Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality headset. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that a change of strategy during the update's development process has added several new features:

When Apple set out to develop iOS 17, the initial thinking was to call it a tuneup release — one focused more on fixing bugs and improving performance than adding new features (not unlike the approach the company took with Snow Leopard on Mac OS X back in 2009). The hope was to avoid the problems of iOS 16, an ambitious update that suffered from missed deadlines and a buggy start. But later in the development process, the strategy changed. The iOS 17 release is now expected to boast several "nice to have" features, even if it lacks a tentpole improvement like last year's revamped lock screen. The goal of the software, codenamed "Dawn," is to check off several of users' most requested features.

As with previous iPhone software updates, iOS 17 is expected to be previewed at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June ahead of launching in the fall. The update could offer a range of enhancements and new features, such as a next-generation CarPlay experience, changes to Siri, support for sideloading and alternate app stores, support for Apple's mixed-reality headset, and more.