Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ Another Dozen Compelling Features Coming to Apple's Operating Systems in 2023 Julio Ojeda-Zapata When Apple reveals new versions of its various operating systems, it always unleashes a torrent of feature announcements that have observers scrambling to keep up. It is therefore helpful to cherry-pick a handful or two that seem most compelling. After watching Apple's [1]2023 WWDC keynote, Adam Engst adopted this approach in '[2]12 Compelling Features Coming to Apple's Operating Systems in 2023' (5 June 2023). I'm following up with my own list. I look at a half-dozen iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 features in a bit of detail and cite six additional ones in brief. Safari Profiles Profiles are a critical feature in [3]Google Chrome, my current default Web browser, and in specialty browsers such as Arc (see '[4]Arc Will Change the Way You Work on the Web,' 1 May 2023). Profiles let me separate my work and home activities and shift between them as needed. Safari's lack of profile support is a big reason I've never fully embraced Apple's browser. Profiles are now coming to Safari in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and Sonoma. I'll need to see how Apple implements profiles before contemplating a switch, but I'm more excited about Safari than I have been in years. Find the Siri Remote My wife, the main TV watcher in our household, continually loses track of the [5]Siri Remote. That's partly because Apple never built Find My into the remote and partly because we decided not to use a third-party sleeve with an AirTag pocket (see '[6]Two Siri Remote Sleeves That Incorporate AirTag Pockets,' 22 July 2021). Something similar to Find My is now on the way. You'll be able to open the iPhone Control Center's virtual remote (which my wife also refuses to use in place of the physical clicker) to start a hunt for the Siri Remote. It even provides an AirTag-like proximity indicator so you know to keep looking under the couch cushions. AirPods Adaptive Audio Two big reasons to splurge on the second-generation [7]AirPods Pro over the more affordable third-generation [8]AirPods are Active Noise Cancellation (to filter out ambient noise) and Adaptive Transparency (to let ambient sounds in when being aware of your surroundings is critical). Until now, that has been an either-or proposition. Now, with a feature called Adaptive Audio, the AirPods Pro will dynamically switch modes as you move among environments and interactions. The details are a bit unclear, but I'm hoping my AirPods Pro use will involve less futzing with the audio settings and more just plain listening. Password Sharing I share passwords with my wife by giving her total access to my [9]BitWarden password manager with its hundreds of authentication entries, most of which are of no use to her. That may be overkill, and a more selective sharing of passwords is possible with such password managers, but this way, I never need to worry about her being able to access my accounts if I were incapacitated. Apple is now getting into the password-sharing game with Safari in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and Sonoma. You'll be able to create a group and select a set of accounts to share, with changed passwords remaining up to date for everyone. The feature also supports sharing [10]passkeys, the emerging successor to passwords, which hadn't previously been possible. iPhone StandBy I have long disliked the near-uselessness of most iPhone screens when they are idle'particularly while charging on a stand, say. Android phones have [11]Ambient Mode, which turns them into little smart displays that show bits of helpful information when the devices aren't in active use. In iOS 17, Apple is closing this gap with StandBy, which turns an iPhone into a smart display of a sort when charging in landscape mode. Options include weather checks, setting of timers, and viewing of Live Activities like in-progress game scores and food-delivery status. Cycling Sensor Support Nerdier cyclists often equip their bikes with Bluetooth sensors for measuring cadence, heart rate, power, and speed. I did this at home when using a stationary bicycle with the Zwift cycling simulator ('[12]Zwift Transforms Stationary Bicycling into a Shared Virtual Experience,' 1 July 2020). However, I've long wanted to cut the pricey Zwift out of the equation. Now, with watchOS 10, Apple is rolling out direct sensor support for those riding indoors and outdoors, as well as people using GymKit gear. I am left with one big question: Will it also support [13]smart trainers? Other Features, in Brief * AirPods press-to-mute: Need to mute a phone call? Squeeze the stalk on the third-generation AirPods and AirPods Pro. Pressing the Digital Crown has the same effect on the AirPods Max. * Record a video message: When someone you're calling isn't available on FaceTime, you'll finally have the option to record a video or audio message, complete with features like Portrait Mode and Studio Light. Talk to the machine. * Health app on iPad: The Health app's prolonged absence from the iPad and Mac made no sense. Apple is partially remedying this omission by bringing the Health app to iPadOS 17. Log symptoms, create med reminders, track menstrual cycles, it's all there. If it's so easy to port apps between Apple's platforms, what's keeping it off the Mac? * Crosswords in Apple News+: Details on this feature are sparse, but I'm excited because I all but live in the News app and devour its news headlines, magazine issues, and audio content. Puzzles will be a swell addition. * Grocery list sorting: Navigating a vast supermarket is one of my toughest first-world problems. The Reminders app in iOS 17, iPad OS 17, and Sonoma will make it easier by sorting grocery items into categories. More Features Yet For a list of everything coming in 2023's operating systems'and Apple's descriptions of the features below'see: * [14]iOS 17 * [15]iPadOS 17 * [16]macOS 14 Sonoma * [17]watchOS 10 * [18]tvOS 17 All these operating systems are now available in beta form for developers, will appear in public beta form for everyone soon enough, and should ship in the usual September/October time frame. References Visible links 1. https://www.apple.com/apple-events/ 2. https://tidbits.com/2023/06/05/12-compelling-features-coming-to-apples-operating-systems-in-2023/ 3. https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2364824?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop 4. https://tidbits.com/2023/05/01/arc-will-change-the-way-you-work-on-the-web/ 5. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNC73AM/A/siri-remote 6. https://tidbits.com/2021/07/22/two-siri-remote-sleeves-that-incorporate-airtag-pockets/ 7. https://www.apple.com/ 8. https://www.apple.com/airpods-3rd-generation/ 9. https://bitwarden.com/ 10. https://developer.apple.com/passkeys/ 11. https://www.lifewire.com/ambient-mode-in-google-assistant-5191407 12. https://tidbits.com/2020/07/01/zwift-transforms-stationary-bicycling-into-a-shared-virtual-experience/ 13. https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-smart-trainer/ 14. https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-17-preview/ 15. https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-17-preview/ 16. https://www.apple.com/macos/sonoma-preview/ 17. https://www.apple.com/watchos/watchos-preview/ 18. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/tvos-17-brings-facetime-and-video-conferencing-to-apple-tv-4k/ Hidden links: 19. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-WWDC23-Safari-profiles.jpg 20. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-WWDC23-tvOS-17-Remote-Locator-230605.gif 21. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-AirPods-Pro-2nd-gen-Adaptive-Audio-230605.gif 22. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-WWDC23-iOS-17-StandBy-lifestyle-230605.jpg 23. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-AirPods-Pro-2nd-gen-press-to-mute-230605.jpg 24. https://tidbits.com/wp/../uploads/2023/06/Apple-WWDC23-iPadOS-17-Health.jpg .