Tired of the way your iPhone sounds? iOS 17 has 24 new ringtones – here’s how to access them

We’ve all been there – you hear the ‘Classic’ ringtone playing out, and immediately reach for your iPhone. 

But the days of realising it’s not your phone ringing after all could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Apple’s latest iOS 17 update. 

The tech giant has quietly added 24 new ringtones in the udpate, as well as 12 new text tones. 

Several impressed users have taken to Twitter to discuss the new ringtones, with one joking: ‘Yoooo the iOS 17 arpeggio ringtone goes so hard.’

Here’s how you can access the new ringtones on iOS 17. 

To access the new ringtones, you’ll first need to make sure your iPhone has been udpated to iOS 17. 

To do this, open the Settings app, then General > Software Update. If this does not say iOS 17.0, you’ll need to update your iPhone. 

Once the update is complete, you can find the new ringtones by opening the Settings app and then Sounds & Haptics. 

Tap Ringtone and you’ll be able to scroll through the list of 24 new ringtones. 

Meanwhile, tapping Text Tone will let you browse the 12 new text tones.

Many users have already played around with the new tones.

One user shared a video of the ‘Journey’ ringtone, writing ‘is nobody gonna mention ios 17 has the final fantasy theme for a ringtone.’

Another noticed that the iPhone’s default ringtone, ‘Reflection’, has been updated, with one writing: ‘I just love the slight improvement to the iPhone ringtone on iOS 17.’ 

Aside from the new ringtones, iOS 17 has several other exciting features: 

1. Check In

With Apple’s new Check In feature, you’ll automatically be notified when a family member or friend gets to their destination safely.

‘After a user initiates a Check In, their friend or family member will automatically be notified as soon as the user arrives,’ Apple explained. 

‘If they are not making progress toward their destination, useful information will be temporarily shared with the selected contact, such as the device’s location, battery level, and cell service status. 

‘Any information shared is end-to-end encrypted.’

2. Live Voicemail 

If you’re over a certain age, you’ll remember old-school voicemail machines — the kind that let you pick up the phone in the middle of the message if you decided the call was worth answering. 

Apple’s bringing that back with the Live Voicemail feature, which transcribes the message in real time and lets you take the call.

‘Live Voicemail gives users the ability to see real-time transcription as someone leaves a voicemail, and the opportunity to pick up while the caller is leaving their message,’ Apple said. 

‘Calls identified as spam by carriers won’t appear as Live Voicemail, and will instead be instantly declined. With the power of the Neural Engine, Live Voicemail transcription is handled on-device and remains entirely private.’

3. NameDrop 

The days of having to manually type a new friend’s contact details into your iPhone are a thing of the past in iOS 17. 

The update includes the ability to share your contact details, simply by bringing your iPhone close to another.  

‘NameDrop allows users to easily share contact information by simply bringing their iPhones together, or by bringing an iPhone and Apple Watch together,’ Apple said. 

‘With the same gesture, users can also share content or start SharePlay to listen to music, watch a movie, or play a game while in close proximity between iPhone devices.’

4. StandBy

If your iPhone is charing across the room, it can be annoying having to stand up to check what notifications are coming through. 

But a new feature in iOS 17 called StandBy will make it much easier to glance over at your device. 

‘StandBy gives users a full-screen experience with glanceable information designed to be viewed from a distance when iPhone is on its side and charging,’ Apple said. 

‘StandBy is perfect on a nightstand, kitchen counter, or desk, and can be personalised to display a range of beautiful clock styles, favourite photos, or widgets, including Smart Stacks, which surface the right widgets at the right time.’ 

5. Screen Distance

The Screen Time tool has a new feature called Screen Distance, which will alert you if you’re holding your iPhone too close to your face. 

‘Screen Distance uses the TrueDepth camera to encourage users to move their device farther away after holding it closer than 12 inches from their face for an extended period of time,’ Apple said. 

6. Autocorrect improvements

iOS 17 will keep Apple’s autocorrect feature from correcting one of the English language’s favoured expletives to ‘ducking.’ 

‘Autocorrect receives a comprehensive update with a transformer language model, a state-of-the-art on-device machine learning language model for word prediction — improving the experience and accuracy for users every time they type,’ Apple said.

‘It also receives a refreshed design to better support typing, and sentence-level autocorrections can fix more types of grammatical mistakes.’