iOS 17 may come with new features, debut likely at WWDC 2023

Apple is reportedly developing its iOS 17 software update and other new updates that will be released this year. But contrary to earlier reports, a new report has said that the next iPhone software will bring new features. Some of the tech giant’s open-source documentation referencing iOS 17 has received updates, reports 9To5Mac.

Every year, the company starts adding references to upcoming iOS, macOS, and watchOS upgrades to its various open-source repositories, the report said. Future versions are frequently referred to as “TBA” by the iPhone maker in order to hide their actual version numbers. But these open-source repositories do not reveal or confirm anything, including the features of the software, about this year’s iOS 17 updates.

9To5Mac mentioned that it has started noticing a spike in the usage of iOS 17 since the beginning of December. This means the internal testing of the next iOS software — which includes testing being done by Apple employees — has expanded and this is a signal that Apple is getting closer to the announcement about iOS 17, scheduled to take place at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023.

The following operating systems are expected to be introduced at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June this year– iOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17. The release of the company’s Reality Pro headset, which will give the company’s lineup a fully new operating system, is expected to coincide with the updates this year. The software for Apple’s first mixed reality headset, dubbed reality OS or rOS, is what has caused a shift in the company’s focus, a Bloomberg report said earlier. It is because of the rOS that Apple may not offer big upgrades to this year’s software iterations, according to the report.

However, the tech giant has not yet revealed the dates for WWDC and it is still unclear whether the conference will be a hybrid in-person and virtual event like last year or a completely in-person event, the report said.

— Written with inputs from IANS