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5 cool features Android should steal from iOS 17
Apple revealed iOS 17 at its World Wide Developer Conference, bringing plenty of new features and tweaks to iPhones. And sure enough, Apple borrowed a load of Android features for iOS 17.
Copying is a two-way street in the smartphone space, though, and we’re sure Android OEMs will steal features from iOS 17 in return. But we specifically want to see these new Apple iOS features on Android.
1. Sensitive content warnings
One of the more impressive iOS 17 features is sensitive content warnings. This is a system-wide option that blurs “sensitive” photos and videos before you decide to view them. The feature works across Messages, AirDrop, FaceTime messages, third-party apps, and more. It also forms part of a wider Communication Safety suite in iOS.
The Android ecosystem could learn from iOS 17's sensitive content warnings, helping users avoid sketchy content.
We’d love to see this option on Android (across the Messages app, WhatsApp, and other third-party apps), so you don’t get surprised by unwanted nudes on LinkedIn. That’s where nudes get sent, right?
2. Profile support in the web browser
Another welcome iOS 17 feature is the addition of profile support in the Safari web browser. This means you can indeed have separate work and personal profiles in your browser, with each profile containing its own history, passwords, cookies, and more.
We’ve long maintained that Google needs to bring more desktop-style functionality to Chrome for Android, including profile support. So we hope the fact that Apple is doing it motivates Google to finally step up.
3. Check In
It’s not uncommon for smartphone users to share their journey information with a loved one via WhatsApp’s live location feature or Uber. But Apple is upping the ante with its Check In feature on iOS 17.
Google and/or Android OEMs should definitely steal Apple's new Check In feature.
This feature automatically alerts your loved ones when you get home, saving you from having to send that “just got home” text. Furthermore, the function will prompt you to respond if you’ve stopped making progress. Haven’t responded? Then your phone’s location, battery level, and signal status are sent to the loved one. This is another feature we’d like to see Google build into Android, either via Google Maps, the Personal Safety app, or on a deeper level.
4. Contact Posters
Apple’s iOS 17 also brings a new Contact Posters feature to the table. This is essentially an image of your choosing that gets displayed to others when you call them, and it works via standard phone calls and third-party apps. You can also add effects to this image as well as text in a variety of fonts and colors.
We wouldn’t say no to seeing this feature on Android, ideally letting you edit and add a snap from Google Photos too. And it would ensure a consistent contact image across the likes of Hangouts, Messages, Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp, and more.
5. NameDrop
Wirelessly sharing your contact with someone isn’t new, owing to prior efforts like the ancient Bump app (thanks to colleague Rita El-Khoury for remembering this!). We’ve also seen NFC-based third-party apps like Popl. But Apple is natively supporting this functionality in iOS 17 with NameDrop.
Android users wouldn't need business cards or third-party apps to seamlessly share contact info if OEMs grabbed this iOS 17 feature.
You simply hold your iPhone near someone else’s iPhone or Apple Watch to seamlessly share your credentials with them (i.e. specified phone numbers and email addresses, as well as a contact poster). We could totally see Google stealing this feature for a future version of Android, presumably building on its Nearby Share framework to enable it.
These are just some of the more notable iOS 17 features we’d like to see on Android. Let us know which feature you’d bring to Android via the poll below or in the comments.