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Major Updates Are Coming to Apple’s Messages. Here’s What You Can Expect

New features are coming to Apple’s Messages with the company’s iOS 17 update.

New features are coming to Apple’s Messages, but you’ll have to wait to get your hands on them (unless you’re a developer). Apple revealed its iOS 17 software update Monday. The iOS 17 update makes some major changes to Messages, adding abilities like turning pictures into stickers, transcribing voice memos, keeping your friends and family notified on your way home and more. 

News about the iOS 17 Messages update came during the keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple traditionally uses the annual event to give developers a preview of updates to its desktop and mobile software, and sometimes it introduces new hardware too. On Monday, the company unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro

Live Stickers coming to iOS 17

The update to Messages will be part of iOS 17, which will arrive this fall. With the new features, people will be able to take their photos and turn them into stickers they use in text conversations, alongside standard emoji, which can also be used as stickers. People can customize their stickers with effects — like shiny, puffy, comic and outline — and keep them in a new drawer in the keyboard for streamlined access, Apple said in a press release. Stickers will be available systemwide, including in third-party apps. 

To make a photo into a sticker, you’ll touch and hold an object in a photo. Then you can style your object with various effects, outline it or create animated Live Stickers with Live Photos. To use the sticker in Messages, you’ll add them in the bubble from the Tapback menu. 

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Watch this: Apple Reveals iOS 17

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Search in Messages, Check In and more

Also coming is a refined search feature. People will be able to apply additional filters to their Messages search to more quickly find the exact conversation they’re looking for. Plus, when you’ve received lots of texts in a group chat, you’ll be able to use the catch-up arrow to locate where the conversation left off last. 

iOS 17 Messages will also transcribe voice memos you receive, if you don’t have the time to listen to them. Apple also announced a new feature that will let you keep track of your friends by viewing their location in your text conversation.

Apple's Check In feature on three iPhones. Apple's Check In feature on three iPhones.

Apple’s Check In feature through iOS 17. 

Screenshot by CNET

Another new location sharing feature is Check In. If you want to keep a friend or family member updated on your journey home, for example, you’ll be able to use Check In, which notifies the person of your whereabouts and lets them know if you’re having trouble getting home. «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,» Apple said in the press release. Check In will be end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the person you’re sharing this information with is privy to your location. 

Developers can try out iOS 17 today, and everyone can try out the public beta in a month. These iPhones will be able to run the update.

Other iOS 17 updates

The iOS 17 updates don’t stop at Messages. Apple also introduced Live Voicemail, which will give people the ability to see the message a person is leaving you as it is being recorded. This could help with deciphering between important calls that unknown numbers leave and spam. 

The iOS 17 update for FaceTime includes audio and video messages, so people can leave their friends and families a FaceTime voicemail of sorts. 

Also, if people want to share a contact with one another, they can use the new feature NameDrop. By bringing two iPhones or one iPhone and one Apple Watch close together, contact information can be transferred from one device to the next. 

Apple kicked off WWDC by unveiling a 15-inch MacBook Air and offering details on its latest desktop software, MacOS 14 Sonoma. Also at WWDC, Apple revealed its brainiest Mac chip yet and upgraded its Mac Pro to M2 Ultra Silicon. There are new features coming in Watch OS 10 too.

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Sega’s Re-Released Games for Switch 2 Include Yakuza 0 and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

The first of Sega’s third-party games to hit the console are re-releases from consoles past.

As the Nintendo Switch 2 prepares to launch, its list of third-party games grows, including a trio of Sega and Atlus games that include classics and deep cuts. I got to play all three ahead of the Switch 2 release on June 5. 

The three games — Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S and RAIDOU Remastered — are odd bedfellows that represent distinct eras and genres among Sega’s oeuvre. All three play well on the Switch 2, which is unsurprising given the console’s rumored PS4-equivalent performance but still reassuring given the original Switch’s limited capability.

Yakuza 0 is the marquee title of the trio for its role in the series — a prequel to the original Yakuza and de facto entry point for new players that details the origins of fan favorites Kazuma Kiryu and Daigo Dojima. In addition to the story, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut includes a new mode, Red Light Raid, that lets you pick a character from a roster of Yakuza heroes and nobodies to brawl with successively harder rounds of enemy groups. 

While dated compared with the sharp combat and graphics of the latest in the series, February’s Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Yakuza 0 is still a fantastic game and great to have on the new console. I only played it in docked mode, so I can’t say how the game plays in handheld with a 1080p and 120 frames per second display graphics cap.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is a deeper cut, the third game in the Devil Summoner series within the Megami Tensei franchise, which was originally released for the PS2 in 2006. Though the game has been refreshed for modern consoles (the game will also be out on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and last-gen systems), it preserves the charm of the era’s games — one where very little is explained and players have to figure it out for themselves. (I had to have a certain solution to a puzzle spelled out for me.)  

Starring the eponymous Raidou as a detective assisted by demons he captures and can use to investigate denizens of his town or summon for battle in real-time combat, the game is a little slower and less dense than today’s graphically-intense titles. 

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is the opposite — a contemporary puzzle game first released in 2020 for current and last-gen consoles, the re-release preserves the bright colors and frantic gameplay with a few new multiplayer modes. In our preview, Sega paired up gamers for 2-vs-2 puzzler matches where we tried to stay out of each other’s way while clearing lines. For Switch 2, players can switch from Joy-Con mode to Mouse mode, which is precise enough but adds to the frenetic tension.

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A Hefty 50% Off Hits the Right Note With These Anker Soundcore P20i Wireless Earbuds

Rain and sweat ain’t no problem for these affordable water-resistant earbuds, and they come in some great colors to boot.

We’re huge fans of wireless earbuds and we think everyone can benefit from adding a pair to their tech bag. There are plenty of options on the market today with various features and wide-ranging prices. You don’t have to spend huge sums to listen to your music and podcasts on the go, especially if you snag this Memorial Day bargain. Amazon’s new discount slashes the price all the way to just $20, a full 50% off the original $40 asking price and the lowest price we’ve seen. You don’t need to enter any codes or clip any coupons, but you do need to act soon as this deal could end at any time.

These Soundcore P20i wireless earbuds come in a choice of three different colors at this price — black, navy blue and white — so make sure to select the color that you prefer before adding anything to your cart. Other hues are also available for $4 more. 

Color aside, the P20i all have the same features on the inside. That means you’ll get 10 hours of battery life on a single charge with the case extending that to 30 hours. You can top them up for 10 minutes and get a full two hours of playtime should the need arise, too. And as mentioned, they’re a great option if you plan to pick these up as running earbuds or for working out thanks to that IPX5 rating.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Like all good earbuds, these have built-in microphones for making calls. Plus, there are 22 preset equalizers to choose from to make sure you get the perfect sound. We’re pretty taken with these things, but we know they might not be for everyone. Check out our list of the best wireless earbuds deals if you’re looking for something a little different. 

There are also plenty of Memorial Day discounts on headphones and speakers that you can shop right now. And if you’re looking for more low-cost buys, check out our roundup of the best deals under $25.

Why this deal matters 

These Anker headphones are back down to their all-time low price. We saw these on sale a few months ago but they’ve never been cheaper than this, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon. But there’s no telling how long this deal will last so for that reason we suggest acting now if you’re interested. 

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