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The first significant update to iOS 17 is almost here, with iOS 17.1 rumored to be arriving on or before Tuesday, October 24. If your iPhone is capable of running iOS 17, then it's going to be eligible for iOS 17.1 too: it'll work on the 2018 iPhones, including the iPhone XR and the iPhone XS, and every iPhone released since then.
It means some more goodies and upgrades to play around with, and we've picked out the biggest and best ones in the list below. Besides the features we've highlighted, there will be numerous security patches and bug fixes – including, we hope, fixes to address screen burn-in problems and mysterious iPhone resets.
1. StandBy customization
StandBy essentially turns your iPhone into a bedside clock while it's charging – it can show the time and date for example, or a selection of photos from the phone gallery. It's available on every iPhone that can run iOS 17, but it works best with the always-on displays you get with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.
StandBy mode was introduced with iOS 17, but iOS 17.1 is adding another customization option, so you can control when it turns off: Automatically (when the room is dark and your iPhone isn't in use), After 20 Seconds, or Never. You'll be able to find these options by choosing StandBy then Display from the iOS Settings.
2. Apple Music Favorites
Apple Music currently lets you add artists as Favorites, but that's going to be expanded to include songs, albums, and playlists in iOS 17.1. Any tracks that you've previously 'loved' in the Apple Music interface (so you've tapped the heart icon next to them) are going to be converted into Favorites.
The iOS 17.1 update is also going to make it easier to add songs to your Favorites with a few interface tweaks. You'll be able to favorite a song by tapping on the star icon button on the lock screen widget, for example. There will also be a similar button on the now playing screen, and Favorites will be accessible from the Library section too.
3. AirDrop transfers
Another change coming with iOS 17.1 is an improvement to AirDrop transfers: you're going to be able to continue transfers over Wi-Fi or cellular networks, once they've been initiated. That means you don't need to stand right next to someone for an extended period of time to send across a large number of files.
After the update has arrived you'll see a new toggle switch in General > AirDrop in Settings that enables transfers over cellular networks – transfers over Wi-Fi should kick in automatically if you move out of AirDrop range.
4. Lock screen photos
There's an option called Photo Shuffle that you can use on the lock screen of your iPhone: you can find it by pressing and holding on the lock screen, then tapping the plus button, then picking Photo Shuffle.
At the moment, you're limited to using galleries provided by Apple – based on themed, featured photos picked out of your Photos gallery – or a selection of images that you manually pick out. In iOS 17.1, you're going to be able to choose specific albums to shuffle through, giving you a useful extra customization option.