Best iOS 17 Hidden Features

Best iOS 17 Hidden Features You Should Try Right Now

Ever since Apple announced iOS 17, brand new and important features have been in the spotlight. So, you’ve probably heard of standbys, namedrops, contact posters, and more. Apple’s new iOS 17 has many small features that were not mentioned on stage. However, these features can make a big difference and make your life a lot easier. After using iOS 17 for several months, I discovered some hidden features of iOS 17 that are worth mentioning. In this article, I’ll tell you about 25 hidden iOS 17 features and settings that you should have on your radar. Without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Auto Symbol and Laundry Care Lookup

Take a picture of the signal lights or symbols and swipe up.
You will see the option “Search for Auto Symbol“, click on it.
The visual search tool will detect warning lights and provide the information you need.

Not only automatic symbols, visual search in iOS 17 can also detect WASH codes. Take a photo of the laundry tag, swipe up and tap the “Laundry care” option. You will see relevant information about Laundry code, symbols and warnings.

2. Camera Level

Apple's new iOS 17 includes a hidden extra camera setting that will help you take professional-quality photos. You get a camera level option, which is basically a digital level that helps you level your shots. When you enable this option, you will see a dashed white horizontal line if your phone is not level. When you reach the correct level of orientation the line becomes straight and turns yellow. This is definitely one of the best hidden features of iOS 17 for photography lovers and content creators.

Here’s how to use the Level Camera feature in iOS 17:

Open Settings on your iPhone.
Scroll down and tap Camera.
Here, turn on the “Level” switch.

3. Quick Crop

In iOS 17, the Photos app also has a useful feature that offers a quick and easy way to crop photos on your iPhone. All you have to do is zoom in on the photo and on the top right you will see a crop option. Click on it and you can make the necessary changes. By default, the Quick Crop feature crops the image to the aspect ratio displayed on the screen. If you want to crop an image to a different aspect ratio, simply press and hold the Crop button and make your selection.

4. Set Multiple Timers

This could be an easy addition to iOS 17. Apple finally allows you to set multiple timers on your iPhone to track time-based activities. This is one of the best hidden features of iOS 17 that multitasking enthusiasts will love Multiple timers are very useful when you are working or cooking and want to set breaks for your work. You can easily create and track multiple timers on iPhone and even label them for your convenience

5. Lock White Balance

Another hidden camera feature in iOS 17 is the ability to lock white balance when recording video on your iPhone. Without this feature, your iPhone will adjust the white balance of footage within the same recorded clip. If you don’t want your iPhone to change the white balance, causing noticeable color variations in your footage, simply turn on the Lock White Balance feature. By enabling this camera setting, you have better control over color temperature when recording continuously. Here’s how to do it:

Go to Settings and go to the Camera
Then click on “Record Video”.
Scroll down a bit and turn on the Lock White Balance

6. Screen Distance

For iPhones with Face ID, iOS 17 offers a very useful health-focused feature called Screen Distance, which prevents farsightedness and similar conditions. It uses the TrueDepth camera system to detect the distance between your eyes and the iPhone screen. If you are too close to the screen, it will display a message asking you to keep your iPhone at a safe distance. You can’t use your iPhone until you move the screen further. This hidden iOS 17 feature is very useful for both adults and children who use and hold their iPhone very close to their eyes.

7. Auto-delete OTPs

Today, almost all services require verification code or OTP We all know how quickly the Messages and Mail app can get cluttered with endless verification codes and manually deleting them is nothing short of a frustrating task. Finally, iOS 17 brings a new feature that gives you the ability to automatically remove one-time verification codes after pasting them into a website/app. To clear OTP codes used by your iPhone automatically, go to Settings -> Passwords -> Password Options and turn on the Automatically Clean Up toggle. Additionally, the auto-fill verification code feature now works for the Mail app.

8. New and improved widgets

First, there’s a new Safari widget that shows your reading list.
iOS 17 then adds buttons to the Contacts widget that provide a quick way to message or call that contact.
Last and most interesting. Your iPhone can now have interactive widgets, which let you interact with widgets directly without opening the corresponding app. For example, you can mark a task as complete in Reminders, resume Apple Music, or turn off lights directly from the widget.

9. Sensitive Content Warning

Apple is introducing a new Sensitive Content Warning feature in iOS 17 to protect its users from unwanted/harmful content received through AirDrop, FaceTime, Messages and other apps. When the Sensitive Content Alert feature is enabled in iOS 17, it blurs out sensitive or unwanted photos and videos, which can harm your peace of mind. Whether you want to view these photos and videos is up to you

10. Ping Apple Watch

iOS 17 introduced a new feature that lets you ping your Apple Watch using a paired iPhone. It’s a very quick way to find your Apple Watch if it’s lost somewhere around you, like under your desk, in the corner of the sofa, or in your bedside table drawer. In Control Center, you’ll see a Check My Watch button, which beeps your Apple Watch, making it easy to find. Don’t panic if you can’t find this option in Control Center. This is a hidden feature of iOS 17 that is not added to Control Center by default, you have to do it manually. To do this, go to Settings -> Control Center and click the “+” icon next to the “Ping My Watch” option.

11. Share AirTags

The long-awaited and long-requested feature is finally available in iOS 17. You can now share AirTag location with your family or friends to track specific items like house keys, travel bags or even pets. You can share an AirTag with up to 5 people from your contact list. Shared members can use precision search and play audio to find the AirTag’s exact location.

12. Add stickers to photos/PDF

One of the best hidden features in iOS 17 is the ability to decorate your photos, screenshots and PDFs with emojis, shapes and stickers. Yes, the markup tool now offers new options to enhance your photos and PDFs Using the markup tool, click the “+” icon and select the “Add Sticker” option.

Then you can add emojis, notes and stickers. To add a shape, you need to select the “Add Shape” option from the list of options Not only will it add color to your photos/PDFs, but it will also be of great help in certain situations.

While we’re on the subject of new additions, it’s good to know that the very useful Loupe option is no longer available in the Markup Tools option. I don’t understand why Apple removed it, but I’d like to see it again.

13. Reset your new iPhone passcode

Forgetting your newly created iPhone password can be quite frustrating. But you don’t have to worry. I will tell you a secret feature of iOS 17 that allows you to use your previous passcode to unlock your iPhone and reset your new passcode. Sounds good, indeed! Note that this option is only available for 72 hours after you create a new passcode on your iPhone. If you remember your new password and don’t want to use the old one, there’s an option to “Expire previous password from expiration now” in the Face ID and password settings.

Here’s how to use your previous password to reset your new password:

Try all possible passwords until you see the “iPhone Unavailable” screen
Click on “Forgot Password” and select “Enter Previous Password“.
Then enter your old passcode and create a new passcode for your iPhone. You can choose from several password options.
Check the newly created password and you are done.

14. Listen to a web page in Safari.

If you’re a fan of podcasts and audiobooks, you’ll love the new iOS 17 feature that lets Siri read web articles for you. Thanks to this hidden iOS 17 feature, you don’t have to hold your iPhone in your hand and read those super-long articles. Your favorite virtual assistant can do this for you. All you have to do is open a web page in Safari, click the letter “A” in the search bar, select the “Listen to Page” option, and Siri will tell you.

15. Toggle System Settings from Spotlight Search.

Apple didn’t mention it, but iOS 17 makes big changes to Spotlight Search on iPhone. Using Spotlight Search in iOS 17 is much faster, smoother, and more complete. Additionally, the interface looks cleaner with wider elements and larger text sizes. Not all of that. You can now toggle system settings like mobile data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, alarms and more directly from Spotlight search. Just search for the setting and you’ll see a toggle that allows you to turn it on or off in search. This means you no longer have to open Settings or even Control Center to toggle system settings.

16. Make a grocery list

If you’re like me and often make grocery shopping lists on your iPhone, iOS 17’s Reminders app has a new feature that makes shopping stress-free. You can create a shopping list in the Reminders app and it will automatically sort your items into categories such as bread, sauces, dairy, etc. This is a handy iOS 17 feature that lets you keep an organized shopping list on your iPhone That way you won’t miss anything or buy something you don’t need.

17. New wallpaper

In addition to the standard iOS 17 wallpapers, the latest version of Apple’s iPhone software includes new astronomy wallpapers. While iOS has had astronomy wallpapers for a while now, Apple’s wallpapers for iOS 17 feature more solar system planets – Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Also, we have a new category of colorful wallpapers – Kaleidoscope, which change their shape, color and size throughout the day. Here’s how to access new wallpapers on your iPhone:

Open Settings and go to the category.
Then click on “Add New Wallpaper“.
Scroll down to Weather & Astronomy or Kaleidoscope and choose your favorite wallpaper. You can also customize your chosen wallpaper.
When you’re done, click Add.

18. Updated call screen interface.

When you make or receive a phone call on your iPhone, you’ll see an update call screen. All buttons are grouped together in a 3×3 grid and moved to the bottom where you can easily access them with one hand. One notable change you’ll notice immediately is that the Last Call button is now located at the bottom of the screen, instead of in the middle as we saw it before.

19. Apple Music App Update.

Apple Music also got a much-needed redesign and new features in iOS 17. Here are the main ones:

The first is the ability to fade in between tracks in Apple Music for a smooth transition. So, you can finally say goodbye to those frustrating breaks between tracks that spoil the progress of your musical journey.
Second, you can now create collaborative playlists in Apple Music, where you and your friends can add, rearrange, and delete songs.
Third, you can now look up song titles in Apple Music to find out the lyrics or the people behind the creation.
Apart from the new features, Apple Music has received a slightly updated user interface. One of the most notable changes is that the music player now has full-screen animated artwork for compatible apps.

20. Locked Private Browsing in Safari

Safari has received several updates with the new iOS 17. You can now lock private tabs in Safari using a password or FaceID. While you can easily lock tabs in incognito mode in Chrome, having a similar feature in Safari would certainly be a welcome addition for Apple users. It is very easy and fast. You just need to open Settings, tap on Safari, and turn on the toggle to require FaceID to unlock private browsing. Another great feature of iOS 17 is that you can create profiles in Safari to optimize your interests and workflow.

21. Notes on relationships

Did you know that iOS 17 has a hidden note linking feature that lets you create links in Apple Notes? Yes, you heard right. You can now link and connect related notes for easy use You can link Apple Notes or add web links to your notes to easily switch between ideas without using third-party apps. This useful iOS 17 feature brings the Apple Notes app closer to popular third-party apps.

22. Focus while locked

I use Focus Mode a lot on my iPhone, and it’s one of my favorite hidden settings in iOS 17. Sometimes I don’t want to turn off all incoming notifications when I’m actively using the phone. Luckily, iOS 17 lets me do that. There is an option to turn off notifications only when your phone is locked Rest of the time you will get notifications as usual. But once your iPhone is locked, you’ll be completely in focus. So, don’t forget to change this hidden iOS 17 setting if you also use focus modes.

Open Settings and click Focus.
Then tap any focus mode. We chose work.
Then click “Options“.
Here, click “Always present” next to “Silence notifications” option and select “While blocked“.

23. New lunar weather panel

Do you often keep track of when the next full moon will be or when the moon will rise today? If so, iOS 17 has a hidden feature that lets you track the moon directly from your iPhone. The Weather app now has a special section that displays information about the moon. Here’s how to watch it:

Open the Weather app or go to the Weather widget.
Navigate to the location you want to view lunar data for.
Scroll down and tap on the Moon panel. Here you can see complete lunar information for your location.

24. Touch and swipe to reply to messages

Like other popular messaging apps, you can now swipe right and quickly reply to an iMessage in the Messages app. This is a handy iOS 17 feature that helps keep your group messages organized Additionally, the iOS 17 Messages app has another hidden feature called Catch Up, which lets you jump straight to the first message you haven’t seen yet or missed.

25. Best way to set photo as wallpaper.

Last but not least, iOS 17 has an amazing hidden feature that you might have missed. Previously, when you set an image as your wallpaper that didn’t match your phone’s aspect ratio, you either had to zoom in or deal with thick black bars at the top and bottom. And it doesn’t look attractive. Interestingly, iOS 17 does not have this problem. If you have the latest software installed, your iPhone will make a smart blur that matches the surrounding color of the selected image. So you can easily set your favorite image as wallpaper without any hassle.

That’s all for now! So, these are 25 hidden features of iOS 17 that you should know. We hope you discovered some amazing features that you didn’t know about before. Which feature did you like best?