.

ProRes video recording remains limited to 1080p quality at 30 frames per second on the 128GB model of the iPhone 15 Pro, unless the device is recording directly to a connected external storage drive, according to Apple. This limitation does not apply to the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models, which can record 4K ProRes video.

Apple does not mention this information on the iPhone 15 Pro's tech specs page on its website, but the limitation is listed when comparing the iPhone 15 Pro to another iPhone model in the Apple Store app, as seen in the screenshot below.

The same limitation applied to iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro models with 128GB of storage, but those devices cannot record ProRes video to external storage, so at least iPhone 15 Pro users have that option this time around. The limitation does not apply to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, as that model starts with 256GB of storage.

ProRes video files are very large. Apple says a one-minute 10-bit ProRes video is approximately 1.7GB in 1080p and 6GB in 4K. Apple likely feels that offering 4K ProRes video recording to internal storage on the 128GB model would be a subpar user experience. With recording to an external storage now an option, it is less of an issue.

Introduced on the iPhone 13 Pro models, ProRes refers to a family of codecs from Apple that can compress videos into smaller file sizes with "impressive image quality preservation." Apple says ProRes is designed as a final delivery format for high-quality videos like commercials, feature films, and broadcasts.

ProRes video recording is still not supported at all on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

The iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro are among Apple's newest iPhone models and follow last year's iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, but how different are the two latest 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ models, and what exactly does a "Pro" device give you?

Last year, the biggest new differences between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro were always-on functionality, the Dynamic Island, three hours of battery life, and rear cameras with different apertures. With ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, both devices share new features like the USB-C port, second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, and next-generation portraits, but Apple's "Pro" and non-Pro ‌iPhone‌ models are more different than ever.

Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two ‌iPhone‌ models is best for you, and serves as a way to clearly see what additional features and upgrades the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro brings to the table.

‌iPhone 15‌	‌iPhone 15‌ Pro
Aluminum and glass design	Titanium and glass design
	Slightly smaller due to slimmer borders around the display
Weighs 171g or 201g	Weighs 187g or 221g
Ring/Silent switch	Action button
	ProMotion with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
	Always-on display
A16 Bionic chip (5nm)	A17 Pro chip (3nm)
6-core CPU	6-core CPU (up to 10% faster)
5-core GPU	6-core GPU with with hardware-accelerated ray tracing (up to 20% faster)
16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine (up to 2x faster)
	Dedicated AV1 decoder
6GB memory	8GB memory
"Advanced" dual-camera system	"Pro" triple camera system
48-megapixel Main camera with ƒ/1.6 aperture	48-megapixel Main camera with ƒ/1.78 aperture and larger sensor
12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture	12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.2 aperture
	12-megapixel Telephoto camera with ƒ/2.8 aperture (unit with larger sensor, folded tetraprism design, and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module on Pro Max model only)
0.5x, 1x, and 2x optical zoom	0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, and 5x optical zoom (5x on Pro Max only, no 3x)
Sensor-shift optical image stabilization	Second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization
True Tone flash	Adaptive True Tone flash
	LiDAR scanner
	Night mode portraits
	Macro photography
	Apple ProRAW
	Shoot and instantly transfer 48-megapixel ProRAW images to Mac via USB 3
	Record video directly to an external drive
	ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (60 fps with external recording)
	Macro video recording, including slo‑mo and time‑lapse
	Log video recording
	Academy Color Encoding System
	Record spatial video for Apple Vision Pro
USB 2 transfer speeds (up to 480Mb/s)	USB 3 transfer speeds (up to 10Gb/s, 20x faster)
	DisplayPort support for up to 4K HDR video output
Wi‑Fi 6 connectivity	Wi‑Fi 6E connectivity
	Thread networking technology
20- or 26-hour battery life	23- or 29-hour battery life
128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options (no 128GB on Pro Max)
Yellow, Blue, Pink, Green, and Black color options	Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium color options
Starts at $799	Starts at $999

The ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro offers a large number of upgrades over the standard ‌iPhone 15‌. With just $200 difference to obtain a display with ProMotion and always-on functionality, the Action Button, and longer battery life, many customers will be able to justify getting the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro over the ‌iPhone 15‌. Other differences, such as the A17 Pro chip and 2GB additional memory are notable, but most significant are perhaps the devices' fundamentally different rear camera setups. The ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro unlocks 10 additional camera features and offers four additional or different pieces of camera hardware. Due to the scale and breadth of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro's improvements and features, most customers will be happy to choose the high-end model.

The standard ‌iPhone 15‌ still offers many of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro's most compelling capabilities, such as USB-C, ‌Dynamic Island‌, and a 48-megapixel main camera, at a lower price point. It will only be worth getting the ‌iPhone 15‌ over the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro if you want a lighter device, do not care for the "Pro" rear camera setup or features like ProMotion and the always-on display, or cannot justify the $200 to upgrade to the high-end model. In this instance, you will still benefit from the device's generous roster of advanced features. The ‌iPhone 15‌ is still a very well designed and balanced device, especially for average customers and those coming from a much older model.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning's John Dickerson that the company's Vision Pro headset remains on schedule for release in early 2024, and revealed that he's already using it on a regular basis.

When asked how he uses the upcoming headset, Cook said he watched "the entire third season of 'Ted Lasso' on the Vision Pro," and admitted there are "some things I have access to that other people don't have access to, so I'm doing that, but that I can't talk to you about."

Cook went on to say that the challenges Apple has faced creating the headset are "more complex" than making something like the iPhone, so it requires "more innovation, not only in the development but also in the manufacturing." However, the Apple chief batted away any suggestion that the company was facing production issues with the Vision Pro, saying the device was "on track" for a launch early next year.

In the course of the interview, Cook also touched on other topics including Apple's environmental initiatives (he hopes other companies "rip it off"), whether Apple should be advertising on X, formerly known as Twitter, when its owner Elon Musk has been accused of promoting anti-Semitism on the platform ("It's something we constantly ask ourselves"), and the post-pandemic return to working in the office.

In between a walk-and-talk around Apple's Austin, Texas campus, Cook was also filmed taking a sales call with a surprised customer. "The caller wanted to upgrade their iPhone," Cook later explained to Dickerson. When asked if he told her to hold out for the iPhone 15, Cook laughed. "I didn't exactly say that."

You can watch the full interview above or view it on YouTube here.

In iOS 17 and tvOS 17, Apple has added a feature that lets Apple TV users locate a misplaced Siri Remote using their iPhone. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

Prior to the launch of the latest ‌Apple TV‌ 4K, there were rumors that Apple would build ‌Find My‌ functionality into the ‌Siri‌ Remote. That didn't happen, but in its latest major software updates, Apple has introduced a new iPhone option that does essentially the same thing.

In early September, Apple quietly released new firmware for its second and third-generation Siri Remotes. With the new firmware, tvOS 17, and iOS 17, if a ‌Siri‌ Remote becomes lost, the ‌Apple TV‌ remote control available in the Control Center on an ‌iPhone‌ can be used to locate the missing remote.

When enabled, users will see a Find My-like interface on their iPhone that guides them toward the remote, with an onscreen circle that changes in size to guide movement in the right direction.

Note that Find My for the ‌Siri‌ Remote is available on the second and third-generation ‌Siri‌ Remotes, and the feature is limited to the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K models released in 2021 and 2022.

Also, bear in mind that the updated firmware is necessary, and there is no established method for getting the ‌Siri‌ Remote to update. The ‌Apple TV‌ will need to be up to date, on, and connected to the ‌Siri‌ Remote to initiate, but there is no way to force the new firmware to download.

Find Your Siri Remote With Your iPhone

1. Bring up the Control Center from your iPhone by swiping down from the upper right corner of the screen (on an ‌iPhone‌ with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen).
2. Tap the Apple TV Remote button (if it's not there, you can manually add it to Control Center).
3. Tap the chevron next to the name of the connected Siri Remote.
   
   

4. Tap the Find button next to the misplaced Siri Remote.
5. Use the onscreen Find My-like interface to locate the remote. The size of the circle increases to guide movement in the correct direction. When your iPhone is right next to the remote, the screen shows a solid white orb.
6. Tap the X button to close the location interface.
   

In our experience, the proximity accuracy of the feature is equivalent to locating an AirTag with Find My, so it's really helpful for locating your Siri Remote even if it's just hidden between the sofa cushions.